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Markets remain in red in late morning deals
Feb-18-2026

Indian equity markets remained in red and were trading marginally lower in late morning deals owing to selling in Tech Mahindra, Eternal, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Adani Ports companies’ stocks. However, losses remained capped as talks between the United States and Iran progressed, raising hopes for a de-escalation of bilateral tensions and lowering risks of supply disruptions from the Middle Eastern oil producer. Meanwhile, Nirmala Sitharaman has held talks with Norway Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg on potential collaboration in renewable energy, especially on solar power, rare earth processing, and carbon capture and storage. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Basic Materials, FMCG, Industrials and PSU, while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK, Consumer Durables, Realty, Consumer Disc.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, in the stock specific development, Dilip Buildcon surged on winning a Rs 702 crore project from Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply & Kalpasar Department, Government of Gujarat.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83323.76, down by 127.20 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 83163.62 and 83603.56. There were 16 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.08%, Basic Materials up by 0.64%, FMCG up by 0.62%, Industrials up by 0.37% and PSU up by 0.31%, while IT down by 1.71%, TECK down by 1.09%, Consumer Durables down by 0.50%, Realty down by 0.50% and Consumer Disc down by 0.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.68%, ITC up by 1.68%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.83%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.59% and Interglobe Aviation up by 0.42%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.46%, Eternal down by 2.20%, Infosys down by 1.87%, HCL Technologies down by 1.56% and Adani Ports down by 1.48% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the bilateral meeting between India and Ireland marked a significant step towards deepening cooperation in telecom and emerging digital technologies, with both countries agreeing to work closely in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) through structured engagement, exchange of best practices, capacity building, and industry linkages. They reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation, fostering innovation, enhancing digital inclusion, and boosting trade and investment between India and Ireland.

Both sides acknowledged strong complementarities between India’s scale and rapid deployment capabilities, Ireland’s research-driven innovation ecosystem, and EU-aligned regulatory architecture. The potential for structured collaboration between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Ireland’s Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), supported by academia, startups, and industry stakeholders, was emphasized.

During the meeting, the Indian side also shared experiences with key digital initiatives such as DigiLocker, which incorporates robust privacy algorithms to safeguard personal data, and Digi Yatra, enabling seamless, paperless travel experiences at airports. The Sanchar Saathi initiative and its modules, including CEIR for recovery of lost or stolen mobile devices, CIOR for blocking international spoofed calls, SPAM call alert mechanisms by operators, and ASTRA for identifying forged mobile connections, were also highlighted by the Indian side.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25688.00, down by 37.40 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 25645.15 and 25759.75. There were 27 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 2.79%, ITC up by 1.75%, Grasim Industries up by 1.02%, JSW Steel up by 0.88% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.84%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 3.15%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.45%, Eternal down by 2.13%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.99% and Wipro down by 1.93% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 770.51 points or 1.34% to 57,337.00 and Jakarta Composite gained 72.82 points or 0.88% to 8,285.09.
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