New Delhi, March 18 -- Perplexing market participants, the Indian stock market witnessed healthy buying across segments in intraday trade on Wednesday, 18 March, despite a raging war in the Middle East, elevated crude oil prices, and the rupee's weakness.

The Sensex rose more than 700 points, or nearly 1%, to an intraday high of 76,775, while the Nifty 50 jumped to the day's high of 23,791, rising over 200 points, or 1%. The mid and small-cap indices on the BSE rose by up to 2% during the session.

The Sensex and the Nifty are up for the third consecutive session. Over these three sessions, the 30-share pack has gained more than 2,200 points, or 3%, while the NSE counterpart has jumped nearly 650 points, or almost 3%.

The overall market...