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Key gauges extend losses as AI fears deepen
Feb-13-2026

Indian equity benchmarks tumbled over a percent on Friday due to across-the-board selloff, especially in Metal, Basic Materials and Realty stocks, tracking sluggish global markets. Investors fretted over the impact of artificial intelligence on various sectors. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

New CPI series to improve quality of data used in formulating monetary, fiscal policies: After the government released the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with base 2024=100 instead of 2012=100, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has said the new series will improve the quality of data used in formulating monetary and fiscal policies.

India will get similar garment duty privileges as Bangladesh in US trade deal: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India will receive preferential duty access for garments made using American yarn and cotton under its trade agreement with the US, much like the benefits currently granted to Bangladesh.

India-US joint statement remains basis for interim trade agreement: India said its joint statement with the US remains the basis for a proposed interim trade agreement, and that the amendments in a White House fact sheet reflect the shared understandings.

Power stocks remain in watch: Union Minister Shripad Naik said legacy dues in the power sector have been brought down from Rs 1.40 lakh crore in June 2022 to just Rs 4,109 crore in February, supported by the government's initiatives. 

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green despite a sell-off on Wall Street overnight amid growing concerns about artificial-intelligence disruptions. Asian markets settled lower as investors fretted over the impact of artificial intelligence on various sectors and looked to U.S. CPI data later in the day for clues on when the Federal Reserve might cut rates. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 1048.16 points or 1.25% to 82,626.76 and the CNX Nifty was down by 336.10 points or 1.30% to 25,471.10.     

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 83,079.70 and 82,534.55 respectively. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 3.21%, Basic Materials down by 2.27%, Realty down by 2.27%, Utilities down by 2.26% and Energy down by 1.94%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.43% and SBI up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 4.35%, Eternal down by 4.16%, Tata Steel down by 2.35%, Titan Company down by 2.23% and TCS down by 2.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India will receive preferential duty access for garments made using American yarn and cotton under its trade agreement with the US, much like the benefits currently granted to Bangladesh. The US will lower reciprocal tariffs on Bangladeshi goods to 19 per cent, with garments qualifying for zero duty only if they are made using US cotton and man-made fibers.

A Bangladeshi garment now faces a 31 per cent levy (12 per cent for most-favoured nation plus 19 per cent reciprocal), and if it uses US fibres, then duty falls to 12 per cent. He mentioned if an Indian company procures yarn forward and cotton forward from the US, manufactures garments, and re-exports to the US, those garments will also receive duty-free access in America, just like Bangladeshi firms. He said that is there in that US-Bangladesh agreement, and it will be in India-US agreement also. He added that it will not have any impact on Indian cotton farmers. 

Further, he said that cotton production in the US is constrained, with exports amounting to only $5 million, while India's target stands at $50 billion. In trade agreements, ‘yarn forward’ and ‘cotton forward’ are rules of origin (RoO) requiring specific production steps within the free trade area (FTA) to qualify for duty-free benefits, ensuring the final apparel uses materials sourced from FTA partners, boosting regional manufacturing. The benefit for the apparel sector will flow after India and the US sign the legal agreement for an interim trade deal by mid-March.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,630.35 and 25,444.30 respectively. There were 5 stocks advancing against 45 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 3.09%, Eicher Motors up by 1.56%, SBI Life Insurance up by 0.84%, SBI up by 0.33% and Cipla up by 0.13%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 6.08%, Hindustan Unilever down by 4.34%, Eternal down by 4.30%, Adani Enterprises down by 3.83% and ONGC down by 3.20% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 3.01 points or 0.03% to 10,405.45 and Germany’s DAX gained 5.41 points or 0.02% to 24,858.10, while France’s CAC fell 39.76 points or 0.48% to 8,300.80.

Asian markets settled lower on Friday following Wall Street’s fall overnight as investors fretted over the impact of artificial intelligence on various sectors. Meanwhile, investors were awaited for release of US CPI data for clues on US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Japanese closed lower as technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group plummeted nearly 9% on AI-related concerns. China's Shanghai Composite declined ahead of next week's extended market holiday for the Lunar New Year. Taiwan market was remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday from February 12 to February 20, 2026.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,082.07

-51.95

-1.26

Hang Seng

26,567.12

-465.42

-1.72

Jakarta Composite

8,212.27

-53.08

-0.65

KLSE Composite

1,739.54

-11.31

-0.65

Nikkei 225

56,941.97

-697.87

-1.21

Straits Times

4,937.78

-78.98

-1.57

KOSPI Composite

5,507.01

-15.26

-0.28

Taiwan Weighted

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