Sensex falls 900 pts, Nifty below 25,600: Why are markets falling today?

The BSE Sensex tumbled 903 points in the intraday to hit a low of 82,771.775, and the NSE Nifty50 also slipped below the 25,550 mark in the intraday to hit a low of 25,525

Why markets are falling today: Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, were trading sharply lower on Friday, February 13, 2026, for the second consecutive day, dragged by the sell-off in shares of information technology (IT)-related companies.

 

The BSE Sensex tumbled 903 points in the intraday to hit a low of 82,771.75. The NSE Nifty50 also slipped below the 25,550 mark in the intraday to hit a low of 25,525.45, down 281.75 points from the previous session's close of 25,807.20.

 

Around 9:45 AM, the BSE Sensex was trading at 82,894.28 levels, down by 780.64 points or 0.93 per cent, and the NSE Nifty50 was down 253.50 points or 0.98 per cent at 25,553.70 levels.

 

Twenty-seven of the 30 Sensex constituents were trading in red, including Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports, Trent, Tata Steel, and Larsen & Toubro, down in the range of 1 to 6 per cent. 

Similarly, in the broader market, the NSE MidCap 100 index was trading 1.60 per cent lower, and the Nifty SmallCap 100 index was down 1.78 per cent. 

 

All the sectoral indices were trading in the red. The Nifty IT index was the top laggard, down nearly 5 per cent, followed by Nifty Metal, Realty, FMCG, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Media, Consumer Durables, Auto, Bank, Financial Services, Pharma, and Healthcare.  CATCH STOCK MARKET UPDATES LIVE

Stock Market Crash: Here are the key reasons behind Sensex and Nifty fall today:

Sell-off in IT stocks: Overnight, the American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Infosys ended 9.8 per cent lower on the New York Stock Exchange, while the Wipro ADR slipped 4.6 per cent. This followed the Nifty IT index tumbling to a more than nine-month low on Thursday, amid growing concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on existing business models. 

 

VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said markets have entered into a turbulent phase, which will cause some panic among investors, even as it offers opportunities. 

 

"The sell-off in AI stocks in US markets was expected, but the timing and extent of the sell-off were not known. The 2.04 per cent decline in the Nasdaq is not a crash. But if the downtrend continues, it might pull the US market down," he said.

 

However, Vijayakumar believes that this correction in AI stocks is a positive for the Indian market, because last year’s global rally was primarily an AI trade in which India, an AI laggard, could not participate. So the unwinding of the AI trade, if it persists, is a positive from the Indian perspective. 

 

"What is rattling the Indian market now is the massive sell-off in IT stocks, which is the second largest profit pool of India Inc. The real impact of the ‘Anthropic shock’ on the IT sector is yet to be ascertained. Panic selling in IT stocks at this stage may not be a good idea. Investors may wait and watch for the dust to settle," he added. 

 

Strong US data clouds rate cut hopes: A better-than-expected US growth data and a marginal decline in the unemployment rate have lowered expectations that the US Federal Reserve will reduce key interest rates anytime soon. A prolonged high-interest rate environment is generally unfavourable for growth-oriented and technology stocks. Elevated rates keep financing costs high and can curb corporate expenditure, with discretionary technology investments often among the first to be deferred.

 

For Indian IT companies, which derive a significant share of their revenue from US-based clients, any moderation in American corporate technology spending can weigh on order inflows and near-term revenue visibility.

 

Retail liquidity crunch: According to G Chokkalingam, founder at Equinomics Research, the current market weakness is largely driven by liquidity constraints, particularly in the retail segment. 

 

"Over the last two to three years, IPOs, promoter stake sales, and sustained FII selling have collectively absorbed significant liquidity from the system, including in mid-cap stocks. At the same time, small- and mid-cap stocks have corrected sharply from their September 2024 peaks, with market capitalisation erosion running into several lakh crore, leaving many retail investors trapped in deep losses and limiting their ability to redeploy capital," he said. 

Metal stocks slide: The Nifty Metal index also crashed over 3 per cent to hit a low of 11863.65 as metal prices saw a sharp drop in the previous session. In the international market, spot gold fell over 3 per cent in the previous session, sliding to a near one-week low below the crucial $5,000 mark. Spot silver dropped roughly 11 per cent on Wednesday, pressured by a stronger US dollar.

 

"Crude oil prices have eased following indications from Russia and the US to collaborate on oil and gas, and gold and silver prices have also cooled. As a result, metals and companies linked to precious metals, such as Hindustan Zinc and gold finance firms, are seeing some correction, partly due to renewed expectations that the dollar may regain strength," said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental research at SBI Securities.  Sell-off in global markets: On Thursday, the US equity market settled lower for the third consecutive day weighed down by sell-off in technology stocks and as investors were cautious ahead of US inflation data. The S&P 500 fell 1.57 per cent, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.03 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.34 per cent. Asian markets were mostly lower on Friday, following Wall Street declines amid concerns over AI disruption. Last checked, Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down 0.9 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.03 per cent and the S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.4 per cent, while South Korea's KOSPI was up by 0.85 per cent.  Disclaimer: The views or investment tips expressed by the analysts/brokerages in this article are their own and not those of the website or its management. Business Standard advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.