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Reliance, ITC, Tata Steel drive Nifty past 25,800; Sensex climbs 283 pointsBroader markets outperformed the benchmarks. The Midcap Index climbed 302 points to 60,183. The Nifty Bank index gained 377 points to end at 61,551.By Jomy Jos Pullokaran  February 18, 2026, 3:59:51 PM IST (Updated)2 Min ReadThe equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed higher for the third straight session on Wednesday (February 18), ending near the day’s high with gains led by select heavyweights and strong traction in broader indices.

The Sensex rose 283 points to close at 83,734, while the Nifty advanced 94 points to settle at 25,819, crossing the 25,800 mark. Reliance Industries, ITC, Tata Steel, Axis Bank and L&T were the top contributors to the Nifty’s gains.

Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks. The Midcap Index climbed 302 points to 60,183. The Nifty Bank index gained 377 points to end at 61,551. Market breadth remained in favour of advances, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 1:1.

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From the Sensex basket, Tata Steel Ltd, ITC Ltd, Tata Consumer Products Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd and Grasim Industries Ltd were the major gainers. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Wipro Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Tech Mahindra Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd were the biggest laggards.

Among sectors, PSU banks extended gains and closed higher for the third consecutive session. Punjab National Bank rose over 3%. IT stocks remained under pressure amid AI uncertainty. LTIMindtree declined over 2%.

In stock-specific action, Ola Electric snapped its four-day losing streak and rose 1% after the Goa High Court stayed CEO Bhavish Aggarwal’s arrest warrant. Shares of Godfrey Phillips and ITC surged up to 20% following a cigarette price hike.

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Aurobindo Pharma fell over 2% after the US FDA flagged lapses at Unit-7. Dabur declined over 1% following a CEO reshuffle, with Herjit S Bhalla named as the new CEO. NDL Ventures hit the 20% upper circuit after the Competition Commission of India cleared the merger of Hinduja Leyland Finance with the company. Dilip Buildcon surged 4% after the company was declared the L-1 bidder for a ₹702 crore Gujarat government project.Continue Reading(Edited by : Jomy Jos Pullokaran)First Published: Feb 18, 2026 3:40 PM ISTTagsBSE Sensexbse sensex todaymidcap indexNSE Nifty 50NSE Nifty 50 TodayStock Market today