Indices edge lower in early trade; breadth positive

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor cuts in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,850 mark. Realty, media and consumer durables shares declined, while IT, pharma and auto stocks advanced.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 16.15 points or 0.02% to 83,718.10. The Nifty 50 index fell 4.20 points or 0.02% to 25,815.35.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.09% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.07%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,699 shares rose and 1,255 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged.

 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,154.34 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 440.34 crore in the Indian equity market on 18 February 2026, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

B. L. Kashyap and Sons jumped 8.17% after the company announced that it has secured a Rs 300 crore order from CRC Greens for the construction of civil works.

Pace Digitek added 2.36% after the company announced that its material subsidiary, Lineage Power, has secured a $1.35 million order from Yaqin Chem for the supply of mobile battery systems.

DCX Systems rose 0.14%. The company announced that it and its wholly owned subsidiary, Raneal Advanced Systems, has secured combined orders worth Rs 45.4 crore for the supply of cable assemblies and printed circuit assemblies.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.6850 compared with its close of 90.7200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement rose 0.06% to Rs 155,776.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.34% to 4.094.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement rose 26 cents or 0.37% to $70.61 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks rose on Thursday, supported by gains in technology giants on Wall Street, while lingering U.S.-Iran tensions kept oil prices on the boil.

Hong Kong and mainland China markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year break.

Oil prices edged higher as investors digested the latest developments between the U.S. and Iran. Vice President JD Vance reportedly said Tuesday that Iran failed to address U.S. red lines in this weeks nuclear talks and that military action is still a possibility.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 moved higher, supported by gains in key technology names, as traders weighed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserves most recent policy meeting.

The broad-based index climbed 0.56% to end at 6,881.31, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.78% to settle at 22,753.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.26% to close at 49,662.66.

Investors mulled over the minutes from the Feds January meeting, which revealed that participants largely approved of the central banks decision to leave its key interest rate unchanged at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. However, officials were divided on the direction of monetary policy thereafter.

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