The Indian equity benchmark rose for the third day in a row on Wednesday, boosted by hints of progress in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks. The majority of global equities markets reacted positively to Russia's pledge that its military operations near Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, and adjacent cities will be scaled back.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 740 points, or 1.28 percent, to close at 58,684, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 173 points, or 1 percent, to 17,498. Mid- and small-cap stocks ended the day on a high note, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index falling 0.85 percent and small-cap stocks rising 0.97 percent.

The NSE’s 15 sector gauges closed the day with 11 of them in the green. Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Bank both exceeded the index, climbing 1.96 percent and 1.36 percent, respectively, to surpass the index.  HDFC Life was the highest Nifty gainer, jumping 3.50 percent to 541.30. Other gainers were Bajaj Finserv, Tata Consumer Products, Bajaj Finance, and PowerGrid.

Top gainers included Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finserv, M&M, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, HDFC, ICICI Bank, and Nestle India.Tata Consumer Products gained 3 percent to 765.50 after announcing that company would merge with Tata Coffee. Tata Coffee's stock rose by 8.54 percent to 213.ITC, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Wipro, and IndusInd Bank, on the other hand, finished in the red.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) shares fell 5.38 percent to 161.80 after the company said the government will sell up to 1.5 percent of its stock.

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