The markets opened lower on Thursday, 19 February 2026, after early optimism faded into profit-booking and cautious trading. The BSE Sensex fell over 100 points, while the Nifty 50 slipped under 25,800, dragged down by weakness in select IT and industrial stocks, even as metal and consumer segments showed resilience.
Tech Mahindra led the gainers with a roughly 2% rise, followed by Netweb Technologies and MCX, which benefited from strong demand in commodities. On the other hand, IndiGo and construction stocks such as NCC saw declines amid sectoral pressures and regulatory concerns. Broader market sentiment remained cautious, with retail investors gradually shifting funds from traditional bank savings into higher-yielding instruments like liquid funds.
Sectorally, metal stocks continued to outperform, with the BSE Metal Index rallying over 13% in the past three months, reflecting higher commodity prices and tight supply. Consumer and financial stocks contributed to early gains, while IT shares struggled, limiting overall upside.
Global markets presented a mixed picture. Asian benchmarks traded higher, with Nikkei 225 futures up 0.6% and Topix rising 1%, while European indices remained largely flat. Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, lifted by gains in technology and AI-related stocks, including Nvidia and Amazon.
Meanwhile, the dollar strengthened ahead of key U.S. inflation data, and oil prices eased as investors monitored U.S.-Iran diplomatic developments.
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