Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty flat amid volatility; IT, pharma drag, metal, realty shine

Indian benchmark indices ended marginally lower in the volatile session on February 19. At close, the Sensex was down 28.21 points or 0.04 percent at 75,939.18, and the Nifty was down 12.40 points or 0.05 percent at 22,932.90.

Markets remained volatile and ended nearly unchanged, extending the prevailing consolidation phase. After an initial dip, Nifty staged a swift recovery in the early hours but struggled to sustain gains due to a lack of follow-up buying and pressure on select heavyweight stocks. It remained range-bound for the rest of the session, eventually closing at 22,932.

Sectoral trends were mixed, keeping traders engaged—realty, metal, and energy outperformed, while IT and pharma lagged. The highlight of the session was the rebound in broader indices, which gained between 1.5% and 2.3%.

The ongoing indecisiveness in the index is keeping participants on edge, and this volatility may persist on Thursday. We maintain our view of adopting a stock-specific approach, focusing on resilient sectors and themes, particularly those holding strong even during market downturns, and accumulating them gradually. Additionally, traders should avoid reading too much into the single-day rebound in midcap and smallcap stocks and wait for a clearer recovery signal before taking fresh positions.

The Nifty has moved within a band, keeping the volatile vibe intact. On the lower end, 22,800 is likely to remain crucial support. Until 22,800 is broken, we do not expect a significant fall in the market. A decisive fall below 22,800 might trigger a meaningful correction. However, until that happens, we believe the market is likely to remain range-bound. On the higher end, 23,000/23,150 might act as resistance for Nifty. A decisive breakout above 23,150 could induce a significant rally in the market.

The national benchmarks exhibited a range-bound performance with a slight downward bias, though selective buying in the broader market was evident, driven by bargain hunting in beaten-down stocks. A reversal in FII flows also influenced market dynamics; however, the durability of this trend remains uncertain. Despite concerns over potential US tariff impositions and delays in anticipated interest rate cuts, market sentiment remains optimistic about a rebound in India’s Q3 GDP growth. This optimism is further bolstered by expectations of a recovery in government expenditure. At this juncture, large-cap stocks present a more attractive risk-reward proposition, given their fair valuations.

While markets ended flat with a slightly negative bias due to selling in IT stocks, broader markets witnessed a lot of optimism as mid & small-cap stocks rallied after the recent selloff.

Despite the uncertainty over rising FII selling, falling rupee, and the ongoing tariff war, the recently beaten sectoral stocks from banking, automobile, telecom, metals attracted significant buying interest.

The market showed signs of recovery and engaged in rangebound trading throughout the session. It began with a subdued opening due to concerns over a tariff-related trade war. However, the Index progressed towards the north before encountering resistance around the 23,050 level, leading to a reversal. The market oscillated between gains and losses for the remainder of the session, ultimately closing at 22,932.90 with a marginal loss of 12.40 points.

Realty and Media were the performers, while IT saw a decline of over 1%, followed by Pharma. A notable highlight was the sharp recovery and sustained gains in the Mid and Smallcap segments. Nothing has changed for Nifty50 as it remained within its established range of 22,800 to 23,100, signaling that the market is waiting for a breakout on either sides to determine its next directional move.

Indian benchmark indices ended marginally lower in the volatile session on February 19.

At close, the Sensex was down 28.21 points or 0.04 percent at 75,939.18, and the Nifty was down 12.40 points or 0.05 percent at 22,932.90. About 2724 shares advanced, 1079 shares declined, and 107 shares unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs, TCS, HUL, Infosys, Adani Enterprises were among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers were Bharat Electronics, Hindalco, L&T, Axis Bank, Eicher Motors.

BSE Midcap index was up 1.3 percent and Smallcap index added 2.4 percent.

Among sectors, IT index shed 1.3 percent and pharma index down 0.7 percent, while media, energy, metal, PSU bank, realty, capital goods rose 1-2 percent.

