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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Headline equity indices are expected to be in range with a positive bias Thursday and the 26000-mark is seen as the next major hurdle for the Nifty 50 to cross, technical analysts said. A failure to break above this key resistance zone may trigger a wave of corrections in the near-term, some analysts said. Further volatility is expected in information technology companies, owing to mixed cues from analysts and companies. Several IT companies have said they see their margins improving going forward as they integrate artificial intelligence-led enhancements and partner with more AI players. However, analysts have been concerned about AI-tools-induced competition in the software development space.

 

Additionally, investors may continue to pull out of volatile IT stocks and put their money in stocks of other sectors such as banks and financial services. "The better-than-expected December quarter results and indications of continuing momentum in earnings growth, going forward, are positive factors that will keep the market resilient," V.K. Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Investments, said. Overall, IT stocks may remain weak since uncertainty surrounding the sector is huge and large institutional investors are unlikely to invest big time in IT stocks, unless valuations become compelling, the analyst said. There can be churns away from IT towards other sectors like banking and financials, automobiles, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, etc., where there is good earnings visibility, he added.

 

The management of Infosys said the revenue generation opportunities from AI are far higher than the expected compression, which cannot be quantified at this point. It believes that the AI opportunity is a net positive one for revenue, at least for the next 5 years. "We believe that IT Services in India should continue to build small language model capabilities and deepen tie-ups with the players of the technology stack," Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said in a report. The brokerage said that the technology debt across the industry is high, which needs to be streamlined first in order to move ahead with full-fledged agentic AI technology implementation. 

 

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal Wednesday said that the recent discontent seen in the stock market over the future of IT companies is "ridiculous". The recently concluded US trade deal opens a huge market for India's labour-oriented goods and technology services, Goyal said at the Global Economic Cooperation Summit in Mumbai. "In fact, of late, I have seen in the stock market some discontentment or disconcert about the future of the IT industry. I find it quite ridiculous because these are the companies that will be required for artificial intelligence to flourish," Goyal said.
 

On the trade front, the India-US trade deal is not expected to provide an immediate boost to labour-intensive industries, Dhaval Patel, assistant fund manager fixed income, Axis Mutual Fund said. The analyst sees the benefits from the trade deal pouring in from the June quarter. The analyst does not expect a significant reduction in competition in sectors such as textiles, considering the delta in tariffs between South Asian nations and India isn't very high. "However, the point is that we'll get a better reciprocal tariff rate than China, which will support industrial and other export-oriented sectors," the analyst added.

 

Shares of oil refiners and explorers will remain in focus as oil prices are softening on easing geopolitical tensions between US and Iran, lifting concerns of supply disruptions. Some jitters in crude oil prices are still expected, like those seen on Tuesday when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz for a live-fire drill.

 

Investors will also focus on minutes from the January meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee, due Thursday. The initial jobless claims data will also be in focus for cues on the health of the US economy.

 

Resistance for the Nifty 50 is seen at 26000 points and support is placed at 25700 points, according to Rishabh Srivastav, technical analyst at Lakshmishree Investment and Securities. On Wednesday, the 50-stock index closed 0.4% higher at 25819.35 points and the BSE Sensex closed 0.3% higher at 83734.25 points.  End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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