Stock markets decline in early trade dragged by IT firms; RBI policy in focus

Stock markets decline as IT firms weigh down indices; investors cautious ahead of RBI policy announcement amid foreign fund outflows.

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Friday (February 6, 2026) dragged down by IT heavyweights amid weak trend in the U.S. equities.

Investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the RBI policy announcement and fresh foreign fund outflows. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced that the central bank’s policy rate will remain unchanged at 5.25%

Extending its previous day’s decline, the 30-share BSE Sensex edged lower by 225.15 points to 83,088.78. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 89.25 points to 25,553.55.

From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Asian Paints, NTPC, and HCL Tech were among the major laggards.

Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index quoted higher.