Markets log third-worst weekly fall of 2026; Nifty IT sees sharp February decline

The equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty ended lower for the week, marking its third-worst weekly fall in 2026. All major indices closed in the red. Benchmark indices declined nearly 2% during the week, while the Midcap index and Nifty Bank fell nearly 1% each.

The fall in blue-chip stocks deepened after the Nifty 50 slipped below its 200-day moving average. With the latest downturn, all gains recorded after the Union Budget 2026 have been wiped out.

Nifty Realty and Nifty IT were the worst-performing sectoral indices for the week, dropping over 4% each. The Nifty IT index fell over 19% in February, posting its worst monthly performance since September 2008. Bharti Airtel declined 5% during the week, its biggest weekly fall since December 2024.

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Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Trent and Wipro were among the top Nifty losers. UPL, IDFC First Bank, Coforge, IRCTC and KPIT Tech were the top Midcap losers, while Mankind, Bank of Maharashtra, Polycab, Bharat Forge and Bandhan Bank were the top Midcap gainers.

Market At Close

At close, the market saw a broad-based fall, with all major indices declining over 1% each. The Nifty fell below 25,200, dragged by financial heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, along with Bharti Airtel.

The Sensex fell over 950 points, with 27 of its 30 constituents closing in the red. Forty-five Nifty stocks ended lower, with Sun Pharma, M&M, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Bharti Airtel among the top losers.

The Sensex fell 961 points to 81,287, and the Nifty declined 318 points to 25,179. Nifty Bank slipped 659 points to 60,529, while the Midcap index dropped 683 points to 59,116. Except for Nifty IT, all sectoral indices closed lower, with realty and capital market stocks among the top losers.

From the Sensex basket, HCL Technologies Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Trent Ltd and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd were the major gainers. Bharti Airtel Ltd, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, Grasim Industries Ltd and Bajaj Finserv Ltd were the biggest laggards.

Vishal Mega Mart dropped nearly 8% after 14.2% equity worth ₹7,915 crore changed hands via a block deal. Tata Motors’ commercial vehicle business rose over 3% after CLSA initiated coverage with an ‘Outperform’ rating.

L&T Finance, Tata Communications, Godrej Properties and Phoenix Mills were among the top Midcap losers. Sarda Energy gained 7% after the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by unsuccessful bidders for the SKS Power acquisition. Dixon Technologies emerged as the top Midcap gainer, rising over 4% in trade.

Market breadth remained firmly in favour of declines, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 1:2.