New Delhi, March 19 -- Indian stocks extended their bull run for the third straight session on Wednesday, March 19, driven by gains in financials, heavyweight stocks, and value buying in beaten-down counters. Despite weak sentiment on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision, domestic markets remained resilient, driven by positive macroeconomic factors.

Barring IT and FMCG, all major sectoral indices finished the session in green, with metals garnering significant interest, driven by the 12% safeguard duty recommended by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) on the import of certain steel products to curb imports.

Against this backdrop, the Nifty 50 ended the session with a gain of 0.32%, closing at...