The key domestic indices ended with modest gains today, paring early advances, as late-session profit booking across sectors capped the upside. The Nifty ended above the 25,550 mark. PSU bank, metal, and FMCG shares advanced, while IT and media shares declined.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 316.57 points or 0.38% to 82,814.71. The Nifty 50 index rose 116.90 points or 0.46% to 25,571.25.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.44% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.19%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,918 shares rose and 2,263 shares fell. A total of 168 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 6.70% to 14.36.

Economy:

HSBC India Services PMI eased to 58.4 in February 2026 compared with 58.5 in January 2026, with exports rising fastest since August 2025, domestic demand easing, modestly faster hiring, and input costs hitting a 2.5-year high. Selling prices and business sentiment rose to a one-year peak.

HSBC India Manufacturing PMI climbed to 57.5 in February 2026 compared with 55.4 in January 2026, led by strong domestic demand, modest export growth, higher employment, inputs, and inventories. Input and output prices rose, while sentiment remained positive.

HSBC India Composite PMI hit 59.3 in February 2026 as against 58.4 in January 2026, the highest since last November, as factory output, new orders, and foreign sales strengthened. Hiring improved, input costs rose to a 15-month high, selling prices to a six-month peak, and sentiment reached a one-year high on investment optimism.

India AI Impact Summit 2026:

The AI Impact Summit, held from February 16'20, brings together over 500 global AI leaders, 150 academicians and researchers, and 400 chief technology officers, vice-presidents, and philanthropists.

The Pax Silica declaration was signed between India and the US. 'It is an honour to stand before all of you at this historic moment as we welcome India into Pax Silica. What struck me most was not just India's scale, although that is breathtaking'it is India's resolve, the determination to chart your own course. I keep talking about the limitless potential between our two nations, and I truly mean it. From the trade deal to Pax Silica to defence cooperation, the potential for our two nations to work together is truly limitless. I aim to fulfill that over the next three years that I'm here,' said US Ambassador Sergio Gor.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis spoke at the India AI Impact Summit, highlighting the state's achievements in technology. He emphasized that AI is designed to benefit farmers.

'Across the world, food systems are under strain. Climate volatility is intensifying, water tables are falling, soil health is deteriorating, supply chains are fragile, and global markets are unpredictable. For countries from the Global South, agriculture is not merely an economic sector'it is livelihood, social stability, and national security. India understands this very deeply. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has placed digital public infrastructure and responsible AI at the centre,' said Devendra Fadnavis.

IPO Update:

Gaudium IVF and Women Health received bids for 1,14,33,744 shares as against 1,46,20,340 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:30 IST on Friday (20 February 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.78 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 20 February 2026 and it will be close on 24 February 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 75 and 79 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 1.68% to 9,665.80. The index declined 1.24% in the past trading session.

Canara Bank (up 3.17%), Punjab National Bank (up 2.77%), Union Bank of India (up 2.35%), Indian Bank (up 2.09%), Bank of Baroda (up 1.51%), Bank of India (up 1.5%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.15%), State Bank of India (up 0.86%), Central Bank of India (up 0.6%) and Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.58%) surged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Shares of Novartis India hit an upper circuit of 20% after its Swiss parent, Novartis AG, announced the sale of its entire 70.68% stake in the listed Indian arm for about Rs 1,446 crore to a consortium of investors.

Novartis AG has entered into a share purchase agreement to divest 1,74,50,680 equity shares, representing 70.68% of the company's paid-up equity capital, to a consortium led by WaveRise Investments, ChrysCapital Fund X, and Two Infinity Partners, along with persons acting in concert, ChrysCapital X, LLC, and OceanEdge Investments. The proposed acquisition has triggered a mandatory open offer to acquire up to 26% of the voting share capital from public shareholders.

ABB India rallied 5.11% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 5.82% to Rs 432.85 crore on a 7.44% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 3557.01 crore in Q4 CY25 over Q4 CY24.

Dee Development Engineers rallied 5.82% after the company received Letter of Intent for supply of heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) pipes from one of the largest international OEM based in US.

CIE Automotive India rose 2.48% after the company has reported a 10.4% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 204.31 crore on a 13.4% increase in net sales to Rs 2,393 crore in Q4 2025 as compared with Q4 2024.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies added 2.02% after the company said that it has acquired a 49% stake of Himanshi Thermal Solutions from DefSpace Technologies for a total consideration of Rs 49,000.

