Technically, analysts remained cautious about near-term market direction.
Markets opened on a weak note on Thursday, with benchmark indices trading lower in early trade as heavy selling pressure in IT stocks weighed on sentiment. The Sensex opened at 83,968.43 against its previous close of 84,233.64 and was trading at 83,940.24, down 293.40 points or 0.35 per cent. The Nifty 50 opened at 25,906.70 against its previous close of 25,953.85 and was currently at 25,867.05, down 86.80 points or 0.33 per cent.
Technology stocks led the decline, with Infosys dropping 4.72 per cent to ₹1,402.40, Tech Mahindra falling 4.24 per cent to ₹1,565.10, wipro declining 4.23 per cent to ₹220.10, TCS losing 3.96 per cent to ₹2,794.60, and HCL Technologies down 3.62 per cent to ₹1,495.50. The sharp fall in IT stocks came after concerns over AI-driven disruption in the technology sector rattled global markets.
However, financial stocks provided some support to the broader indices. Shriram Finance emerged as the top gainer, rising 1.33 per cent to ₹1,070.90, followed by ICICI Bank which gained 1.27 per cent to ₹1,424.00. State Bank of India advanced 1.19 per cent to ₹1,197.00, while Bharat Electronics Limited climbed 1.09 per cent to ₹442.30. Eicher Motors gained 0.98 per cent to ₹7,847.00.
“Indian equity markets opened on a flat to mildly negative note and are trading with a weak bias, as sharp selling in IT stocks weighs on the benchmarks,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. “Despite the weakness, the underlying liquidity backdrop remains supportive, with foreign institutional investors continuing as net buyers and domestic institutional investors providing steady participation.”
Market participants were closely watching the release of January consumer price inflation data, which will be compiled using a revised 2024 base year. “The new series expands coverage to 358 items—including airfares, e-commerce transactions and OTT subscription rates—compared with 299 products and services under the 2012 series,” Ponmudi noted.
Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, highlighted that “the latest US jobs data indicating addition of 1,30,000 jobs last month and unemployment falling to 4.3 per cent points to the possibility of no rate cuts by the Fed in the near-term.” He added that “support to the market has to come from earnings growth, and there are sectors like automobiles, jewellery, hotels, segments of capital goods, telecom and financials that are doing well on the earnings front.”
On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors extended their buying streak, purchasing equities worth ₹943 crore on February 11, marking their fourth consecutive session of net buying. However, domestic institutional investors turned sellers, offloading equities worth more than ₹125 crore.
Technically, analysts remained cautious about near-term market direction. Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, said “we are of the view that, on the lower side, 25,900/84,200 would be the crucial support zone, while 26,000/84,500 would act as an immediate resistance area for the bulls.”
Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, noted that “Nifty continues to hold its uptrend with its level above all key moving averages. Immediate resistance for the Nifty is seen near 26,000; above this, the index could extend the rally towards a fresh all-time high of 26,373.”
Among sectors, healthcare, auto, and pharma indices had rallied over 1 per cent in the previous session, while the IT index lost 1.90 per cent. The broader market sentiment remained cautious as traders adopted a selective approach amid persistent global uncertainties and market volatility.
Published on February 12, 2026