Equities End Higher for Second Day Led by IT, Banks

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

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By Dehuti Jani

February 17, 2026 at 11:45 AM IST

Indian equity benchmark indices edged higher on Tuesday, recovering from early losses as gains in IT and PSU bank stocks outweighed weakness in select heavyweights such as Reliance Industries. The Nifty50 rose 0.17% to 25,725.40, while the BSE Sensex advanced 0.21% to 83,450.96, after both indices had slipped nearly 0.4% in early trade.

IT shares rallied around 1%, supported by Infosys’ 1.9% gain following its partnership announcement with Anthropic, while the Nifty PSU Bank index surged over 2%. In the Sensex pack, ITC, BEL, Infosys, L&T, Asian Paints and Titan led gains, rising up to 2.3%. On the downside, Eternal, Trent, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, M&M and Bajaj Finserv declined up to 1.5%. Broader markets remained firm, with the Nifty MidCap and SmallCap indices gaining 0.27% and 0.56%, respectively, even as metal stocks stayed under pressure.

Top Movers of the Day

Infosys rallied more than 5% to near ₹1,760 following a strategic collaboration with Anthropic to develop industry-specific AI agents, beginning with telecom.

Reliance Industries rose around 2% to ₹2,980 levels after value buying emerged in heavyweight stocks, aiding the benchmark rebound.

HDFC Bank gained nearly 2.5% to trade around ₹1,660, snapping its recent losing streak and providing strong support to the Sensex.

Fractal Analytics slipped about 4–5% to near ₹855, extending losses after its recent weak listing, as investors remained cautious on rich valuations.

BSE Ltd declined up to 6% to around ₹4,350 after regulatory changes on capital market exposure norms weighed on sentiment for exchange-linked stocks.

Angel One dropped nearly 8% to around ₹2,450 following the RBI’s tighter norms impacting broker funding models.

MCX fell about 5% to trade near ₹2,650 amid concerns over the revised capital exposure framework.

Axis Bank climbed close to 3% to ₹1,210 levels, tracking strength in private banking counters.

Tech Mahindra eased about 1–1.5% to near ₹1,260, continuing weakness in IT stocks amid AI disruption concerns.

Maruti Suzuki slipped nearly 1% to around ₹11,800, as auto stocks saw selective profit booking.

Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals rose 6% intraday to around ₹680 after ICICI Securities raised its target price, implying a 38.5% upside from current levels.

ITC Ltd jumped over 3% to around ₹330, marking its second straight day of gains, after reports of a cigarette price hike; volumes remained elevated with over 28 million shares traded on the NSE.

Adani Enterprises advanced 3% to an intra-day high of ₹2,252.60 on the BSE after committing $100 billion towards renewable-powered, AI-ready data centres by 2035.

Ola Electric declined 5% to a fresh low of ₹27.36 on the BSE amid growth concerns, extending its four-session losing streak.

Aye Finance climbed 9.22% to a record high of ₹140.80 on the NSE, a day after its flat listing post the ₹1,010-crore IPO.

Futures & Options
Nifty February 2026 futures closed at 25,736, a premium of 10.6 points over the spot Nifty, which settled 42.65 points or 0.17% higher at 25,725.40 in the cash market. The modest premium indicated limited build-up of aggressive long positions. The NSE India VIX declined 4.93% to 12.67, reflecting easing near-term volatility expectations. Infosys, HDFC Bank and ITC were the most actively traded stock futures in the F&O segment. The February 2026 derivative contracts are set to expire on 24 February 2026.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields were broadly steady on Tuesday, with the benchmark 6.48% 2035 bond yield easing to 6.6600% from 6.6642% in the previous session, extending its decline of over 10 basis points across the last five trading days. The move reflects sustained demand in longer-duration papers, although gains remained capped as traders positioned of the sizeable ₹379 billion state government bond auction held today. Market participants continue to monitor supply dynamics closely, with expectations that elevated state issuances could limit further downside in yields in the near term.

Forex
The rupee ended Tuesday nearly unchanged at 90.6725 per dollar, compared with 90.65 in the previous session, as intermittent intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped slow its drift toward the key 91-per-dollar level. Tepid global risk sentiment and steady hedging demand from importers kept the currency mildly pressured, even after its recovery from near-record lows around 92 following the India–US trade deal announcement earlier this month.

Crypto
Crypto market traded with mixed but largely stable momentum. Bitcoin held above the key $68,000 support level despite minor profit-taking. The world’s largest cryptocurrency hovered around the $68,000–$69,000 range, helping stabilise broader sentiment across digital assets. Ethereum presented a more nuanced picture. Ethereum is down around 1% today, dropping below $2,000 to trade at $1,997-$2,000.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures drifted lower on Tuesday, led by renewed weakness in technology shares as lingering AI-related concerns weighed on sentiment and pointed to another subdued session on Wall Street. S&P 500 futures declined around 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6%, reflecting continued pressure in growth-heavy names. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.1%, indicating comparatively milder weakness in value-oriented stocks.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury 10-year yield eased toward 4% on Tuesday, marking its lowest level since early December, as last week’s softer inflation data reinforced expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year. However, stronger-than-expected payroll growth and a surprise dip in the unemployment rate signalled a stabilising labour market, tempering aggressive easing bets. Investors are now focused on the Fed’s latest meeting minutes, advance GDP data, and the core PCE index for further direction.

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