Surge in crude oil prices over the past few sessions weighed on the Rupee. We expect Rupee to trade with negative on the back of weak domestic markets and a bounce back in the US Dollar. Persistent FII outflows may also pressurise the domestic currency. However, any fresh intervention by the RBI may support the Rupee at lower levels.

Traders may take cues FOMC meeting minutes and housing data from the US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 86.75 to Rs 87.25.

Office of the Asst. Commissioner of Central GST Jaipur, Rajasthan, has levied a penalty upon Suzlon Global Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

The Sensex was down 30.03 points or 0.04 percent at 75,937.36, and the Nifty was down 18.85 points or 0.08 percent at 22,926.45. About 2625 shares advanced, 918 shares declined, and 83 shares unchanged.

Spot gold ignored higher yields and a firmer Dollar to close with a hefty gain of 1.24% at $2935, the highest daily closing level ever. Disappointing US NAHB housing Index data, economic and political uncertainties due to tariffs and renowned investment banks recommending metal for higher targets in certain scenarios buoyed the metal.

Risk appetite is healthy as top US and Russian officials met in Riyadh, Saudi Arab, to initiate talks to bring Russia-Ukraine war to an end.

US NAHB Housing Market Index (February) fell from 47 in January to 42, a five-month low, and trailed the estimate of 46. Markets look forward to the January FOMC meeting minutes to be released tonight.

Gold is currently trading at $2939, up by $4 on the day.

Bulls are focusing on $3000 as the near-term target. Interim resistance is at $2945. Support is at $2900/$2875.

Buying into the dips is the preferred trade unless Dollar and yields surge uncomfortably higher.

The company has received a service order worth Rs 7.22 crore from Reliance Industries for mechanical works for Phase-1B.

The European stocks rally took a pause on Wednesday amid mixed earnings and after President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats stoked concern about a widening trade war.

The company has awarded an order for the manufacture and supply of 30 BLSS (spine car) rakes on a turnkey basis to the government company Braithwaite & Co. under the Ministry of Railways. The value of the order, excluding freight charges (including GST), is Rs 689.76 crore, and the supplies are to be completed by August 11, 2026.

The company has acquired the remaining 26% stake in L&T Special Steels and Heavy Forgings from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and has also executed the Joint Venture Termination Agreement with NPCIL. After the acquisition, L&T Special Steels has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

The company has secured orders worth Rs 166.45 crore from Hyosung T&D India for the supply of single-phase coupling transformers and single-phase transformers for TBCB projects.

Netweb Technologies announced the launch of Skylus.ai, designed to optimize GPU resource management for AI including GenAI workloads.

Lupin has received an “A-” leadership rating from CDP for its outstanding performance in climate change and water security

This is to inform that a cyber security incident has occurred at the Company and it has impacted some of the IT assets which have been isolated. The incident has not impacted our core systems and operations. None of our customer operations and store operations have been affected and the same are up and running normally.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) conducted a pre-approval inspection at Eugia Steriles, a 100% subsidiary of Eugia Pharma Specialities and a stepdown subsidiary of the company, at Anakapalli, Andhra Pradesh, during February 10–18, 2025. The US FDA concluded the inspection with 5 observations, which are procedural in nature.

Vedanta share price gained on third consecutive session

The Sensex was up 49.87 points or 0.07 percent at 76,017.26, and the Nifty was up 0.15 points or 0.00 percent at 22,945.45. About 2657 shares advanced, 804 shares declined, and 107 shares unchanged.

Cochin Shipyard share price rises on second consecutive session.

The board of directors in its meeting held on 18.02.2025 approved the participation and support of the company to the scheme of arrangement between NSEL and the traders.

The scheme of arrangement will be filed by NSEL before the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai (NCLT).

The real estate company has partnered with Livingstone Infra for a cluster redevelopment project in Mahalaxmi, with a gross development value of Rs 1,650 crore.

The company has received a Letter of Acceptance for a project worth Rs 554.5 crore from Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka). The project involves the construction of 9 stations with all associated works for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project.

Total volume for January 2025, including surface and air express, stood at 99kt, as compared to 97kt during January 2024 and 113kt during December 2024.

