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Informist, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian indices rise; KOSPI, Australian index record fresh highs

 

MUMBAI--0820 IST--Equity indices in Asia were higher on Thursday, with South Korea's Kospi index and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index hitting fresh highs. The South Korean index reached fresh highs in its first session after the Lunar New Year holidays. Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China remained closed. 

 

Markets in the region tracked gains in tech stocks on Wall Street while tensions between Iran and the US suported oil and gold prices, Reuters reported. In Japan, indices were up for a second session due to gains in tech stocks. Value of core machinery orders in Japan, adjusted for seasonality, rose 19.1% on month in December. This beat foracasts of an increase of 5.1?ter a contraction of 11% in November, RTT News reported, citing data from the country's Cabinet office. 

 

The KOSPI rose to its all-time high and crossed the 5600 point mark for the first time on the back of gains in stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, up over 4% and nearly 2%, respectively. In the stock market, individuals were net buyers of shares worth 132.70 billion Korean won while foregin investors net sold shares worth 152.7 billion Korean won, according to a report from Chosun.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0808 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
KOSPI	5661.64	2.81
Nikkei 225 Day	57603.48	0.80
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3844.39	0.98
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4993.17	1.11
S&P/ASX 200 Index	9102.10	1.06

 

(Akshat Saksena)

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Equity Alert: US indices end higher; S&P 500, Dow Jones up for 3rd session

 

MUMBAI--0741 IST--Equity indices in the US ended higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing with gains for the third consecutive session. This comes as technology stocks recover after the sector saw weakness due to fears over artificial intelligence. Traders in the country also analysed minutes of the latest US Federal Reserve meeting.

 

Shares of NVIDIA rose nearly 2?ter the company said it has signed a multi-year deal with Meta Platforms to sell millions of its current and future AI chips, Reuters reported. Shares of Meta Platforms ended nearly 1% higher as well. Shares of Sandisk, Western Digital, and Seagate Technology Holdings gained 2-4%, adding to the gains in recent months on the back of massive AI-related demand for their storage technology. 

 

AI stocks were weak earlier this month as investors assessed concerns due to their high valuations and the amount of time it might take for investments in AI to yield results, Reuters said. "At a certain point, weakness in tech was bound to bring in the marginal buyer. These are still high-growth names. They were expensive and they've gotten cheaper," Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky was reported as saying. "There are still a lot of people who want to be exposed to tech for the next several years," he added.

 

Federal Reserve officials were in almost unanimous agreement to keep interest rates steady at their meeting last month. However, they remained divided on what might happen next, minutes of the meeting showed. Investors are pricing in a 50% possibility of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut at the US Federal Reserve's meeting in June.

 

Shares of Amazon rose nearly 2% after regulatory filings showed Bill Ackman's Pershing Square raised its stake in the company by 65% in the December quarter, making Amazon its third-largest holding, CNBC reported. This comes after the company's stock snapped a nine-session losing streak. David Tepper's hedge fund Appaloosa disclosed that it has turned Micron Technology into one of its biggest holdings, betting $285 million on the company as the position now accounts for 6% of the fund's reported assets, TheStreet reported. Shares of Micron Technology surged over 5%. 

 

The S&P 500 software and services sector rose during the session on the back of gains in Cadence Design Systems, Reuters reported. Shares of the company rose nearly 8?ter the chip-design software provider beat revenue estimates for the December quarter.

 

Investors also analysed developments between US and Iran, CNBC reported. US Vice-President J.D. Vance Tuesday said Iran had failed to address US red lines during the talks this week and that the possibility of military action was still on the table.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Tuesday:  

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6881.31	0.56
NASDAQ Composite	22753.64	0.78
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49662.66	0.26

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 90.67

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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