Mumbai, February 16 The benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, began trading on a weak note on Monday, tracking a mixed trend in global markets, but later turned volatile as investors engaged in selective buying after early losses.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 349.81 points, or 0.42%, to 82,276.95 in the initial trading session. The broader NSE Nifty dropped by 98.4 points to 25,372.70.
Later, both the benchmark indices turned volatile, fluctuating between gains and losses. The Sensex was quoted at 136.04 points higher at 82,762.80, while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 51.15 points to 25,522.25 after the initial decline.
Among the Sensex constituents, PowerGrid, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Eternal, HCL Technologies, ITC, Trent, Asian Paints, and Tata Steel were the gainers.
On the other hand, Infosys, Adani Ports, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Titan, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) were among the major decliners.
"The sell-off in the IT sector last week will continue to weigh on the markets in the near term. The slight recovery in IT ADRs on Friday is unlikely to support IT stocks. Institutions are likely to continue selling IT stocks and switch to sectors like financials, automobiles, capital goods, telecom, and pharmaceuticals, where there is good earnings growth visibility," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He added that Brent crude is delicately balanced around $68 due to concerns surrounding geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran. This needs to be closely monitored.
"Overall, the market prospects for 2026 appear good, as fundamentals are improving and valuations have turned reasonable, in line with long-term averages. Mid and small caps, though relatively overvalued, are reporting better-than-expected earnings," Vijayakumar said.
The broader Asian markets were trading on a mixed note, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark rising by 0.4% and Japan's Nikkei 225 index trading flat. Markets in China and South Korea remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The US equity market ended on a mixed note on Friday.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 7,395.41 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 5,553.96 crore, according to exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading marginally higher at $67.78 per barrel.
On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled by 1,048.16 points to close at 82,626.76, while the 50-share NSE Nifty plunged by 336.10 points to settle at 25,471.10.