The company board approved proposal for buyback of up to 72,00,000 fully paid-up equity shares of face value Re 1 by the company, representing up to 2.48% of the total number of equity shares of the company, at a price of Rs 500 per equity share payable at cash for a total consideration not exceeding

Rs 360 crore.

The company has fixed Friday, February 28, 2025, as the record date for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders for buyback of equity shares.

Oil held advances on the possible postponement of OPEC+ supply increases and uncertainty around flows from Russia.

Gold fluctuated and traded close to a new record high.

The Sensex was up 249.38 points or 0.33 percent at 76,216.77, and the Nifty was up 55.00 points or 0.24 percent at 23,000.30. About 2665 shares advanced, 746 shares declined, and 98 shares unchanged.

The company has received orders worth Rs 12.07 crores from a private company and has been declared the Lowest Bidder for orders worth Rs. 5.97 crores from Ministry of Defence.

Arkade Developers has secured the redevelopment rights for Nutan Ayojan, a co-operative housing society in Malad West.

The project, spanning 6,858.90 square meters, is expected to generate a gross development value (GDV) of approximately Rs 740 crore.

The company has received a service order worth Rs 7.22 crore from Reliance Industries for mechanical works for Phase-1B.

Asian stocks pulled back after a five-day rally that pushed a regional gauge into overbought territory, as  investors turned cautious amid increasing trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty.

The Sensex was down 11.32 points or 0.01 percent at 75,956.07, and the Nifty was down 21.55 points or 0.09 percent at 22,923.75. About 2525 shares advanced, 796 shares declined, and 111 shares unchanged.

The Board of Directors of Vaishali Pharma at their meeting held on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, approved entering into a Share Subscription Agreement with the Promoters and other shareholders of Kesar Pharma.

Under this agreement, the company will acquire a 51.02% stake in Kesar Pharma by subscribing to 35,89,201 equity shares, each with a face value of Rs 10.

The total investment amounts to Rs 20,41,89,645 and will be made in multiple tranches through a combination of cash payments and the issuance of fresh shares by the Company.

Further, the board has also approved the execution of the Share Subscription Agreement and Shareholders Agreement to give effect to the above, subject to approvals and compliances as may be required under the applicable law.

#1 Due to ongoing negotiations and optimisation of the registration process, registration numbers for the month of February 2025 (on VAHAN portal) impacted temporarily

#2 Sales continue to be strong through February 2025 and the dip in registration will be streamlined in the next few weeks

The company reported a fire incident in one of the furnaces at the Daman unit of Cello Industries, its wholly owned subsidiary, on February 18. The fire was controlled quickly with the help of the fire brigade, and there were no casualties or injuries. Cello Industries has adequate insurance coverage and is also covered under a loss of profit policy.

The company has awarded an order for the manufacture and supply of 30 BLSS (spine car) rakes on a turnkey basis to the government company Braithwaite & Co. under the Ministry of Railways. The value of the order, excluding freight charges (including GST), is Rs 689.76 crore, and the supplies are to be completed by August 11, 2026.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders shares snapped six-day losing streak.

The company has acquired the remaining 26% stake in L&T Special Steels and Heavy Forgings from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and has also executed the Joint Venture Termination Agreement with NPCIL. After the acquisition, L&T Special Steels has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

Hexaware Technologies shares made a subdued listing on the stock exchanges on February 19 after a bumper subscription of over 2 times to its issue in the primary market last week.

The shares of Hexaware Technologies Ltd were listed at Rs 745.5 per share on the NSE, a premium of 5.3 percent over its issue price. On the BSE, the shares of the company were listed at Rs 731 apiece, a premium of 3.25 percent. Post listing of the shares, the total market valuation of the company stood at Rs 44,422.48 crore.

The Sensex was up 127.94 points or 0.17 percent at 76,095.33, and the Nifty was up 33.45 points or 0.15 percent at 22,978.75. About 2530 shares advanced, 625 shares declined, and 90 shares unchanged.

The share price locked at 10 percent upper circuit.