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Informist, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

 

By Simran Rede

 

MUMBAI – More short positions were added to the derivatives chain of the benchmark Nifty 50 Thursday as the index fell for the first time after four sessions. Premiums on out-of-the-money call options of the index expiring Tuesday halved and those on puts rose around 50%, hinting at a further fall in the index.

 

The domestic market, which witnessed a bullish phase after the announcement of the India-US trade deal last week, witnessed a bout of profit-taking Thursday. Indian equities also fell as information technology stocks nosedived on mounting concern about artificial intelligence-led disruption. IT stocks in the US had tumbled overnight, with the American Depository Receipts of IT majors Infosys and Wipro declining.

 

"In India, this technology shift is likely to structurally transform IT services by accelerating delivery timelines and automating volume-driven tasks, thereby challenging the traditional headcount-based outsourcing model," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said in a note. "A weak sentiment in the IT sector, along with lingering geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, may influence investors to take a cautious approach in the near term. In the coming quarters, AI adoption could create headwinds for deal wins, potentially impacting topline, making close monitoring of deal flow essential to assess its real impact."

 

Meanwhile, retail sales growth in the US was largely flat in December, giving rise to concern about a fall in discretionary spending by US-based clients. This is likely to affect Indian IT companies as they earn a major chunk of their revenue from clients in the US. Adding to the pessimism, the US jobs data for January was better than expected, denting hopes of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

 

The Nifty 50 closed 0.6% lower at 25807.20 points. The BSE Sensex also ended 0.6% lower at 83674.92 points. The near-term support for the 50-stock index is pegged at 25750-25650 points and resistance at 25950-26000 points, according to technical and derivatives analysts at different broking firms. About 62% of stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange and 58% of those on the BSE closed in the red.

 

Premiums on 25900-26000 call options of the Nifty 50 expiring Tuesday declined 53-58% and those on 25800-25550 put options rose 22-59%. The maximum addition of open interest was seen at the 25900-point call and 25800-point put contracts. The highest open interest concentration was seen at the 26000-point call and 24500-point put contracts. The February futures contract of the index also reflected the fall in the cash market and closed 0.6% lower. Open interest in the contract rose 3.1% to 15.46 million.

 

--Nifty 50 February closed at 25849.10, down 145.10 points; 41.90-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 March closed at 26020.50, down 130.50 points; 213.30-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 April closed at 26173.70, down 138.70 points; 366.50-point premium to the spot index

 

State Bank of India, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Bharat Heavy Electricals, HDFC Bank, Bharat Forge, Hindustan Aeronautics, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Muthoot Finance, Ashok Leyland, Reliance Industries, Hindalco Industries, and Tech Mahindra were the most actively traded underlying stocks Thursday.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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