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Key gauges continue to trade lower in morning deals
Feb-19-2026

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, amid selling pressure in Power, Realty and Utilities stocks. Traders remained cautious as Crisil’s report stated that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation or retail inflation is likely to rise to around 4.3% in fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) from an estimated 2.5% for FY26. Traders overlooked the report stated that India and Canada are likely to finalise terms of reference for initiating talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) during the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to India next month. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI) will become mandatory for all direct private trades in rupee interest rate and foreign currency derivatives from January 1, 2027.  On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from Wall Street, where traders welcomed strong US data that suggested the world's top economy remained in rude health.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83442.46, down by 291.79 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 83431.10 and 83979.36. There were 7 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.74%, TECK up by 0.29% and Healthcare up by 0.06%, while Power down by 1.03%, Realty down by 0.83%, Utilities down by 0.83%, Capital Goods down by 0.79% and Consumer Durables down by 0.75% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.28%, Infosys up by 1.00%, HCL Technologies up by 0.90%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.39% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.23%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.00%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.09%, Trent down by 1.05%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.95% and NTPC down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has said that the integration of AI-driven technologies can help to manage the stability of the grid in India, where capacities are being added on a large scale. Joshi stated that projects are being added in gigawatts. He mentioned that during solar hours, generation can fluctuate; sometimes it peaks, but weather changes can also cause it to drop.

Talking about the scope for AI in the clean energy space, he said grid stability will become an issue at that time. He noted ‘Wind does not blow always and sun does not shine the entire 24 hours. Keeping that in mind, so when more generation is happening, when less generation is happening, and how we should manage our grid. For this technology, this AI-driven technology, a digital twin can be of help.’

Moreover, he stated that the sector is experiencing challenges related to curtailment. Curtailment means the reduction of energy output from wind or solar sources, preventing the clean energy from being fed into the grid. Additionally, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has also stated that by the end of this decade, with solar and wind, the share of variable renewables is expected to be sizeable by the end of this decade, and AI could assist in managing the complexities of the power sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25754.05, down by 65.30 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 25741.90 and 25885.30. There were 15 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 1.57%, Infosys up by 1.33%, TCS up by 1.19%, HCL Technologies up by 0.89% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.94%, JSW Steel down by 1.29%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.07%, Trent down by 1.07% and NTPC down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 433.16 points or 0.76% to 57,577.00, KOSPI increased 148.88 points or 2.7% to 5,655.89 and Straits Times rose 54.05 points or 1.09% to 4,992.63. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 3.47 points or 0.04% to 8,306.76.
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