Nifty Reclaims 25,500; Sensex Gains 317 Points as Banks Lead, IT Under Pressure
- 20th February 2026
- 05:30 PM
- 2 min read
Summary
Indian equity benchmarks rebounded on Friday after a brief pause, supported by gains in financials and capital goods stocks. PSU banks surged to fresh highs, while IT stocks continued to face selling pressure.Mumbai | February 20
Indian equity benchmarks resumed their up move on Friday after a one-day pause, recovering from a subdued start to close firmly higher.
The BSE Sensex rose 317 points (0.38%) to settle at 82,815, while the Nifty 50 advanced 117 points (0.46%) to close at 25,571, reclaiming the 25,500 level.
The recovery was led by index heavyweights including Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Axis Bank.
Broader Markets
Broader markets ended on a mixed note. Bank Nifty was positive, added 432 points to end at 61,172.
The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.5%, while the Smallcap index ended marginally lower.
Sectoral Landscape
Sectorally,13 of the 15 major sectoral indices ended higher. The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 1.7% to hit a fresh record high, led by gains of up to 3% in Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank.
Power, metal, capital goods and PSU Bank indices gained between 1–2%. Private Bank, Realty, Oil & Gas, Auto and Financial Services indices also closed in the green.
On the downside, Nifty IT declined 1%, while media stocks also ended lower.
Capital Goods Rally
Shares of capital goods companies saw strong buying interest. The BSE capital goods index rose as much as 2.3% intraday, supported by gains in Bharat Electronics, ABB, Siemens, Cummins India, CG Power and Hitachi Energy.
Sentiment improved after ABB reported its highest fourth-quarter order inflow in five years. The company recorded orders worth ₹4,096 crore, up 52%, driven by strong growth in its base business along with large orders across data centres, automotive, railways, infrastructure and metals segments.
Nifty Gainers and Losers
Within the Nifty, Hindalco Industries, NTPC, SBI Life, Larsen & Toubro and Coal India were among the major gainers on the Nifty. On the losing side, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, HCL Technologies and Grasim Industries weighed on the index, with IT stocks continuing to face pressure.
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