Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began the trade on a negative territory on Wednesday (February 18, 2026), tracking losses in IT and Services stocks in a volatile session.
After a bearish start, the 30-share BSE Sensex further declined 247.92 points, or 0.30%, to 83,203.04.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 70.25 points, or 0.27%, to 25,655.15.
Among the Sensex constituents, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki India, Asian Paints, Trent, HDFC Bank, IndiGo, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank were the major laggards.
On the other hand, ITC, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Bharat Electronics Ltd, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharmaceutical and Bajaj Finance were the gainers.
"The volatility in IT stocks may continue, in response to incoming news relating to the sector. Overall, IT stocks may remain weak since uncertainty surrounding the sector is huge and large institutional investors are unlikely to invest big time in IT stocks, unless valuations become compelling," V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He added that there can be churns away from IT towards other sectors like banking and financials, automobiles, telecom, pharmaceuticals etc where there is good earnings visibility.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was trading over 1% higher. Markets in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea remained closed for trading on account of Lunar New Year holidays.
The U.S. equities market ended higher in overnight deals on Tuesday (February 17, 2026).
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹995.21 crore on Tuesday (February 17, 2026), while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth ₹187.04 crore, according to the exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.22% to $67.59 per barrel.
On Tuesday (February 17, 2026), the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 173.81 points to close at 83,450.96. The 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 42.65 points to settle at 25,725.40.
