Indian markets continued to trade higher in early afternoon session following positive cues from other Asian markets. Globally, traders paid close attention towards U.S. Fed’s interest-rate decision later in the day. Investors were hoping that Fed will leave interest rates unchanged. Traders took note of report that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has held high-level talks with his counterparts from the 27 member states of the European Union in Brussels, discussing its ripple effects on global energy security. Both sides underlined the need for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis.  Sector wise, sugar stocks remained in limelight as ISMA has said that India’s sugar production rose 10.49% to 26.21 million tonne as of March 15 in the ongoing 2025-26 marketing year. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher as U.S. Fed scheduled to announce its interest-rate decision later in the day. Meanwhile, Japan posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of 57.296 billion yen in February. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76690.79, up by 619.95 points or 0.81% after trading in a range of 76187.92 and 76929.30. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.71%, TECK up by 3.03%, Telecom up by 2.28%, Realty up by 2.05% and Consumer discretionary was up by 1.85%, while Metal down by 0.13% was the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 4.00%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.90%, HCL Tech up by 3.69%, Eternal up by 3.07% and TCS up by 2.99%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.15%, HDFC Bank down by 0.75%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.60%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.20% and Tata Steel down by 0.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the domestic production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is being ramped up to ensure a consistent supply of cooking gas to households, amid disruptions linked to the West Asia crisis. India imports about 60 percent of its LPG consumption and out of these imports about 90 percent come through the Strait of Hormuz. 

The minister said the West Asia crisis has come up with a new challenge, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus towards self-reliance and increasing production to meet India's basic demands has helped the country. On March 8, 2026, the government issued an order directing refineries and petrochemical complexes to maximise LPG production by diverting propane, butane, propylene and butenes streams to the LPG pool. As a result of these measures, domestic LPG production has increased by about 25 percent and the entire domestic LPG production is being directed towards household consumers.  

She said ‘so to ensure that households don't suffer, not only are there steady streams of shipping lines coming in, but domestically we have also ramped up the capacity for production of the LPG, diverting from other hydrocarbon material to LPG production. As a result, domestic supplies will be adequately streamlined, and supplies will remain steady’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23781.45, up by 200.30 points or 0.85% after trading in a range of 23618.45 and 23835.95. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 4.04%, Tech Mahindra up by 4.04%, HCL Tech up by 3.74%, JIO Financial up by 3.37% and Eternal up by 3.12%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 2.50%, NTPC down by 1.08%, Cipla down by 0.87%, HDFC Bank down by 0.59% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.54% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 1405.61 points or 2.55% to 55,106.00, Taiwan Weighted added 512.01 points or 1.49% to 34,348.58, KOSPI increased 284.55 points or 4.8% to 5,925.03, Hang Seng advanced 207.46 points or 0.8% to 26,076.00, Straits Times rose 64.17 points or 1.3% to 5,000.14 and Shanghai Composite was up by 12.88 points or 0.32% to 4,062.79.