New Delhi, April 17 -- Indian stock market benchmarks-the Sensex and Nifty 50-closed higher for the third straight session on Wednesday, April 16, with gains driven by major banking stocks such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank.

Despite the positive momentum, weak global cues limited the overall upside. The Sensex rose by 309 points (0.40%) to close at 77,044.29, while the Nifty 50 gained 109 points (0.47%) to end at 23,437.20.

Meanwhile, broader markets outperformed, with the BSE Midcap index climbing 0.62% and the Smallcap index advancing 0.91%.

Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking, believes that the Indian stock market sentiment has turned strong as the Nifty index further extended its gain and closed near 23,4...