New Delhi, 22 February (H.S.): Domestic equity benchmarks concluded the trading week ending February 20, 2026, with modest gains, shrugging off heavy Thursday selling pressure, as largecap and midcap indices advanced while smallcaps dipped.
The BSE Sensex rose 187.95 points, or 0.22%, to settle at 82,814.71, while the NSE Nifty climbed 100.15 points, or 0.39%, to 25,571.25 over Monday-to-Friday trading.This resilience capped a volatile week marked by Thursday's sharp decline amid global tensions.
BSE's Largecap index gained 0.40% weekly, driven by top performers Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Cummins India, and Hyundai Motor India. Laggards included Info Edge (India), Tech Mahindra, Swiggy, LTIMindtree, Varun Beverages (Varite Energy likely typo for VBL/Varun), SRF, and Eternal (likely Eternal Ltd).
The BSE Midcap index advanced 0.35%, featuring standouts Bharat Dynamics, Hitachi Energy India, Thermax, Bank of India, Indian Bank, Petronet LNG, Bank of Maharashtra, GMR Airports, and Godrej Industries.
Decliners comprised Hexaware Technologies, Brainbees Solutions, Vedant Fashions, Ola Electric Mobility, Persistent Systems, and Clean Science & Technology (down 6-18%).
In contrast, BSE's Smallcap index fell 0.50% weekly, yet saw robust gains in Novartis India, RECL Gear Tech, KRN Heat Exchanger & Refrigeration, Godfrey Phillips India, Aeroflex Industries, Jyoti Structures, VL E-Governance & IT Solutions, Netweb Technologies India, Sadhana Nitrochem, Jindal Poly Investment & Finance, and Newgen Software Technologies (up 16-28%).
Losers included Equilon Nexus, Stellantis India Fluoro Chemicals (Stellantis likely), Shoppers Stop, Pennar Industries, Filatex Fashions, Jagal Prepaid Ocean Services, and Transworld Shipping Lines (down 16-22%).
Sectoral Divergence: PSU Banks Soar, IT/Auto LagNifty's PSU Bank index surged 5.50%, Energy rose 2.43%, and FMCG gained 1.71%; Pharma, Defence, and Healthcare each advanced ~1%.Conversely, Nifty Auto, Media, and IT indices declined 1.30-2.49% weekly.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
