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 850 points, or over 1%, to an intraday high of 76,929, while the Nifty 50 jumped to the day's high of 23,836, rising over 250 points, or over 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 2,350 points, or over 3%, while the NSE counterpart has jumped nearly 700 points, or almost 3%.

The overal...