Sensex, Nifty manage to end with some gains as profit booking emerges at higher levels

The Indian equity benchmarks managed to claw back some ground on Wednesday, ending marginally in the green after a highly volatile session.

The Sensex finished with a slight gain of 50.15 points or 0.06% to settle at 82,276.07, while the Nifty 50 advanced 57.70 points or (0.23%) to close at 25,482.35.

The day began with a strong relief rally, with the Sensex surging 732 points in morning trade as global market nerves eased following a 10% universal tariff implementation in the U.S., which was less severe than the 15% rate previously feared.

However, the indices surrendered most of these intraday gains due to heavy profit booking and persistent selling in heavyweights like Reliance Industries (down 2.23%) and State Bank of India (down 1.93%).

The recovery was primarily spearheaded by the Nifty Metal index, which soared on the back of strong performances from Tata Steel (up 2.43%) and National Aluminium Company (up 5.22%). The IT sector, which had faced a brutal "Claude Code" rout in the previous session, staged a partial rebound, buoyed by value buying in Infosys (up 1.08%) and TCS (up 2.14%).

Despite the positive close for the benchmarks, the broader market sentiment remained mixed as sectors such as FMCG, PSU Banks, and Realty ended in the red. Investors remained cautious ahead of the upcoming February 27th GDP data release, even as volatility, measured by the India VIX, cooled by nearly 5% to reflect a temporary stabilization in market sentiment.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 0.67% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.48%. The market breadth was negative.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 4.68% to 13.49.

Among the sectoral indices, the Metal index (up 2.70%), the Nifty Pharma index (up 1.85%) and the Nifty Auto index (up 1.85%) outperformed the Nifty 50 index.

Meanwhile, the Nifty PSU Bank index (down 0.39%), the Nifty FMCG index (down 0.25%) and the Nifty Realty index (down 0.19%) underperformed the Nifty 50 index.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.08% to 6.693 compared with the previous session close of 6.685.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.8800 compared with its close of 90.9350 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement rose 0.71% to Rs 161,110.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.05% to 97.85.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.57% to 4.056.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement added 23 cents or 0.32% to $71 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures are currently up 65 points, indicating a positive opening for equities on Wall Street today.

European markets trended higher on Wednesday as global investor anxiety subsided following the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trumps universal tariff.

Market nerves were notably soothed by the fact that the administration settled on a 10% rate, a more moderate figure compared to the previously threatened 15% levy.

Meanwhile in Asia, most markets ended higher on Wednesday following a tech-driven rally on Wall Street that was fueled by easing concerns over artificial intelligence-led disruption in select industries.

Overnight on Wall Street, U.S. equities rose on Tuesday, led by gains in Advanced Micro Devices and software stocks, as investors fears around artificial intelligence disruption to certain industries eased.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.77% to close at 6,890.07, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.04% and settled at 22,863.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 370.44 points, or 0.76%, and ended at 49,174.50.

Shares of AMD jumped 8.8% after Meta Platforms announced a multiyear deal with the semiconductor company. The new partnership entails deploying up to 6 gigawatts of AMDs graphics processing units for AI data centers. Meta will also invest in AMD through a performance-based warrant for up to 160 million shares of the chipmaker.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) added 0.88%. The company said its Power Transmission & Distribution (PT&D) vertical has secured major EPC orders to establish electricity grid system elements in India and overseas.

Coforge rose 0.51%. The company announced that it has been awarded a $158 million five-year contract by a UK based client.

Schaeffler India rallied 4.50%. The companys standalone net profit jumped 31.5% to Rs 327.96 crore on 26.9% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 2,643.06 crore in Q4 CY2025 over Q4 CY2024.

Lupin advanced 1.82%. The company said that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Brivaracetam oral solution.

Biocon added 1.36%. The company said that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for its complex formulation Liraglutide Injection.

Zelio E-Mobility shed 0.09%. The company announced the commissioning of a new manufacturing facility in Cuttack, Odisha, thereby increasing its total installed production capacity to 1,80,000 units per annum.

H.G. Infra Engineering lost 0.56%. The company said it has been declared the lowest bidder (L-1) by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a road project in Odisha under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM). The value of the contract is Rs 1,582.11 crore.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) slipped 1.29%. The company said that it has secured a domestic contract worth Rs 270.22 crore from Central Railway for execution of traction infrastructure works under an EPC model.

Univastu India jumped 5.72%. The company said that it has received a letter of acceptance (LoA) worth Rs 485.67 crore from IRCON International for works on Mumbai Metro Line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to VikhroliEEH).

Samhi Hotels advanced 2.40%. The company through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Duet India Hotels (Navi Mumbai), has signed operating agreements with Marriott Hotels India for two upcoming hotel projects in Navi Mumbai and Thane.

IPO Update:

Omnitech Engineering received bids for 6,94,452 shares as against 1,89,09,890 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:24 IST on Wednesday (25 February 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.24 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 25 February 2026 and it will close on 27 February 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 216 and 227 per share.

PNGS Reva Diamond Jewellery received bids for 13,61,888 shares as against 57,06,235 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:24 IST on Wednesday (25 February 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.24 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 24 February 2026 and it will close on 26 February 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 367 and 386 per share.

Shree Ram Twistex received bids for 34,18,98,768 shares as against 1,06,00,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:24 IST on Wednesday (25 February 2026). The issue was subscribed 32.25 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 23 February 2026 and it will close on 25 February 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 95 and 104 per share.

Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions received bids for 1,77,05,800 shares as against 2,18,23,329 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:24 IST on Wednesday (25 February 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.81 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 23 February 2026 and it will close on 25 February 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 1,000 and 1,053 per share.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News