Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- settled higher with gains of over one and half percent on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that the US-Iran war could end within two to three weeks. The day began on an optimistic note, as global peers staged recovery from recent losses. Meanwhile, index witnessed broad based buying across the sectors as traders opted to buy fundamentally good stocks at lower levels. Sentiments were upbeat as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the enhanced export credit period of up to 450 days for pre-shipment and post-shipment finance for disbursals made till June 30, citing continued logistical disruptions due to the ongoing West Asia crisis. Further, some encouragement came with the government data showing that Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a 5.2% (Quick Estimate) year-on-year growth in February 2026, which is slightly higher than 5.1% growth in the month of January 2026. Afterwards, market trimmed some of its gains but continued its firm trade in green till the end of the session. Finally, Nifty ended above 22,650 mark.
Most of the sectorial indices ended in green led by PSU Bank, Media, and Chemicals. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Cochin Shipyard and Bharat Dynamics. On the other hand, the top losers were Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Ashok Leyland and Blue Star. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 22900 - 23100 calls and 22900 - 23100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
