Indian Equities Surge Nearly 2% as Broad-based Buying Lifts Benchmarks

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

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By Richard Fargose

Richard is an independent financial journalist who tracks financial markets and macroeconomic developments

March 24, 2026 at 12:14 PM IST

Equity share indices ended sharply higher on the day, holding on to strong opening gains and signalling firm risk appetite across segments. The Sensex surged 1,372 points to close at 74,068, while the Nifty 50 climbed 400 points to 22,912, with both indices gaining close to 2%. Market breadth remained firmly positive, with the NSE advance–decline ratio at around 3:1.

Broader markets outperformed the frontline indices, underlining the strength of the rally. The mid-cap index jumped 1,369 points to 54,087, while the Nifty Bank index rose 1,168 points to 52,606, supported by buying in large financial stocks.

Sectoral performance was broadly strong, with all major indices ending in the green. The Nifty Capital Market index emerged as the top gainer, pointing to wider participation across cyclical and domestic-focused sectors rather than a narrow rally in a few heavyweights.

Among index stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank rose more than 3% after a ‘buy’ upgrade from Nomura, while HDFC Bank gained about 3%, snapping a four-session losing streak. Asian Paints advanced over 4% after announcing a 6–8% price increase across its portfolio from April 10.

Larsen and Toubro was the top Nifty gainer, rising nearly 5%, while InterGlobe Aviation also gained around 5% as crude oil prices eased. Oil marketing companies followed the trend, with HPCL and BPCL climbing up to 5%.

Overall sentiment remained strongly positive, with 45 Nifty stocks closing higher and 28 of the 30 Sensex constituents ending in the green.

Top Movers of the Day

IndiGo climbed about 5% as easing crude oil prices lifted sentiment, while Jefferies reiterated its positive outlook and sees potential upside of nearly 48%.

Meesho gained as much as 6%, with other platform companies also moving higher by a similar margin as investors turned optimistic on the online consumption theme.

Godawari Power and Ispat rose after the company said its board had approved plans to set up a 1 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant to expand its presence in the sector.

Asian Paints moved higher after announcing a 7–8% price increase, with Nuvama indicating that further hikes remain possible if crude oil prices stay in the $90–95 per barrel range.

Kotak Mahindra Bank gained close to 3% after Nomura upgraded the stock to a ‘buy’, even as the brokerage remained broadly cautious on the banking sector.

Swiggy advanced after raising its platform fee by 17%, just days after a similar move by Zomato, triggering gains across platform companies.

IRFC climbed about 4% after announcing its largest refinancing transactions so far, valued at nearly ₹130 billion.

Tata Power rose after executing a power purchase agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam for its Mundra plant.

Futures & Options
Nifty March 2026 futures settled at 22,984, trading at a premium of 71.6 points to the Nifty 50’s cash close of 22,912.40. In the spot market, the Nifty 50 surged 399.75 points, or 1.78%, reflecting strong bullish sentiment through the session.

India VIX dropped sharply by 7.44% to 24.74, signalling a clear easing in near-term volatility expectations.

HDFC Bank, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were the most actively traded single-stock futures in the NSE derivatives segment.

The March 2026 derivatives contracts are scheduled to expire on 30 March 2026.

Bonds
Indian government bonds ended marginally weaker on Tuesday as oil prices eased from recent peaks on expectations of possible US–Iran talks, yet remained above $100 per barrel amid lingering geopolitical uncertainty.

The benchmark 6.48% 2035 yield rose three basis points to close at 6.8681%. On Monday, the yield had settled at 6.8379%, its highest level since January 2025, after jumping 10 basis points, the biggest single-session rise since October 2023, as both crude prices and US yields stayed elevated.

The ongoing conflict has kept oil prices high because of supply risks. For India, the world’s third-largest crude importer, elevated crude prices raise concerns around inflation and the current account deficit, keeping bond market sentiment cautious.

In addition, heavy supply continued to weigh on prices. States raised ₹548.34 billion through bond sales during the session, taking total state borrowing to a record ₹12.31 trillion for the current financial year.

Forex
The Indian rupee snapped a three-session streak of record lows on Tuesday and edged slightly higher as traders assessed mixed signals from Washington and Tehran on a possible easing of Middle East tensions.

The currency rose 0.1% to close at 93.8650 against the dollar, compared with 93.9750 in the previous session. Even so, the rupee has weakened about 4% so far in 2026, with most of the losses coming in March as oil prices surged and foreign investors pulled money out of domestic equities.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs have trimmed growth forecasts for India, while markets have started pricing in tighter monetary conditions, although economists say some of the reaction may be excessive.

Brent crude prices remained above $100 per barrel on Tuesday, though well below Monday’s peak of $114. Still, the risk-off sentiment seen through March is unlikely to reverse meaningfully unless there is clear progress towards a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

Crypto
Bitcoin climbed about 4% in the past 24 hours to around $71,000, outperforming gold even as Middle East tensions persisted and US equity futures remained weak. The move suggests short-covering rather than a broad-based shift towards risk assets.

More than $550 million in liquidations were recorded during the rally, largely from short positions. At the same time, open interest has declined, indicating that the gains are not being driven by fresh leveraged participation but by traders closing bearish bets.

Altcoins also showed relative strength, although sentiment remains cautious. Weakness in the decentralised finance segment and fading momentum in memecoins continue to limit broader confidence across the market.

During Asian trading hours, artificial intelligence-linked tokens outperformed. Bittensor and FET gained 5.8% and 4.1%, respectively, after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said artificial general intelligence, defined as AI that matches human cognitive ability, has already been achieved.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures edged lower on Tuesday, pausing after a sharp rebound on Wall Street driven by optimism around a possible easing of tensions between Washington and Tehran. Futures linked to the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 each slipped about 0.1%.

Oil prices fell initially on hopes that hostilities could ease, but later recovered as tensions between Iran and the US–Israeli alliance continued. West Texas Intermediate crude rose around 2% to near $90 per barrel, while Brent crude edged up about 1% to just above $100.

Jefferies Financial Group rose 9% in premarket trade after reports that Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is exploring a potential takeover.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields moved higher on Tuesday as renewed volatility in oil prices and persistent Middle East tensions kept investors cautious.

The benchmark 10-year yield rose more than three basis points to around 4.37% at 4:36 a.m. ET. The 30-year yield gained over two basis points to 4.937%, while the 20-year yield climbed about three basis points to 4.968%.

The rise in yields followed a rebound in crude oil prices during Asian trading, reversing part of the sharp fall seen in the previous session. Markets had initially reacted to comments from US President Donald Trump suggesting that Washington and Tehran had held constructive discussions and that planned strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure would be paused for five days.

Still, the recovery in oil prices indicates that investors remain unconvinced that tensions will ease quickly. Iranian officials have denied that any talks have taken place, keeping geopolitical risk elevated and adding to uncertainty in bond markets.

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