Indian equity benchmarks ended on a mixed note on February 26, as profit booking in select banking heavyweights capped gains in autos, pharma and telecom stocks.
The Sensex fell 27 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 82,248.61, while the Nifty 50 rose 14 points, or 0.06 percent, to settle at 25,496.55.
Broader markets outperformed, signalling continued appetite for mid and small cap stocks.
• Sensex: 82,248.61 (down 27 points)
• Nifty 50: 25,496.55 (up 14 points)
• BSE 150 MidCap Index: up 0.55 percent
• BSE 250 SmallCap Index: up 0.07 percent
• Market capitalisation: rises to ₹468 lakh-crore from ₹467 lakh-crore
• Investor wealth: up nearly ₹1 lakh-crore in one session
• Gains in Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and State Bank of India were offset by losses in HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Eternal.
• Lack of fresh domestic triggers kept sentiment subdued.
• Investors remained cautious ahead of US–Iran nuclear talks.
• Key data awaited: US initial jobless claims and India’s GDP print.
• Profit booking in banking stocks erased early gains.
• Tata Motors (Passenger Vehicles): up 2.54 percent
• Eicher Motors: up 2.27 percent
• Bharat Electronics: up 2.22 percent
Auto and defence-linked stocks saw strong buying interest.
• Trent: down 1.68 percent
• Eternal: down 1.48 percent
• Coal India: down 1.16 percent
Banking and select consumption names weighed on the indices.
Gainers
• Nifty Pharma: up over 1 percent
• Nifty Healthcare: up over 1 percent
• Nifty PSU Bank: up nearly 1 percent
• Nifty Auto: up nearly 1 percent
• Nifty Bank: up 0.24 percent to 61,187.70
Losers
• Nifty Media: down 0.68 percent
• Nifty FMCG: down 0.16 percent
• Nifty Financial Services: down 0.11 percent
Most active stocks by volume (NSE)
• Vodafone Idea: 42.8 crore shares
• YES Bank: 21.4 crore shares
• Tata Silver ETF: 20.8 crore shares
• Around 2,200 stocks advanced on the BSE
• Over 2,000 stocks declined
Breadth remained marginally positive, indicating stock-specific action despite flat headline indices.
Stocks with sharp moves (rallied over 15 percent}:
• Tejas Networks
• Sri Havisha Hospitality and Infrastructure
• Race Eco Chain
• Rudra Global Infra Products
• Xtglobal Infotech
• Tarmat
Those fell over 15 percent:
• R M Drip and Sprinklers Systems
• Sirohia & Sons
• TGIF Agribusiness
Overall, the session reflected consolidation in frontline indices after recent swings, while mid and small cap segments continued to show relative resilience.