[ad_1]
Image for representational purposes only. Both the benchmark indices soon pared early gains.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slumped in the mid-session trade on Thursday amid a broad-based profit-booking rush in realty, power and auto stocks, and rising crude oil prices overseas.
In the mid-session trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 869.96 points, or 1.03%, to 82,864.29.
The broader NSE Nifty declined 251.6 points, or 0.97%, to 25,567.75.
From the Sensex firms, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndiGo, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics Ltd, PowerGrid, Adani Ports, ITC, Asian Paints, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the major laggards.
On the other hand, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were the only gainers.
Among the sectoral indices, Realty dropped the most by 1.81%, followed by Power by 1.30%. Consumer Discretionary fell by 1.14%, Auto declined by 1.12%, Capital Goods decreased by 1.10%, and Utilities lost 1.09%.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “It appears to be a near-term, broad-based sell-off as the market has performed well month-to-date, triggering profit booking. These are also affected by factors that FIIs participation may get muted due to the Lunar New Year holiday period across Asian markets.”
Additionally, Thursday (February 19, 2026) is a non-settlement day because of a banking holiday. While these factors do not typically influence market direction, they can affect trading mechanics, liquidity, and volumes, he added.
Meanwhile, Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.34% to $70.58 per barrel.
“Heightened crude price volatility — with Brent crossing $70 amid delays in the U.S.-Iran deal and rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz — is weighing on the Indian equity market,” Mr. Nair said.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi settled 3% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark closed 1% up. Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The U.S. equities market closed higher in overnight deals on Wednesday (February 18, 2026).
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹1,154.34 crore on Wednesday (February 18, 2026), while domestic institutional investors were also the net buyers of stocks worth ₹440.34 crore, according to exchange data.
On Wednesday (February 18, 2026), the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 283.29 points to settle at 83,734.25, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 93.95 points to close at 25,819.35.
Published – February 19, 2026 10:41 am IST
[ad_2]
Sensex, Nifty crash 1% in mid-session amid profit-booking
