Nifty Falls 1.3%, Sensex Loses Over 1,000 Points; Metal Stocks Drop 3.3%, Nifty IT Hits 9-Month Low

Market Update at 04:00 PM: On Friday, February 13, 2026, India’s key equity benchmarks ended the day in negative territory as IT and metal stocks faced sharp declines, mirroring losses on Wall Street and Asian markets amid a global tech selloff. The Nifty 50 opened lower and slipped below its 50 DEMA to touch a day’s low of 25,472, trading in a 158.30-point range during the session. Volatility surged, with India VIX rising over 13 per cent in a single day.

At the closing bell, the Nifty 50 fell by 336.10 points, or 1.30 per cent, to close at 25,471.10. The BSE Sensex dropped 1,048.16 points, or 1.25 per cent, ending at 82,626.76. The Nifty Bank also closed in the red, down 0.91 per cent. On a weekly basis, Nifty 50 ended 0.87 per cent lower, wiping out gains from the interim India–U.S. trade deal.

Frontline indices were dragged lower as fears over AI disruption and dwindling expectations of a near-term U.S. rate cut hit the IT sector. The Nifty IT index declined nearly 1.5 per cent, with ten IT stocks losing substantial market capitalization in February. Investor concerns were fueled by AI initiatives from U.S.-based companies Anthropic and Palantir Technologies. All 11 key sectoral indices ended the day in the red, while broader indices also recorded losses: Midcaps fell 1.71 per cent and Smallcaps declined 1.79 per cent.

Among individual stocks, Coforge fell 4.2 per cent, extending IT sector weakness, while Hindalco Industries dropped 5.74 per cent due to weak metal prices and profit booking. Eternal declined 4.3 per cent, reflecting broader index weakness, and IEX fell 1.56 per cent after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) dismissed the firm’s plea in the market coupling case.

Metal stocks saw heavy selling pressure, led by Hindalco Industries, as the Nifty Metal index fell 3.31 per cent, ending a five-day rally. Concerns over potential U.S. tariff changes affecting Hindalco’s subsidiary Novelis, which could lower U.S. aluminum premiums, weighed on investor sentiment.

Among Nifty 50 movers, Bajaj Finance gained 25.65 points, Eicher Motors added 122.00 points, and State Bank of India rose 6.20 points. On the other hand, Reliance Industries dropped 29.30 points, HDFC Bank fell 16.70 points, and ICICI Bank declined 15.40 points.

Market breadth favoured declining stocks. Of the 3,249 stocks traded on the NSE, 766 advanced, 2,388 declined, and 95 remained unchanged. A total of 44 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 131 hit their 52-week lows. Additionally, 66 stocks were locked in their Upper Circuits, and 67 in Lower Circuits.

Market Update at 12:22 PM: Indian stock markets extended their decline on Friday in line with global weakness, as a technology-led rout dampened investor sentiment.

As of 12:00 PM, the Nifty 50 was trading 1.04 per cent or 268.25 points lower at 25,538.95, while the Sensex was down 0.97 per cent or 814.54 points at 82,860.38.

Selling pressure was broad-based, with 29 of the 30 Sensex constituents trading in the red. Major laggards included Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, NTPC, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, IndiGo, and Power Grid Corporation.

Only Bajaj Finance managed to hold gains, rising 1.37 per cent.

Broader markets also remained under pressure. The Nifty MidCap index slipped 1.6 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index fell 1.8 per cent. The volatility gauge India VIX rose 4 per cent, indicating increased market nervousness.

Sectorally, metals led the losses, with the Nifty Metal index falling over 3 per cent. The IT pack recovered from deeper cuts but still traded sharply lower. The Nifty IT index remained down over 2 per cent as LTIMindtree, Coforge, and Wipro declined alongside heavyweights.

Market Update at 9:29 AM: Indian stock markets extended their decline on Friday in line with global weakness as a continued technology sell-off dampened investor sentiment.

The BSE Sensex opened gap-down at 82,985, falling 690 points or 0.83 per cent, while the Nifty50 stood at 25,589, down 2,189 points or 0.85 per cent in early trade.

Market breadth remained weak with 26 of the 30 Sensex constituents trading lower. Major laggards included Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Tata Steel, NTPC, Titan Company, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, InterGlobe Aviation and Power Grid Corporation of India.

Only a handful of stocks managed modest gains, including State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and Maruti Suzuki India, rising between 0.1 per cent and 0.48 per cent.

Broader markets also remained under pressure. The Nifty MidCap index slipped 1.31 per cent and the Nifty SmallCap index declined 1.58 per cent. Meanwhile, India VIX, the volatility gauge, rose 4 per cent indicating heightened market nervousness.

Sectorally, IT stocks led the fall with the Nifty IT index plunging 5 per cent. Losses were driven by Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies, LTIMindtree, Coforge and Wipro.

Other sectors also traded lower, with the Nifty Metal index down 2 per cent, the Nifty Media index falling 1 per cent and the Nifty FMCG index declining 0.8 per cent.

Pre-Market Update at 7:52 AM: Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 are expected to open lower on Friday after weakness in global markets. Technology stocks dragged Wall Street to its worst session of the month as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data.

The Indian IT sector may remain under pressure after ADR declines of Infosys and Wipro following an AI-led global tech sell-off. Infosys ADR fell 9.8 per cent and Wipro ADR dropped 4.6 per cent, while global enterprise software companies lost nearly USD 1 trillion in market value.

Defence stocks could outperform after the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, cleared capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 3.60 lakh crore to strengthen combat readiness of the armed forces. The Ministry of Defence also signed a Rs 2,312 crore contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to procure eight Dornier 228 aircraft under the Buy (Indian) category.

At 7:21 AM, GIFT Nifty traded near 25,722, up 128 points from the previous close. Stock-specific action is expected amid the Q3FY26 earnings season where companies including Torrent Pharmaceuticals, GMR Airports, Siemens Energy India, Info Edge India, Alkem Laboratories, Fortis Healthcare, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Ipca Laboratories, ITI and NBCC (India) will announce results.

On February 11, FIIs bought equities worth Rs 108.42 crore, while DIIs purchased Rs 276.85 crore. FIIs have been net buyers for five consecutive sessions and have bought Rs 6,021.85 crore so far in February.

In the previous session, markets ended lower amid profit booking and IT selling pressure. Sensex fell 558.72 points (0.66 per cent) to 83,674.92, while Nifty 50 declined 146.65 points (0.57 per cent) to 25,807.20.

U.S. markets closed sharply lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.34 per cent, S&P 500 down 1.57 per cent and Nasdaq Composite down 2.03 per cent. Major tech stocks declined including Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla.

Gold rose to about USD 4,960 per ounce after a previous sell-off, silver hovered near USD 76 per ounce and remained on track for a third weekly decline, while WTI crude traded below USD 62.78 per barrel amid oversupply concerns.

For today, Sammaan Capital and SAIL will remain on the F&O ban list.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.