Closing Bell: Sensex recovers nearly 600 pts, Nifty above 25,800; PSU banks and metal stocks lead gains

Benchmark indices extended gains for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex recovering 570.63 points from the day’s low and settling at 83,734.25, up 283.29 points or 0.34 per cent.

The broader Nifty 50 rose 93.95 points or 0.37 per cent to close at 25,819.35. Gains were led by PSU banking, metal, and FMCG stocks, while a sharp selloff in IT shares limited the upside.

Nifty Sectoral Indices

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Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal surged 1.33 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank rose 1.31 per cent, and Nifty FMCG gained 1.21 per cent. Other notable performers included Nifty Bank (0.62 per cent), Nifty Financial Services (0.62 per cent), Nifty Realty (0.62 per cent), Nifty Oil & Gas (0.74 per cent), and Nifty Private Bank (0.54 per cent).

IT stocks remained under pressure, with the Nifty IT index falling 1.23 per cent to 32,668.30, and Nifty MS IT Tech down 0.46 per cent. Nifty Media declined marginally by 0.24 per cent.

Nifty Broad Market Indices

Broader markets also traded higher. Among sub-indices, Nifty Next 50 gained 0.67 per cent, Nifty Midcap 50 0.44 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 0.50 per cent, Nifty Smallcap 50 0.60 per cent, Nifty 100 0.42 per cent, Nifty 200 0.43 per cent, and Nifty 500 0.45 per cent.

Other indices, including Nifty Microcap, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Healthcare, and Nifty FPI 150, ended in the green with gains ranging from 0.21 per cent to 1.31 per cent.

Top Gainers and Losers

Shares of metal, FMCG, banking, and auto companies gained on Wednesday, with Tata Steel rising 2.83 per cent, ITC 2.21 per cent, Axis Bank 1.51 per cent, and M&M 1.49 per cent.

Reliance Industries advanced 1.22 per cent, Larsen & Toubro 0.74 per cent, Bajaj Finserv 0.71 per cent, Bajaj Finance 0.61 per cent, and Hindustan Unilever 0.60 per cent.

Other gainers included Ultratech Cement 0.54 per cent, SBI 0.52 per cent, Trent 0.43 per cent, Sun Pharma 0.36 per cent, Kotak Bank 0.35 per cent, and Titan 0.29 per cent.

Among laggards, IT and tech stocks were under pressure. TCS fell 0.83 per cent, HCL Technologies 1.16 per cent, Infosys 1.37 per cent, and Tech Mahindra 1.58 per cent.

Other losers included Adani Ports (1.20 per cent), Eternal (1.56 per cent), Powergrid (0.48 per cent), Indigo (0.22 per cent), Maruti (0.12 per cent), HDFC Bank (0.12 per cent), and Asian Paints (0.12 per cent).

Stock Market Update

On Wednesday, a total of 3,280 stocks were traded on the exchanges. Of these, 1,715 shares advanced, 1,458 declined, and 107 remained unchanged, on NSE. During the session, 62 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 67 touched their 52-week lows.

The market saw 73 stocks in the upper circuit and 56 in the lower circuit. The total market capitalisation stood at Rs 470.22 lakh crore as of 18-Feb-2026.