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Key indices end higher on fag-end buying
Feb-18-2026

Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains for the third straight session on Wednesday, driven by last-hour buying in Metal, FMCG and Capital Goods shares. Markets sentiment was also supported by renewed buying interest from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). On Tuesday, FIIs turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 995.21 crore, according to exchange data. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

India, France elevate ties to special global strategic partnership: India and France have elevated their bilateral ties to a Special Global Strategic Partnership, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing the relationship as a force for global stability amid rising geopolitical turbulence. 

Sitharaman holds talks with Norway finance minister on renewable collaboration: Nirmala Sitharaman has held talks with Norway Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg on potential collaboration in renewable energy, especially on solar power, rare earth processing, and carbon capture and storage. 

Govt invested in creating indigenous AI technology to address issue of bias: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary, S Krishnan, has said that the government invested in creating indigenous and sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) models to address bias and to ensure that India has AI systems trained primarily on Indian data.

Reserve Bank proposes easing foreign exchange transaction norms: The Reserve Bank has proposed greater flexibility to authorised persons to undertake foreign exchange transactions for hedging their exposures, balance sheet management and market-making, as well as to ease reporting obligations, after a review of the current regulations.

Global front: European markets were trading higher as geopolitical tensions eased, and investors reacted to reports of a leadership change at the European Central Bank. Asian markets settled higher in thin holiday trade as Iran-U.S. nuclear talks showed progress.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 283.29 points or 0.34% to 83,734.25 and the CNX Nifty was up by 93.95 points or 0.37% to 25,819.35.      

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 83,770.05 and 83,163.62 respectively. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.24%, FMCG up by 1.16%, Capital Goods up by 0.89%, Industrials up by 0.80% and Basic Materials up by 0.78%, while IT down by 1.11% and TECK down by 0.68% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.90%, ITC up by 2.21%, Axis Bank up by 1.51%, Reliance Industries up by 1.30% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.53%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.34%, Infosys down by 1.27%, HCL Technologies down by 1.06% and Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.00% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid increasing geopolitical disturbances, India and France have elevated their ties to a ‘special global strategic partnership’ with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron undertaking significant ramp up of bilateral cooperation in areas of defence, trade and technology. The two leaders also virtually inaugurated an assembly line in Karnataka’s Vemagal to build Airbus H125 helicopters.

Modi said ‘We take pride in the fact that, together, India and France will manufacture in India the world’s only helicopter capable of flying to the heights of Mount Everest and export it to the entire world’. He added ‘The year 2026 is a turning point in the relations between India and Europe. Just a few days ago, we signed the largest and most ambitious Free Trade Agreement in India’s history with the European Union’. He described India-France relationship as a force for global stability.

Recently, India and France had inked an intergovernmental agreement to procure 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 64,000 crore for the Indian Navy. India is procuring the jets from French defence major Dassault Aviation for deployment on board aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The delivery of the jets will have to start around five years after signing of the contract.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,828.05 and 25,645.15 respectively. There were 31 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kwality Wall's (India) up by 4.97%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.39%, Tata Steel up by 2.84%, ITC up by 2.21% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.81%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 1.64%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.56%, Eternal down by 1.56%, Infosys down by 1.38% and Adani Enterprises down by 1.33% and were the top losers. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 111.48 points or 1.06% to 10,667.65, France’s CAC rose 44.96 points or 0.54% to 8,361.46 and Germany’s DAX gained 197.49 points or 0.79% to 24,998.40.

Japanese and Indonesian markets settled higher on Wednesday, tracking Wall Streets’ marginal gains overnight, although regional trading volumes were light as most markets in Asia stayed closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. Reports of progress in the US-Iran nuclear negotiations have eased concerns over potential energy supply disruptions, leading to a stabilization in oil prices and improved investor risk appetite in the market. Japan’s Nikkei surged after Washington's confirmation of the first $36 billion tranche of Japan's $550 billion US investment pledge tied to a tariff deal. Separate set of data showed Japan's exports surged in January and business confidence improved in February, offering cautious relief for policymakers seeking to stabilize a stuttering economy. Meanwhile, investors awaited the release of key US economic data as well as the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting for signals on future interest rate cuts.

Nikkei settled up by 577.35 points or 1.02% to 57,143.84, and Jakarta Composite Index closed higher by 97.96 points 1.18% to 8,310.23.
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