Taking Stock | Market snaps 3-day winning streak; Sensex down 317 points, Nifty below 18,000

The Indian market snapped a three-day winning streak to end lower on February 17 amid selling across sectors barring capital goods.

At close, the Sensex was down 316.94 points, or 0.52 percent, at 61,002.57, and the Nifty was down 91.60 points, or 0.51 percent, at 17,944.20.

The market started the last day of the week on a negative note on weak global cues and witnessed extended selling in the second half of the session but some last-hour buying narrowed the losses.

For the week, BSE Sensex and Nifty50 added 0.50 percent each.

"The Nifty has fallen to the upper band of the falling channel on the daily chart. The trend for the near term is likely to remain sideways to positive as long as it remains above the falling channel," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

"A recovery towards the higher level will likely happen if the bulls manage to hold the Nifty above 17,880. On the higher end, however, 18,150 is likely to act as resistance," he added.

Stocks and sectors

Adani Enterprises, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India, SBI Life Insurance and HDFC Life were among the major Nifty losers. Gainers included L&T, UltraTech Cement, BPCL, Asian Paints and Grasim Industries.

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	82,500.82	328.72	+0.40%
Nifty 50	25,285.35	103.55	+0.41%
Nifty Bank	56,609.75	417.70	+0.74%

Nifty 50 25,285.35 103.55 (0.41%)

Fri, Oct 10, 2025

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
Cipla	1,561.80	48.70	+3.22%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Tata Steel	173.86	-2.56	-1.45%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty PSU Bank	7695.80	126.50	+1.67%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Metal	10261.55	-94.65	-0.91%

On the sectoral front, Nifty Bank, information technology, PSU bank, metal and pharma down 1 percent each. Selling was also seen in the auto and FMCG names. On the other hand, Nifty Infra index added 0.44 percent.

The BSE midcap index fell 0.7 percent and smallcap index 0.20 percent.

On the BSE, bank, information technology, and realty indices shed 1 percent each, while auto, metal, power and healthcare down 0.3-0.8 percent. However, capital goods index rose 0.9 percent.

More than 100 stocks touched their 52-week low on the BSE, including Ipca Laboratories, Jyoti Structures, IL&FS Transportation Networks, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, Thyrocare Technologies, Reliance Power, Venky's, JBF Industries,

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 200 percent was seen in JK Cement, Vodafone Idea and Indiabulls Housing Finance.

A short build-up was seen in Biocon, Adani Enterprises and Mahanagar Gas, while a long build-up was seen in Shree Cement, L&T and UltraTech Cement.

Outlook for February 20

Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice-President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities

Markets witnessed turbulence on the back of weak global cues as investors booked profit in banking, IT and telecom stocks. Rising inflation, US bond yields, and dollar index are once again creating a lot of uncertainty amongst the investors.

For the bulls, 17,900-17,800 or 20-day SMA would act as a key support zone while 50-day SMA or 18,100 and 18,200 could be the immediate hurdle.

On the flip side, the selling pressure could accelerate if the index slips below 17,800 and in case of further correction, it could slip to 17,700-17,650.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets traded under pressure and lost nearly half a percent, pressurized by weak global cues. After the initial downtick, the Nifty index tried to pare losses but continuous selling in the banking majors combined with a downtick in the IT majors pushed the index lower. Finally, the Nifty index settled at 17,944.20 levels; down by 0.51%.

The broader indices too witnessed a decline and lost over half a percent each.

Weak global cues combined with continuous pressure in the banking majors is weighing on sentiment. We feel traders should restrict positions amid mixed cues and wait for some clarity. Investors, on the other hand, can utilize this phase to gradually accumulate quality stocks from banking, auto, IT and FMCG space.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.