Zydus Lifesciences rose 0.04%. The company said the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has completed a pre-approval inspection (PAI) at its Injectable Medical Devices facility in Ahmedabad with nil observations.

Mason Infratech jumped 4.76% after the company announced that it has secured a civil works contract worth Rs 53.68 crore from Transcon-Sheth Creators.

Pace Digitek added 2.82% after it has secured an order worth Rs 890.69 million from RailTel Corporation of India (RCIL) for the supply, installation and commissioning of IP-based video surveillance systems in LHB coaches.

IFGL Refractories shed 0.90%. The company announced that a new line for manufacturing of plastic refractories at the company's Visakhapatnam manufacturing facility has commenced commercial operations.

Global Markets:

European markets traded higher on Friday, supported by upbeat U.K. retail sales, stronger Eurozone PMI readings, and easing inflation, which lifted growth sentiment and reinforced expectations of a supportive policy backdrop.

In the U.K., retail sales rose 1.8% in January from December, exceeding expectations and marking the largest increase since May 2024.

Germany saw producer prices decline 3% year-on-year in January, while France's inflation slowed to 0.3% year-on-year, down from 0.8% in December.

HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI rose to 51.9 in February, the strongest since November, driven by gains in manufacturing and services, though new orders remained soft and input costs accelerated. HCOB Germany Manufacturing PMI climbed to 50.7, marking the first expansion since June 2022, with output and new orders improving, job losses easing, and input costs rising.

Asian markets ended mixed, after all three major Wall Street indexes declined overnight, pressured by a drop in private credit stocks and Iran-U.S. tensions.

Prospects of a strike on Iran have risen with U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly saying that he would take a call to decide on military action against Tehran in the next 10 days. This pushed Brent Crude higher, gaining 0.26%, to settle at $71.92.

In Asia, investors assessed Japan's latest inflation data. The island nation's headline inflation rate fell from 2.1% in December to 1.5% in January, its lowest level since March 2022. The reading ended a run of 45 straight months in which inflation had remained above the Bank of Japan's 2% target.

The core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food prices, eased to 2%, the lowest level since January 2024. It was down from 2.4% in December.

As per reports, despite the slowdown in headline inflation, the Bank of Japan is unlikely to delay rate hikes as fresh-food prices remain volatile, while energy costs fell after Japan scrapped its fuel tax in December.

Japan's manufacturing activity improved in February, with the S&P Global Japan Manufacturing PMI rising to 52.8 from 51.5 in January, marking the strongest expansion since May 2022. Growth was supported by firm domestic and overseas demand, with export orders rising at the fastest pace in eight years.

While hiring growth eased from January's peak, it remained solid. Input costs increased at a slightly faster pace. Manufacturers stayed optimistic about the year-ahead outlook, backed by stronger demand, semiconductor and AI-related orders, and ongoing product launches.

Overnight on Wall Street, the US stocks closed lower on Thursday, pulling the S&P 500 close to flat for the year, as investors rotated out of financials and monitored escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

Reflecting a surge in imports and a slump in exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened in the month of December. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit grew to $70.3 billion in December from a revised $53.0 billion in November.

The unexpectedly wider trade deficit partly reflected a continued surge in the value of imports, which shot up by 3.6 percent to $357.6 billion in December after spiking by 4.2 percent to $345.3 billion in November. The report also showed a continued slump in the value of exports, which tumbled by 1.7 percent to $287.3 billion in December after plunging by 3.4 percent to $292.3 billion in November.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 267.50 points, or 0.54%, closing at 49,395.16. The S&P 500 declined 0.28%, ending at 6,861.89, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.31% to 22,682.73.

Financial stocks led the decline after Blue Owl Capital said it would tighten investor liquidity following the sale of $1.4 billion in loan assets, raising concerns about potential losses in the private credit market. Shares of Blue Owl dropped about 6%, while Blackstone and Apollo Global Management each fell more than 5%.

Software stocks also remained under pressure amid persistent worries about artificial intelligence disruption. The sector has struggled in recent weeks as investors assess how AI could reshape enterprise software demand.

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