HOME > MARKETS > MARKET COMMENTARY
  MARKET COMMENTARY
EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
Feb-19-2026

Indian equity benchmarks closed sharply lower on Thursday, with both the Nifty and Sensex snapping three-day winning streak, amid profit booking at higher levels. Despite making a positive start, soon indices slipped into red, weighed down by escalating US-Iran tensions and broad-based selling across sectors. In afternoon session, heavy selling dragged markets to end near day’s low points.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India’s retail inflation to rise to 4.3% in FY27: 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.  

India on track to become world’s third-largest economy by 2027: Traders paid no head towards reports that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027 and is working towards building a $30-35 trillion economy by 2047. 

RBI mandates UTI for all OTC derivatives trades: Traders took note of 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: European equity markets were trading in red amid increase in tension between Iran and United State. Asian markets ended higher following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 82498.14, down by 1236.11 points or 1.48% after trading in a range of 82264.20 and 83979.36. All 31 stocks were declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.54%, Power down by 2.22%, Capital Goods down by 2.18%, Auto down by 2.09%, and Consumer Disc down by 1.91%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices. (Provisional)

The top losers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation down by 3.26%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.97%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.90%, Trent down by 2.89% and Bharat Electronics down by 2.78%, while there were no gainers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, citing a strong demand, improved profitability, and strategic capex as key drivers, rating agency India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has retained a neutral outlook for the corporate healthcare sector in FY27. 

According to the report, the sector is expected to witness 13%-14% annual sales growth in FY26-FY27, on the back of new bed additions, strong average revenue per occupied bed (ARPOB), better case mix, higher occupancy, shorter average length of stay, and broad-based demand. 

The report titled ‘FY27 Corporate Healthcare Outlook: Demand and Profitability Stay Strong amid Rising Consolidation’ has also highlighted additional sector tailwinds including rising healthcare needs, a focus on complex surgeries, increased insurance penetration, medical tourism, operational efficiencies, and periodic price hikes.

The CNX Nifty ended at 25454.35, down by 365.00 points or 1.41% after trading in a range of 25388.75 and 25885.30. There were 3 stocks advancing against 48 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The few gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 3.80%, Hindalco up by 0.71% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 3.32%, Bharat Electronics down by 2.93%, Trent down by 2.90%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.80% and Ultratech Cement down by 2.79% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; France’s CAC fell 70.63 points or 0.84% to 8,358.40, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 65.08 points or 0.61% to 10,621.10 and Germany’s DAX lost 203.61 points or 0.81% to 25,074.60.

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Thursday even as regional trading volumes stayed thin amid the Lunar New Year holidays in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Market sentiments were underpinned by Wall Streets’ gains overnight led by computer chip giant Nvidia. Rebound in technology shares, cooling concerns over artificial intelligence disruption, and a slew of upbeat US economic data have also supported market sentiments. Japanese shares advanced after a sharp depreciation in the yen, which improves the earnings outlook for the country’s export-driven sectors. The rally in Japanese stocks was also sparked by a historic 19.1% surge in core machinery orders for December 2025, the strongest monthly gain since records began in 2005. South Korea's benchmark surpassed the 5,600-point mark for the first time, led by heavyweight semiconductor names. 

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

--

--

--

Hang Seng

--

--

--

Jakarta Composite

8,274.08

-36.15

-0.44

KLSE Composite

1,752.11

10.85

0.62

Nikkei 225

57,467.83

323.99

0.57

Straits Times

5,001.56

62.98

1.28

KOSPI Composite

5,677.25

170.24

3.09

Taiwan Weighted

--

--

--
  RELATED NEWS >>
Most Viewed >>
EXPLORE
© CITRUS INTERACTIVE
Designed & Developed Accord Fintech Pvt. Ltd.