New Delhi, 11 February (H.S.):
Indian equity benchmarks displayed fragile sentiment in the opening stretch of Wednesday’s session, slipping into red after a brief early‑session rally as selling pressure mounted across both the BSE and the NSE.
On the BSE, the 30‑share S&P BSE Sensex opened on a positive note at 84,339.15, climbing to an intra‑morning high of 84,487.34 but then reversing sharply as profit‑booking and fresh short‑covering triggered a wave of selling.
By around 10:15 a.m. IST, the Sensex had trimmed its opening gains and was trading at 84,201.45, down by 72.47 points, reflecting a tentative loss of approximately 0.09 percent over the opening hour.
Similarly, on the NSE, the 50‑share Nifty 50 opened at 25,997.45, rising within minutes to 26,009.40, before succumbing to selling pressure and falling into negative territory.
The gauge pared back most of its opening surge and was trading at 25,927.40 by 10:15 a.m., down by 7.75 points from the day’s start, translating into a marginal decline of roughly 0.03 percent.
Among heavyweight large‑caps, select blue‑chips held up relatively well despite the broader, skittish mood. Shares of Ashok Leyland, Apollo Hospitals, Max Healthcare, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Titan Company were seen trading between about 1.61 percent and 6.17 percent higher in the early part of the session, underpinning pockets of strength in auto, realty and consumer‑linked segments.
On the flip side, key indices‑heavyweights such as Coal India, ONGC, Hindalco Industries, Grasim Industries, and Trent Limited were seen slipping by around 1.08 percent to 2.08 percent, suggesting profit‑taking in PSU, metals and select infra‑linked counters.
Market breadth remained mixed to weak during the first hour. Out of 2,680 actively traded scrips on the BSE, 1,128 shares were trading in the green, while 1,552 securities were in the red, indicating a clear tilt towards losses across the broader tape.
Within the Sensex pack, 10 of the 30 constituents managed to stay positive in early trading, while 20 stocks were in the red, underscoring the impact of selling across a sizeable portion of the blue‑chip universe.
The trend was broadly similar on the Nifty side: out of the 50 Nifty‑weighted stocks, 16 were advancing and 34 were declining, reinforcing the sense that today’s early session has been dominated by selling pressure rather than broad‑based participation.
The pair of benchmarks had ended the previous trading day—Tuesday, February 10, 2026—in positive territory, with the Sensex closing at 84,273.92, up by 208.17 points or about 0.25 percent.
Likewise, the Nifty 50 settled at 25,935.15, registering a gain of 67.85 points, equivalent to roughly 0.26 percent, as global cues and sustained domestic inflows had provided mild support at Tuesday’s close.
Today’s slightly risk‑averse tone suggests that fresh external headwinds, coupled with technical profit‑booking after recent gains, may be weighing on early‑session sentiment, even though the overall trend continues to reflect a moderately positive underlying environment over the past few days.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
