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Informist, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

By Eshitva Prakash

MUMBAI – The benchmark equity indices closed practically flat Thursday after recovering from a fall in the final hour of trade. After a gap-up opening, investors adopted a sell-on-rise strategy, putting the indices under pressure, analysts said. Healthcare stocks were among the biggest gainers, followed by select automobile and defence stocks. 

The equity market is unable to rise significantly owing to uncertainty about US import tariffs, analysts said. The Indian government has not yet clarified whether the import duty of 18%, decided under the India-US trade deal framework, will apply even after the US Supreme Court's ruling last week. After the court struck down most tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in 2025, Trump imposed a baseline 10% tariff on all US imports for 150 days, effective Tuesday. He has threatened to raise the baseline tariff to 15% but is yet to sign an executive order to that effect.

The Nifty 50 settled at 25496.55 points, up 14.05 points or 0.1%. The 50-stock index moved in a range of 172 points throughout the session. The BSE Sensex ended at 82248.61 points, down 27.46 points.

Automobile companies Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Eicher Motors ended over 2% higher to top the list of Nifty 50 stocks that rose on the day. Analysts expect healthy automobile wholesale volume growth in February. A 1% fall in HDFC Bank was a major drag on the 50-stock index. Power Grid Corp. of India, Eternal, and Trent were the worst hit in the index, ending over 1% lower.

Global brokerage Nomura said automobile volumes are likely to remain on a firm footing in February, with momentum being sustained across key segments. In commercial vehicles, elevated freight realisations and healthy fleet economics continue to drive replacement-led purchases, the brokerage said. Nomura expects the sales of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles to rise around 34% on year. The brokerage sees 10,000 unit sales per month for the newly launched Tata Sierra. 

The Nifty Auto index ended nearly 1% higher. Barring Mahindra & Mahindra, all its constituents ended higher. Shares of Samvardhana Motherson International, Uno Minda, and Maruti Suzuki India each closed around 1% higher.

Shares of hospital operators and pharmaceutical companies also ended higher. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Max Healthcare Institute, and Cipla advanced 1–2%. The Nifty Healthcare index was the best performing sectoral index, rising 1.2% in the session. Defence companies also gained, with Bharat Electronics ending over 2% higher. Data Patterns (India), Astra Microwave Products, and Bharat Dynamics rose 3-5%.

Shares of digital payment providers Pine Labs and One 97 Communications ended over 4% and 1% lower, respectively, amid media reports that global technology giant Apple is in talks with key Indian banks and global card networks to launch Apple Pay in India.

Shares of Home First Finance Co. India declined almost 6% after a total of 5.62 million equity shares, or 5.4% of the company's fully paid-up equity shares, changed hands in two large deals on the NSE in the opening minutes of the day's session. The first transaction, a block deal, was executed for 5.37 million shares at INR 1,178.90 apiece, a 5.5% discount to the stock's closing price Wednesday. The second involved a transaction of 254,156 shares at a price of INR 1,188 per share, a discount of nearly 5% to Wednesday's closing price. While the company has not yet disclosed the parties to the deal, True North Fund V and Aether (Mauritius) were the likely sellers, according to a report by CNBC-TV18. According to the company's last known shareholding data, True North Fund held about 7.45% stake and Aether held 4.9%.

Shares of KSB rose over 9% after the company, after market hours Wednesday, reported a near 11% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for the December quarter. The shares rose for the second consecutive session. The company incurred a one-time cost of INR 255 million during the quarter owing to implementation of the new labour codes, which weighed on its bottom line.

Shares of Tejas Networks closed almost 17% higher after it announced an agreement with NEC Corp. to manufacture and supply fifth generation massive multiple-input multiple-output radios. This partnership will accelerate wireless innovation by using the expertise of Tejas Networks in carrier-class product development for global telecommunication companies, according to an exchange filing by the company.

Shares of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co. ended slightly lower, recovering from an intraday fall after the company said reports of Executive Chairman Vellayan Subbiah's exit were "incorrect" and "baseless". A report by Moneycontrol had claimed Subbiah would retain and strengthen his alignment with other group companies, Tube Investments of India and CG Power and Industrial Solutions. Shares of Tube Investments ended over 4% higher.

Shares of Vishal Mega Mart advanced almost 4% after 10.84 million shares of the company changed hands through multiple large deals on the NSE. These transactions involved 0.2% of the company's total fully paid-up equity shares. In the first deal, 7.78 million shares of the company were sold for INR 127.72 per share, representing a near 4% premium to Wednesday's closing price. In the second major deal, 3.06 million shares were sold for INR 126.96, an over 3% premium to the previous close.

Shares of Reliance Infrastructure ended nearly 4% lower after media reports said the Enforcement Directorate had attached Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani's 17-storey Mumbai house 'Abode'. The investigation pertains to a fraud involving group company Reliance Communications. The building's worth is pegged at INR 37.17 billion. Shares of Reliance Communications ended over 4% lower. In a separate development, the Bombay High Court partially upheld the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's petition challenging an arbitral award in favour of Reliance Infrastructure's joint venture, Mumbai Metro One. Reliance Infra owns 74% in the joint venture with the rest held by the authority.

Shares of Ola Electric Mobility ended 2% lower after global brokerage Goldman Sachs downgraded the company's stock to "neutral" and cut its target price by 50% to INR 26 from INR 52, CNBC-TV18 reported. The brokerage also lowered its revenue estimates for the company for the period from the financial year 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) to FY28, factoring in a mid-single-digit market share in FY30 and beyond, compared to earlier expectations of a market share in the low teens.

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 23 rose, 26 fell, and one was unchanged

* Of the Sensex stocks, 12 rose, 17 fell, and one was unchanged

* On the NSE, 1,686 stocks rose, 1,460 fell, and 113 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,169 stocks rose, 2,029 fell, and 169 were unchanged

* Nifty Healthcare: up 1.5%; Nifty Pharma: up 1.1%; Nifty Media: down 0.7%

BSE                                                 NSE

Sensex: 82248.61, down 27.46 points or flat         Nifty 50: 25496.55, up 14.05 points or 0.1%

End

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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