Stock markets bounce back after falling in early trade

Stock markets recover from early losses, with Sensex and Nifty boosted by gains in banking and capital goods shares.

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty recovered their early losses and were trading higher on Friday (February 20, 2026), lifted by buying in banking and capital goods shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 291.93 points, or 0.35%, to 82,206.21 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 74.6 points, or 0.29%, to 25,379.75.

However, both benchmark indices soon rebounded from their early losses and were trading in positive territory. The BSE benchmark quoted 161.43 points higher at 82,659.57, and the Nifty traded 65.55 points up at 25,519.90.

Among the Sensex constituents, Bharat Electronics Ltd, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, Sun Pharmaceuticals, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the gainers.

Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, and Trent were the laggards.

"Amidst the many crises, the strength of the Indian economy and the recovery in corporate earnings as reflected in Q3 numbers, are positives for the market," said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.