The domestic equity benchmarks traded with strong gains in early afternoon trade, supported by improved sentiment after comments by U.S. President Donald Trump on the Iran conflict, a decline in crude oil prices, and other positive global cues following the recent sell-off. The Nifty traded above the 24,150 mark. Realty stocks advanced after declining in the previous two trading sessions.
At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 364.50 points or 0.47% to 77,930.66. The Nifty 50 index gained 132.95 points or 0.55% to 24,159.55.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index jumped 1.18% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index gained 1.46%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,966 shares rose and 1,026 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 14.28% to 20.03. The Nifty 30 March 2026 futures were trading at 24,235.60, at a premium of 75.8 points as compared with the spot at 23,861.90.
The Nifty option chain for the 30 March 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 44.4 lakh contracts at the 25,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 61.9 lakh contracts was seen at the 24,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Realty index rose 1.42% to 743.20. The index fell 1.93% in the past two trading sessions.
Sobha (up 2.62%), Godrej Properties (up 2.08%), Lodha Developers (up 1.53%), Anant Raj (up 1.52%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.31%), Phoenix Mills (up 1.31%), Oberoi Realty (up 1.25%), DLF (up 1.23%), SignatureGlobal India (up 1.15%) and Brigade Enterprises (up 1.06%) rose.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) jumped 13.04% after its broadband subsidiary, OneOTT Intertainment (OIL), signed an MoU with the State Transformation Commission to expand digital connectivity across Uttar Pradesh under Project GANGA.
Solex Energy rose 4.95% after the company said its solar module manufacturing capacity of 3.78 GW has been enlisted under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 1.99% after the company reported a 13.13% increase in production to 94,550 units in February 2026, compared with 83,575 units in February 2025.