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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Benchmark indices are seen in a range with a positive bias on Wednesday and the performance of information technology stocks may be key to market direction. Partnership announcements with artificial intelligence-linked companies and positive commentary on AI-induced demands by IT majors soothed investor concerns slightly about traditional software companies facing competition from AI players. However, not all analysts are convinced that the AI exuberance will result in more contracts for IT companies.

 

"We are expecting a 2–3% top line decline for domestic IT players over the course of the next 2–3 years," said Sumit Pokharna, vice president of research at Kotak Securities. The development of AI tools may lead to pricing pressure on IT players, the analyst said. Productivity-linked changes will likely cause a reduction in workforce for IT companies, which will result in lower costs, Pokharna said. While revenue deceleration is expected, the analyst is waiting for more reports about AI performance to determine if these developments can drive higher margins.

 

Pokharna said that markets are "expecting too much" from AI and that there is limited evidence suggesting a significant hit to domestic IT companies. However, the recent decline caused by AI-induced fears and now, the enthusiasm for AI-related partnerships will help investors buy IT stocks at a comfortable valuation, the analyst said. Infosys has entered into a partnership with Anthropic. Tata Consultancy Services will partner Advanced Micro Devices to deploy its Helios AI data centre blueprint in India. HCL Technologies, which was among the first IT majors to make AI-related deals, already has a partnership with OpenAI to drive large-scale enterprise AI transformation.

 

India is expected to get investments of over $200 billion towards AI and data infrastructure over the next two years, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told a press conference at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 Tuesday. "We are seeing interest in making AI accountable to the society, making sure that we can get the benefits of the technology while we can contain the harms which can come from it," Vaishnaw said. More commentary from the AI summit will be instrumental in determining investor decisions as they navigate around volatile AI trade, analysts said.

 

Shares of oil and gas companies will be in focus amid volatility in crude oil prices. The second round of talks between Iran and the US began in Geneva on Tuesday, with Iran saying that the lifting of US sanctions was an integral part of any nuclear deal, Hindustan Times reported. The West Asian country fired live missiles into the Strait of Hormuz as a part of fire drills as the talks continued, according to the report.

 

Shares of defence companies will also be in focus as Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai for bilateral talks. There are expectations around potential discussions on the acquisition of additional Rafale fighter jets, Siddhartha Khemka, head of research, wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said.

 

The immediate support for Nifty 50 is placed at 25600, and it may face resistance at 25800 points, Shrikant Chouhan, head equity research, Kotak Securities, said. On Tuesday, the 50-stock index ended at 25725.40 points, up 42.65 points or 0.2%. The BSE Sensex ended at 83450.96, up 173.81 points or 0.2%.  End

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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