Markets opened cautiously on Friday, February 20, with both benchmark indices trading in a narrow range after Thursday’s sharp sell-off that wiped out nearly ₹6.79 lakh crore in market capitalisation.
The Sensexwhich closed at 82,498.14 on Thursday, opened at 82,272.49 and was trading at 82,591.30, up ₹93.16 or 0.11 per cent, as of 10.05 am. The Nifty 50which had closed at 25,454 on Thursday, down 365 points or 1.41 per cent, opened at around 25,400 and was trading at 25,503.60, up 49.25 points or 0.19 per cent, at the same time.
Thursday’s sell-off was broad-based, with reality and media indices losing nearly 2 per cent each, the steepest sectoral declines of the session.
Banking, auto, FMCG, metals, and aviation stocks were also hit hard. both foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers, offloading ₹459.90 crore and ₹1,082.15 crore, respectively, in the cash market. India VIX spiked over 10 per cent to 13.46, signaling heightened market anxiety.
The primary trigger for the risk-off mood was escalating US–Iran geopolitical tensions. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned that Iran has “10 to 15 days to strike a deal or bad things happen,” rattling global markets.
Crude oil surged above $66 per barrel, its highest since July, climbing more than 7 per cent over two days, as markets priced in potential disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, which handles approximately 20 per cent of global oil supply.
“The sharp spike in Brent crude to $72 reflects growing fear and uncertainty in markets,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. “Whether there will be a deal after the standoff, or whether missiles will fly, will determine market behavior in the near-term… Crises have proven to be buying opportunities, in hindsight.”
Wall Street also closed lower on Thursday, adding to the negative global cues. The Dow Jones slid 267 points to 49,395, the Nasdaq fell 70 points to 22,682, and the S&P 500 dipped 19 points to 6,861.
Walmart fell 1.4 per cent after the retail giant provided weaker-than-expected earnings guidance for the current year.
Private equity stocks were hit hard after Blue Owl Capital announced it would sell $1.4 billion in assets and freeze redemptions at one of its funds, sending its stock tumbling 6 per cent. Apollo Global Management, Ares, KKR & Co, and Carlyle Group fell between 1.9 per cent and 5.2 per cent.
“The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected a negative reaction to Walmart’s earnings… Negative sentiment may also have been driven by a continued spike in crude oil prices amid concerns of a military conflict between the US and Iran,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities.
Adding to the pressure, the US Federal Reserve’s FOMC minutes revealed that officials are not rushing to cut interest rates, with several policymakers noting potential hikes if inflation remains elevated.
The US Dollar The index rose to near 97.80, its highest in over a week, weighing on emerging market assets. Gold held above $5,000 per troy ounce, supported by safe-haven demand. MCX Gold futures are trading near the ₹1,50,000–₹1,60,000 zone, while MCX Crude Oil is holding near ₹6,000 with an upward bias.
On the Nifty 50, Coal India led the gainers, rising 1.98 per cent to ₹424.40 from a previous close of ₹416.15, on volumes of over 22 lakh shares. BEL gained 1.78 per cent to ₹443.10 against a previous close of ₹435.35, while Larsen & Toubro advanced 1.19 per cent to ₹4,331.60 from ₹4,280.50. NTPC rose 1.17 per cent to ₹367.45 from ₹363.20, and ONGC climbed 1.13 per cent to ₹277.75 from a previous close of ₹274.65, with over 1.21 crore shares changing hands.
Information technology stocks continued to drag the market. Tech Mahindra fell 1.39 per cent to ₹1,458.80 from a previous close of ₹1,479.30, while Infosys dropped 1.34 per cent to ₹1,352.10 from ₹1,370.50 on volumes exceeding 37 lakh shares. Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited shed 1.54 per cent to ₹28.15 from ₹28.59. Eternal declined 0.90 per cent to ₹269.30 from ₹271.75, and Bharti Airtel dipped 0.64 per cent to ₹1,975.80 from ₹1,988.60.
“The continuing weakness in IT stocks is another dampener for the market,” said Vijayakumar of Geojit. “Investors who are optimistic about a possible deal can use the current weakness in the market to buy fairly valued high quality stocks in banking and financials, autos, pharmaceuticals, hotels, leading capital goods and telecom.”
Technically, the Nifty has slipped below its 20-, 50-, and 100-day exponential moving averages, with a bearish engulfing candlestick signaling distribution at higher levels. Immediate support lies at 25,400–25,300, while 25,600 is the first resistance to watch. Bank Nifty, which closed at 60,740 on Thursday, is hovering above the crucial 60,500–60,300 support zone. A breach below this could drag the index towards 60,000–59,800.
“As long as the market trades below the 20-day SMA or 25,500/82,700, the weak sentiment is likely to continue… The current market texture is volatile; hence, level-based trading would be the ideal strategy for day traders,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.
Analysts said the near-term trajectory will be dictated by developments in West Asia and any shift in the US Fed’s tone. “The structure has weakened in the short term. Any pullback towards resistance zones may be used as a selling opportunity unless we see a strong reclaim of broken support levels,” said Hariprasad K, SEBI-registered Research Analyst and Founder of Livelong Wealth.
Published on February 20, 2026