BSE Bankex, BSE Capital Goods and BSE Power led the sectoral gains this week
Shrikant Chouhan,
Head Equity Research,
Kotak Securities
Mumbai, 20 February 2026: Global equity markets this week were mixed factoring in the soft US inflation print, Federal Reserve minutes showing a divide on the future path of rates, deterioration in UK labor markets and continued narratives on AI. Indian markets remained volatile but ended the week with marginal gains. While the Nifty 50, Sensex 30 and BSE 150 Midcap indices posted small gains, the BSE 250 Smallcap indices underperformed the broader markets.
Indian markets accounted for the increase in crude oil prices amid rising geopolitical tensions between Iran and the US, lingering risks from AI disruption and increased trade deficit as witnessed in the latest trade data. BSE IT index continued to witness pressure and closed the week in the negative territory amid fears of revenue deflation from GenAI. BSE Bankex, BSE Capital Goods and BSE Power led the sectoral gains this week. Q3FY26 results were relatively strong, with adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net profit coming in ahead of our expectations. FII flows has been mixed so far in February 2026. Geopolitical developments, AI newsflow and domestic macro will continue to drive domestic and international equity markets in the near-term.
Amol Athawale, VP Technical Research, Kotak Securities, reports:
In the last week, the benchmark indices witnessed volatile activity. After a roller-coaster session, the Nifty ended 0.37 percent higher, while the Sensex was up by 190 points. Among sectors, the PSU Bank index outperformed, rallying 5.38 percent, whereas the Media, Reality, and IT indices lost the most, shedding over 2 percent. During the week, the market bounced back from lower levels; however, due to profit booking at higher levels, it again corrected sharply.
Technically, on daily and intraday charts, the market is still exhibiting a lower top formation and is currently trading below the 50 day SMA (Simple Moving Average), which is largely negative. We are of the view that as long as the market remains below the 50-day SMA or 25,700/83000, the weak sentiment is likely to persist on the downside, and the market could retest the level of 25,450/82500. Further downside may also continue, potentially dragging the index to the 200-day SMA or 25,350-25,300/82200-82000.
On the flip side, if the market moves above 25,700/83000, it could rise to the 25,900-26,000/83500-83800 range. For Bank Nifty, the higher bottom support is placed near 60,500. Above this level, the uptrend is likely to continue towards 61,700-62,000. Conversely, if it falls below 60,500, the chances of hitting 60,000 and 59,800 increase significantly.
