Indices drift lower in early trade; breadth weak

The key equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in early trade, tracking continued weakness in global equities following a sharp sell-off in technology stocks. The Nifty traded below the 25,600 level. All other sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the red, with IT, metal and realty stocks declining the most.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 694.80 points or 0.83% to 82,980.12. The Nifty 50 index fell 210.70 points or 0.82% to 25,592.65.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index dropped 1.48% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.57%.

 

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 829 shares rose and 2,243 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 108.42 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 276.85 crore in the Indian equity market on 12 February 2026, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Honasa Consumer rose 3.34% after the company reported a 93.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 50.2 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 26 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operation increased 16.2% year-on-year to Rs 602 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 518 crore in Q3 FY25.

Indian Hotels Company shed 0.24%. The company reported a 55.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 903 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 582 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations increased 12.2% year-on-year to Rs 2,842 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 2,533 crore in Q3 FY25.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation added 1.29% after the company reported a 15.5% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 394 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 341 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations increased 18.3% year-on-year to Rs 1,449 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 1,225 crore in Q3 FY25.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.36% to 6.686 compared with previous session close of 6.710.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.6650 compared with its close of 90.6100 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement rose 1.08% to Rs 154,492.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 96.96.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.22% to 4.113.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement shed 10 cents or 0.15% to $67.42 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Asia-Pacific market traded mostly lower Friday, tracking Wall Street declines, as fears over artificial intelligence disruption drove the S&P 500 to a third straight day of losses.

Certain pockets of the U.S. stock market have been hit this year by the release of AI tools that threaten to automate tasks performed by some companiesor at least risk eating into their profit margins.

Overnight on Wall Street, US stocks fell sharply Thursday as the market punished companies seen as potential losers from artificial-intelligence technology.

The S&P 500 fell 108.71 points to 6,832.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 669.42 to 49,451.98, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 469.32 to 22,597.15.

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