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India's benchmark equity indices swung between gains and loses through the session on Thursday as weakness in financial stocks outweighed continued recovery in information technology. A return of foreign funds on Wednesday gave an initial bump to markets in the morning, but momentum waned by noon. The Nifty gained and lost 0.3% intraday and the Sensex tossed 0.4% in both directions.
At the close, the Nifty 50 settled 14 points higher at 25,496.55 and the BSE Sensex at 82,248.61, down 27 points. HDFC Bank dragged the most on the blue-chip indices.
IT stocks continued Wednesday's momentum, with the Nifty IT index rising 1.5% intraday. On the NSE, defence, pharma and PSU banks stocks advanced, while media, FMCG and financials edged lower.
The rupee ended marginally stronger against the dollar.
Elsewhere, Nikkei, Kospi and ASX ended higher, while Hang Seng and CSI 300 fell. Futures for S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are steady.
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Moving away from Dalal Street, US equity futures are unchanged. Contracts for S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures are flat.
The Indian rupee ended 4 paise stronger at 90.92 to the dollar. Intraday, the INR gained as much as 31 paise.
The dollar index was flat against a basket of major currencies.
Source: Bloomberg
India's benchmark equity indices swung between gains and loses through the session on Thursday as weakness in financial stocks outweighed continued recovery in information technology.
A return of foreign funds on Wednesday gave an initial bump to markets in the morning, but momentum waned by noon. The Nifty gained and lost 0.3% intraday and the Sensex tossed 0.4% in both directions.
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NSE CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan, speaking in Mumbai, said there is a growing need for an increase in F&O activity as geopolitical risks continue to rise. He noted that the exchange expects further degrowth in F&O volumes following the tax hike that came into effect in April. Chauhan also emphasised that regulatory measures aimed at curbing excessive speculation will continue.
The shares of PNB are in focus on Thursday as 2.87 shares change hands in block trade.
The stock was trading 0.26% lower at Rs 130.18 apiece on the NSE, compared to a 0.06% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50. The shares earlier during the day rose as much as 1.62% to Rs 132.65 per share before it pared gains.
PNB's shares have risen 39.8% in the last 12 months and 5.4% year-to-date.
Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd gets two construction orders worth Rs 645 crore from NMDC in Chhattisgarh.
The first contract pertains to the construction of a residential tower in Kirandul, and is to be executed within 16 months. The second order involves the development of a township in Kirandul, Chhattisgarh, and is scheduled to be completed within 21 months.
India's GDP could grow between 6.8-7.2 per cent in the next fiscal, EY Economy Watch report said on Thursday. It suggested that to attain the Viksit Bharat goal by 2047, India may have to increase its tax-GDP ratio largely by improvement of tax compliance as major tax reforms have already taken place.
'In the background of India's extensive bilateral trade agreements with other major economies or economic groups, India's medium-term prospects have brightened up. We estimate India's real GDP growth to be in the range of 6.8-7.2 per cent in FY27,' EY India Chief Policy Advisor D K Srivastava said.
European stocks were little changed near record highs as investors assessed fresh corporate earnings, with strong results from Nvidia prompting only a muted reaction. The Euro Stoxx 50 added 0.2% to 6,185, while the broader STOXX Europe 600 was flat at 633.
Piyush Goyal on Thursday met United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Ambassador Sergio Gor in New Delhi to discuss trade and economic ties. Goyal said they engaged in "very fruitful discussions" to expand trade links after the two countries agreed to a pact.
Perplexity's newly announced “Perplexity Computer” has sparked intrigue across the Artificial Intelligence world. The system promises a future where autonomous multi‑agent workflows handle complex tasks end‑to‑end — browsing, reasoning, coding, summarising, and acting in sequence with minimal human supervision.
However, when three of today's leading AI models — Google's Gemini, Grok, and OpenAI's ChatGPT — were asked by NDTV Profit to evaluate the concept, their reactions were far from unanimous applause. What emerges is a mix of admiration, skepticism, and pointed warnings about technical hurdles, pricing, and long-term viability.
Chola Finance on Thursday clarified media reports about purported exit of Executive Chairman Vellayan Subbiah from Cholamandalam Investment Finance as part of Murugappa family settlement.
The company said the speculation is factually incorrect and entirely baseless.
The stock dipped as much as 7.2% intraday, but managed to pare most of the loses after the clarification.
Sedemac Mechatronics Ltd., an auto components manufacturer, on Thursday announced the price band, bidding period and listing date for its upcoming initial public offering. The Rs 1,087.45-crore IPO is exclusively an offer for sale of 80.43 lakh shares and no fresh issue component.
The subscription window will open on March 4 on the exchanges and close on March 6. The company has fixed the price band of Rs 1,287 to Rs 1,352 per share. The minimum bid size for retail investors is 11 shares (Rs 14,872).
Sensex monthly expiry is influencing trade, with options data pointing to a range‑bound market. The medium‑term technical setup for both Nifty and Nifty Bank remains intact. Short covering is continuing in IT stocks, and midcaps are outperforming the Nifty index. Broader sentiment is supported by a global risk‑on mood, and FII inflows are expected to continue.
