The Indian equity benchmarks extended gains on Wednesday mirroring gains in global markets as hopes rose for a negotiated end to the Ukraine conflict. The Sensex rose as much as 704 points and Nifty 50 index reclaimed its important psychological level of 17,500 led by gains in heavyweights like HDFC, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel.