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Indices trade slightly in green in late morning deals
Feb-17-2026

Domestic equity indices altered between positive and negative territory and were trading slightly in green in late morning deals on account of buying in IT and TECK industries related stocks. Some support came in as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said a team of Indian officials will visit the U.S. next week to finalise the legal text for an interim trade agreement, which is likely to be signed in March. However, gains remained limited as the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 972.13 crore on Monday. On the global front, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading lower, while most markets in Asia were closed for Lunar New Year holidays. Back home, in the stock specific development, Infosys surged after the company announced a strategic collaboration with Anthropic, an AI safety and research company. The partnership aims to develop and deliver advanced enterprise AI solutions to companies across telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, and software development.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83393.34, up by 116.19 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 82987.43 and 83523.22. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.01%, TECK up by 1.27%, Consumer Durables up by 0.74%, Industrials up by 0.67% and FMCG up by 0.64%, while Metal down by 1.53%, Oil & Gas down by 0.95%, Energy down by 0.86%, Realty down by 0.72% and Basic Materials down by 0.55% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 3.21%, ITC up by 2.26%, HCL Technologies up by 2.01%, Asian Paints up by 1.76% and Bharat Electronics up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 2.15%, Tata Steel down by 1.43%, Reliance Industries down by 1.10%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.05% and Trent down by 1.04% were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India’s merchandise exports rose marginally by 0.61 per cent to $36.56 billion in January 2026 as compared to $36.34 billion in January 2025. Merchandise imports rose 19.2 per cent - the highest so far this fiscal - to a three-month high of $71.24 billion in January 2026 as compared to $59.77 billion recorded a year ago, driven by a sharp rise in inbound shipments of gold and silver due to higher prices. As a result, trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) widened to a three-month high of $34.68 billion in January 2026 from $23.43 billion a year ago. 

According to the data, cumulatively, merchandise exports during April-January 2025-26 were $366.63 billion as compared to $358.75 billion during April-January 2024-25. Merchandise imports during April-January 2025-26 were $649.86 billion as compared to $606.13 billion during April-January 2024-25. Merchandise trade deficit during April-January 2025-26 was $283.23 billion as compared to $247.38 billion during April-January 2024-25.  

Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in January 2026 were $30.47 billion as compared to $29.86 billion in January 2025. Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in April-January 2025-26 were $297.41 billion, compared to $281.59 billion in April-January 2024-25. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in January 2026 were $42.56 billion compared to $41.53 billion in January 2025. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in April-January 2025-26 were $414.52 billion, compared to $381.21 billion in April-January 2024-25.   

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25688.00, up by 5.25 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 25570.30 and 25730.35. There were 22 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 3.02%, HCL Technologies up by 2.20%, ITC up by 2.04%, Asian Paints up by 1.71% and Wipro up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Kwality Wall's (India) down by 3.57%, Eternal down by 2.37%, Hindalco down by 2.32%, Shriram Finance down by 2.04% and Tata Steel down by 1.42% were the top losers. 

On the global front, Nikkei 225 fell 427.41 points or 0.79% to 56,358.00.

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