Aurobindo Pharma arm Eugia gets USFDA nod for Everolimus tablets, used to treat cancer.
Source: Exchange Filing
National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. has issued a request for proposals to investment banks, inviting them to pitch for roles on its long-awaited initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported, quoting sources.
The exchange plans to select advisers by mid-March, according to some of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
With bullion climbing toward $5,200 an ounce — up nearly 6% in six sessions and almost 20% so far this year — India's gold financiers are riding a powerful tailwind.
For lenders, higher gold prices are translating directly into faster loan growth. According to brokerage notes from Macquarie and Jefferies, gold loans have clocked growth of over 30–40% in recent years, outpacing most other retail segments. As of November, loans against gold (excluding agricultural gold loans) accounted for roughly 10% of retail loans, with penetration still relatively low — suggesting room to grow.
Shares of IDFC First Bank rose 2.5% today. The stock has been under pressure since the start of the week after the bank revealed a fraud worth Rs 590 crore in Haryana government account.
The bank has appointed KPMG for a forensic audit and expects a final report in four-five weeks.
Since the news of the incident, the bank has seen nearly Rs 200 crore of outflow from its deposits from the Haryana Government and outstanding deposits is almost 0.5% of total bank's deposits.
Amid a probe into Reliance Group companies, Anil Ambani appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi. The Enforcement Directorate had issued a fresh summons to the Reliance Group chairman, directing him to appear for questioning on February 26, after he failed to attend a scheduled deposition last week, according to official sources.
His wife, Tina Ambani, had also not appeared before the agency on her assigned dates. She reportedly sought adjournments on two occasions—February 10 and February 17—and has yet to record her statement with the Enforcement Directorate.
Today is the expiry day for both weekly and monthly options contracts. The index has been choppy, with a 350 point gap between the day's high and low.
Siddharth Mittal of Biocon told NDTV Profit that the company expects to generate revenue from its Semaglutide launch in the US by FY28. Biocon is aiming to launch the drug, used to control type 2 diabetes and promote significant weight loss, in the US in FY27.
The company is targeting as much as 20% market share for Liraglutide, which currently has a US market size of $130 million. Mittal noted that the Liraglutide market has shrunk due to the presence of other competing products. Biocon expects to launch Liraglutide there within the next 45 days.
Gold prices held firm above $5,190 per ounce, extending gains from the previous session and hovering near an almost four-week high, as markets weighed geopolitical tensions and uncertainties surrounding US trade policies. Silver remained above $89 per ounce, staying near its highest levels in a month.
On the MCX, gold futures for April traded 0.3% lower at Rs 1.6 lakh per 10 grams, and silver March contracts dropped 0.9% to Rs 2.65 lakh per kilo.
Angel One traded ex-stock split today. Trading volumes rose to four times the 30-day average on the NSE.
All IT stocks gained during early trade, led by Persistent Systems and Mphasis. The Nifty IT rose as much as 1.6%, a second consecutive session of advance.
Rise in Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra added to the Nifty 50 index.
Eternal buzzed during early trade after 1% equity or nearly 9.7 crore shares changed hands in two blocks at Rs 2,405 crore.
Yes Bank shares rose during early trade after the bank rolled out additional security measures after detecting fraudulent activity on its Multi-Currency Prepaid Forex Cards, following unauthorised transactions worth about $0.28 million that impacted nearly 5,000 customers. The share price was up nearly 1.5%, trading at Rs 21.01 apiece.
A quick look at market activity in charts:
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India's benchmark Nifty and Sensex opened higher on Thursday, taking positive cues from Asian and US equities.
The Nifty 50 opened 73 points or 0.3% higher at 25,556 and the BSE Sensex jumped 142 points to 82,418.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond was flat at 6.67%.
The Indian rupee opened 11 paise stronger at 90.846 to the dollar. The dollar index is down 0.1% at 97.55.
Oil prices edged higher before nuclear talks between the US and Iran, with some major Middle Eastern producers boosting exports as concerns about a potential conflict in the region create uncertainty about future supply.
Brent climbed above $71 a barrel following a two-day decline, while West Texas Intermediate rose toward $66.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped over 1% to hit a new record of 59,199, extending gains to a third session this week. The broader Topix rose 1.5% to a new high.
The government of PM Sanae Takaichi appointed two new board members on the Bank of Japan who are considered dovish and in-line with the pro-growth PM's economic vision.
Overnight strength on Wall Street after Nvidia results and outlook commentary also boosted sentiment.
Asian shares climbed for a fourth day as recent turmoil sparked by concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence subsided, though gains were tempered by a muted response to Nvidia Corp.'s upbeat sales forecast. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1% to another all-time high.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index crossed 59,000 for the first time fueled by "Takaichi Trade". Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and South Korea's Kospi Index — a bellwether for AI investments — also jumped to new records.
The GIFT Nifty, a futures contract based on the benchmark Nifty 50, is up 0.2% at 25,684 points as of now. This indicates a positive open for the 50-stock index.
Here's the fund flow picture from the last session:
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