SENSEX, NIFTY END STEEPLY LOWER AS BEARS TAKE CONTROL OF D-STREET

In a dramatic reversal of recent gains, the Indian benchmark indices experienced a severe broad-based sell-off on Thursday, as the Sensex plummeted by 1,236 points and the Nifty 50 slipped below the 25,500 mark. This massive decline has reportedly wiped out over Rs 7.5 lakh crore in investor wealth in a single session.

The crash was triggered by several factors, including escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran and a sharp spike in global crude oil prices. Additionally, deep-seated uncertainty regarding the U.S. Federal Reserve`s interest rate trajectory weighed on sentiment following its latest meeting minutes.

Despite a resilient opening, fueled by the IT sector, the market succumbed to aggressive profit booking as risk-off sentiment took hold. This dragged every major sectoral index, particularly auto, realty, and banking, into the red and the benchmark indices snapped their robust three-day winning streak.

The barometer S&P BSE Sensex declined 1.48% to close at 82,498.14. The Nifty 50 index dropped 365 points or 1.41%, to end the session at 25,454.35.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 1.54% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 1.16%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,209 shares rose and 3,011 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 10.12% to 13.46.

India AI Impact Summit 2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the MANAV Vision for AI, where MANAV stands for M � Moral and Ethical System, A � Accountable Governance, N � National Sovereignty (right to data), A � Accessible and Inclusive, and V � Valid and Legitimate.

Apart from PM Modi, key business and technology leaders such as Mukesh Ambani, Sam Altman and Sundar Pichai also delivered keynote addresses. French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke at the Delhi AI Summit.

Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said, �I would like to thank the vision of our Prime Minister, which has enabled us to make a serious foray into chips and semiconductors. Our next step is to build chips that are highly domain-centric and fully AI-optimized for every industry. We will initially focus on developing and launching them for the automotive sector.�

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 added 0.08% to Rs 155,879.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.02% to 97.64.

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

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement gained 74 cents or 1.05% to $71.09 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

TIL jumped 9.22%. The company said that its board will meet on Monday (23 February 2026) to consider a proposal to raise funds via issuance of either equity or equity-linked securities.

Tata Consultancy Services advanced 0.65%. The company has announced a multi-dimensional strategic partnership with OpenAI to drive AI-powered innovation across enterprise, consumer, and social sectors.

Pine Labs advanced 2.91%. The company has announced collaboration with OpenAI, marking its move beyond traditional automation to build agentic commerce. The company will embed OpenAI APIs models into the core of a global merchant ecosystem.

B. L. Kashyap and Sons rose 0.24%. The company said that it secured a contract worth Rs 300 crore from CRC Greens for a group housing project in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) fell 1.40%. The company received a letter of acceptance (LoA) from Northern Railway for a project worth Rs 1,201.35 crore. This contract is for the construction of a major multi-modal infrastructure project in Varanasi designed to replace the functionality of the aging 137-year-old Malviya Bridge.

Hemant Surgical Industries fell 3.99%. The company announced that it has received an order worth Rs 264.33 crore from the Central Medical Services Society (CMSS), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The contact is for supplying flat panel detectors with two batteries and a router, hard travel cases along with other utilities, and X-ray generators.

GNG Electronics fell 1.38%. The company announced the signing of strategic distribution partnerships with Ingram Micro India and Supertron Electronics for the nationwide distribution of its refurbished computers across India.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures are currently down by 158 points, signaling a weak opening for US stocks today.

European markets traded lower on Thursday as investors assessed the minutes of the US Federal Reserve�s January meeting which revealed divisions within the committee over the future policy trajectory.

While some members signalled openness to rate cuts if inflation continues to moderate, others indicated a willingness to tighten policy further if price pressures remain persistent.

In Asia, stocks ended higher, supported by gains in technology giants on Wall Street. Hong Kong and mainland China markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year break.

In Malaysia, headline inflation rose 1.6% year-on-year in January 2026, with the consumer price index (CPI) increasing to 135.7 from 133.6 in the same month last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Meanwhile, Indonesian and U.S. companies signed deals worth $38.4 billion ahead of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto�s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, covering mining, energy, agribusiness, textiles, furniture, and technology sectors.

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 week�s 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 Reserve�s 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.

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