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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

 

By Gopika Balasubramanium 

 

MUMBAI – Benchmark equity indices closed with marginal gains Wednesday, with traders primarily buying shares of information technology, automobile, and metal companies. Mirroring this, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Auto, and Tata Steel were the top gainers of the Nifty 50 index. India VIX, or the volatility index, which measures the uncertainty of the domestic equity market, also cooled off for the third straight session Wednesday. However, the indices were volatile throughout the session, constantly recovering from intraday lows. 

 

On Wednesday, the Nifty 50 rose 57.85 points or 0.2% to close at 25482.50 points. The 50-stock index rose as high as 25652.60 points during the session. Gains in index heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, and Infosys also supported the 50-stock index. Earlier in the day, some analysts had predicted that the Nifty 50 would face some selling pressure above 25600 points. 

 

Wednesday, 243 stocks hit 52-week low while 77 stocks hit 52-week high, according to the NSE website. Furthermore, 86 stocks fell to their lower circuit levels while 59 stocks rose to their upper circuit levels. About 51% of total 3,287 stocks traded on the NSE closed higher. The BSE Sensex closed at 82276.07 points, up 50.15 points or 0.1%. All the mid-cap and small-cap indices gained more than their benchmark peers, ending the session with 0.6-1.0% gains. The India VIX cooled nearly 5% to end at 13.4875. 

 

Traders turned bullish on IT stocks Wednesday, with all the 10 constituents of Nifty IT index ending higher. These stocks gained more than 3-4% during the session, but some of them came off their respective intraday highs. Among them, HCL Technologies gained the most and closed 3% higher, followed by Oracle Financial Services and TCS which ended with 2.2-2.5% gains. The Nifty IT index closed 1.6% higher at 30526.35 points, after falling for five straight sessions and declining 9% during this period. 

 

Some IT analysts said investors were concerned whether the sell-off in shares of IT companies in the last few sessions was justified or not. These stocks were hit the hardest due to concerns over generative artificial intelligence models taking over function of software companies. However, market participants are now re-evaluating the extent of such concerns over AI disruption and whether the earnings of these companies would actually be affected as expected. Firms are still dependant on traditional models which require services of IT software companies, they said. 

 

Expectations of robust wholesale sales volumes for automobile segments during February likely prompted traders to buy shares of original equipment makers during Wednesday's session. Sales volumes are likely to be driven by continued positive customer sentiment spurred by better affordability, new products, adequate availability of finance, and inventory build-up with dealers, Nuvama Institutional Research said in a report. 

 

The Nifty Auto index rose over 2% to a high of 28574.25 points, but ended slightly off highs at 28466.50 points. All the Nifty Auto constituents closed higher in the session. "...expectations of monthly numbers for Feb (February) across the board is very healthy," said a senior analyst with a large-sized domestic brokerage tracking the sector. The automobile industry has been growing solidly after the cut in goods and services tax in September 2025 and even after the festival season.

 

Among the Nifty Auto companies, Hero MotoCorp was the top gainer and closed 4% higher. Others such as Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, and TVS Motor Co. ended up 1-3%. Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki India, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles closed 1% higher each. Auto-ancillary companies such as Bharat Forge, Bosch, and Samvardhana Motherson International ended with 1-2% gains.

 

Traders also sought shares of metal companies, with the Nifty Metal being the highest gainer among sectoral indices, ending with around 3% gains. Lloyds Metals and Energy closed 7.5% higher. Nomura initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' recommendation and set a target price of INR 1,600, indicating over 34% upside from Tuesday's close. The company is transitioning from a pure-play miner to a more stable, diversified and less cyclical business model, which is expected to support meaningful upside, the brokerage said in a report dated Tuesday. 

 

Others such as National Aluminium Co., Vedanta, Hindustan Copper, and Hindustan Zinc closed up 4-5%. Steel companies such as Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India, Jindal Steel, and JSW Steel ended 2-3% higher. "Steel demand is looking quite good and prices have firmed up and other than this global macro was good yesterday (Tuesday)," an analyst tracking the sector said. "There is a favorable metals cycle so stocks should slowly move up as long as there is nothing negative (specific to the sector)."

 

Further, shares of solar and renewable energy companies such as Premier Energies and Waaree Energies hit their lower circuits in early trade after the US government imposed preliminary duties of around 126% on solar cell and panel imports from India. Later in the day, Waaree Energies' management in a call with investors and research analysts clarified that the company sees no material impact from preliminary countervailing duties by the US on solar related imports. Shares of Premier Energies and Waaree Energies came off their respective intraday lows and closed lower by 6% and over 10%, respectively.  

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 37 rose, 13 fell

* Of Sensex stocks, 20 rose and 10 fell

* On the NSE, 1,701 stocks rose, 1,480 fell, and 106 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,065 stocks rose, 2,131 fell, and 184 were unchanged

* Nifty Metal: up 2.7%; Nifty Pharma: up 1.9%; Nifty PSU Bank: down 0.4%

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BSE                                                 NSE

Sensex: 82276.07, up 50.15 points or 0.1%           Nifty 50: 25482.50 , up 57.85 points or 0.2%

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S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	: Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	: 2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	: 2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 80722.94 (Feb. 1)	: 2026 Closing Low: 24825.45 (Feb. 1)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 79899.42 (Feb. 1)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 24571.75 (Feb. 1)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	: 2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

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