Indian benchmark indices continued to trade higher in late afternoon session as global crude oil prices cooled off to trade below $92 per barrel mark. The fall in crude oil prices came after US President Donald Trump said he was considering seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz and hinted that the West Asia conflict could over soon. Further, Association of Mutual Funds of India’s (AMFI) report showing 8% month on month growth Equity mutual funds inflows in the month of February, kept the sentiments upbeat. AMFI said Equity mutual funds attracted net inflows of Rs 25,978 crore in February amid the India-US trade deal. Besides, the Indian rupee has strengthened by 35 paise against the US dollar from its previous close of 92.21 on Monday. 

On the global front, all Asian and European equity markets were trading higher amid easing concerns over the West Asia conflict.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78099.93, up by 533.77 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 77745.47 and 78526.25. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 2.40%, Consumer Durables up by 1.88%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.59%, Bankex up by 1.55% and Basic Materials up by 1.53%, while TECK down by 0.78%, IT down by 0.63%, Oil & Gas down by 0.33% and Energy down by 0.27% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation up by 3.43%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.64%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.42%, Asian Paints up by 2.34% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.33%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.81%, Infosys down by 1.60%, TCS down by 1.12%, Reliance Industries down by 1.00% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.00% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik has said that India’s inter-regional transmission capacity is projected to reach 143 gigawatt (GW) by 2027 and further increase to 168 GW by 2032 to ensure reliable electricity flow nationwide. As of January 2026, the country’s the inter-regional transmission capacity stood at 120 GW and there is currently no transmission constraint existing at the national level in India. 

The minister said the capacity of the National Grid is expanded on a continuous basis, commensurate with the growth in electricity generation and electricity demand. By 2032, the country's peak electricity demand is projected to reach 388 GW. Under National Electricity Plan (NEP) (Volume-II Transmission), the transmission network (220kV and above) is projected to expand to 6.48 lakh circuit kilometer (ckm) with transformation capacity increasing to 2,345 Giga Volt Ampere (GVA) by 2031-32. 

He further said that there are delays in several inter-state transmission system (ISTS) projects due to right-of-way (RoW) issues. He noted that electricity is a concurrent subject, and the planning, development and operation of the intra-state power grid and transmission infrastructure is primarily the responsibility of state governments. Delays due to Right of Way (RoW) issues have affected the project timeline of as many as 25 ISTS projects. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24215.15, up by 187.10 points or 0.78% after trading in a range of 24079.95 and 24303.80. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 6.86%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles up by 3.64%, Interglobe Aviation up by 3.36%, Eicher Motors up by 3.06% and SBI Life Insurance Company up by 2.73%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.85%, Infosys down by 1.63%, TCS down by 1.04%, Reliance Industries down by 1.02% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.91% were the top losers.

All Asian equity markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 1457.28 points or 2.69% to 54,186.00, Taiwan Weighted added 661.45 points or 2.02% to 32,771.87, Hang Seng advanced 561.54 points or 2.16% to 25,970.00, KOSPI increased 280.72 points or 5.07% to 5,532.59, Straits Times rose 103.33 points or 2.13% to 4,859.94, Shanghai Composite strengthened 26.54 points or 0.64% to 4,123.14 and Jakarta Composite gained 108 points or 1.45% to 7,445.37.

All European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 165.29 points or 1.59% to 10,414.81, France’s CAC rose 139.64 points or 1.76% to 8,055.00 and Germany’s DAX gained 507.63 points or 2.12% to 23,917.00.