Indian shares inch lower as broad losses led by financials overpower rise in IT

Feb 19, 2026, 11:56 GMT+7
By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
Reuters - India's stock benchmarks inched lower on Thursday after three sessions of gains, as broad-based losses led by high-weight financials overpowered an uptick in IT stocks that analysts called a tactical bounce.
The Nifty 50slipped 0.24% to 25,756.7 and the BSE Sensextrimmed 0.24% to 83,535.38, as of 10:23 a.m. IST.
Thirteen of the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-capsand mid-capsfell 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively.
"Participation remains stock specific, indicating cautious deployment of capital," said Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Broking.
IT stocks, which suffered a rout recently due to AI-led disruption fears, rose 0.8%. Financialsfell 0.5%, after rising 0.6% in the previous session.
"While overall sentiment remains positive due to improving earnings, consolidation is likely to persist in the near-term," Shah added.
Both the Nifty and Sensex gained about 1.4% in the previous three sessions, supported by December-quarter earnings that broadly met expectations despite a one-time hit of labour code-related charges.
The three heaviest stocks in the benchmark indexes: private lenders HDFC Bankand ICICI Bankand oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries!dropped about 0.3%-0.8%.
Among individual stocks, upstream oil companies such as ONGC and Oil Indiagained 1.5% and 2.7%, tracking an overnight rise in crude oil prices after Iran's military drills involving temporary closure of parts of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global oil supply route, spurred supply worries.
Higher oil prices are positive for upstream oil companies as they improve their profitability, leading to higher free cash flows.
Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company B L Kashyap and Sonsjumped 3.2% on securing an order worth 3 billion rupees.
Iron and steel pipes maker Jindal SAWfell 3.4% after American Petroleum Institute (API) suspended the company from using its monogram for seamless pipes, citing non-conformities

Sumber : Reuters