Mumbai, March 19: Indian stock markets on Wednesday continued their upward trend for the third consecutive session, with both the Sensex and Nifty closing higher.

The 30-share Sensex touched an intra-day high of 75,568.38 before settling at 75,449.05, gaining 147.79 points or 0.20 per cent from its previous close.

Similarly, the Nifty ended the day at 22,907.60, up 73.30 points or 0.32 per cent. The index moved within a range of 22,940.70 to 22,807.95 during the intra-day session.

“Market sentiment remained upbeat, supported by mixed global cues and renewed optimism surrounding a potential Russia-Ukraine truce,” said Vikram Kasat of PL Capital.

He added that the key global events are in focus, including the US Federal Reserve’s policy announcement, Putin-Trump talks, and a surge in gold prices.

Among the Nifty stocks, 33 out of 50 ended in positive territory. The top gainers included Shriram Finance, HDFC Life, Apollo Hospitals, Tata Steel, and Power Grid Corporation, which saw gains of up to 3.91 per cent.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Britannia, TCS, Infosys, and Sun Pharma were among the 17 stocks that declined, with losses of up to 2.32 per cent.

Broader market indices performed better than the benchmark indices. The Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 surged over 2 per cent each, showing strong momentum in mid- and small-cap stocks.

Sectoral indices on the NSE mostly ended in the green, except for Nifty FMCG and IT, which closed lower.

This followed by a flat opening with a slight positive trend on Wednesday, even as global markets remained weak.

At the start of trading, the Sensex rose by 80.04 points or 0.11 per cent to reach 75,381.30, while the Nifty edged up by 15.25 points or 0.07 per cent to 22,849.55.

The Indian rupee strengthened by 12 paise on Wednesday, closing at 86.44 per dollar compared to 86.56 in the previous session.( IANS)

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