The Indian equity markets showed a positive trend early on Thursday, continuing a steady recovery over the past three days. The ongoing ‘India AI Impact Summit 2026’ in New Delhi is fostering intense discussions on artificial intelligence. Sensex rose by 35 points, or 0.04%, reaching 83,769, while Nifty climbed 30 points, or 0.12%, settling at 25,850.
Main broad-cap indices mirrored the benchmark indices’ performance, with Nifty Midcap 100 rising by 0.20% and Nifty Smallcap 100 by 0.34%. Sectoral indices displayed mixed trends, with Nifty IT leading as the major gainer with a 1% increase, while Nifty metal gained 0.60%. However, Nifty private bank experienced a decline of 0.15%.
Market analysts noted that Nifty has immediate support around the 25,650-25,700 zone, with resistance levels at 25,950-26,000. For Bank Nifty, support is seen in the 61,250–61,350 range, while 61,750–61,850 acts as a significant resistance zone. The recent market rally was attributed to the strength in banking and financial sectors, coupled with momentum in energy, metal, and consumer segments.
Robust and consistent DII inflows have been a stabilizing factor in the market, helping to absorb volatility and support market dips. Despite this, analysts anticipate a cautious sentiment in the near term, with selective profit booking in high-valuation sectors and lingering uncertainties in the IT industry due to global AI-led disruption concerns.
Major Asian markets will remain closed due to the Lunar New Year, with exchanges in mainland China and Hong Kong closed till February 23 and February 19, respectively. In the US, markets closed positively, with Nasdaq gaining 0.78%, S&P 500 adding 0.56%, and Dow Jones rising by 0.26%. On February 18, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,154 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 440 crore.
