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Market breadth remained positive, with advances slightly outpacing declines as the NSE advance-decline ratio stood at 1:1. Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the Midcap index climbing 302 points to 60,183. The Nifty Bank index added 377 points to close at 61,551.Among the top contributors to the Nifty’s gains were Reliance Industries, ITC, Tata Steel, Axis Bank and L&T, which helped lift the index above the 25,800 mark.PSU banks extended their rally for a third consecutive session, with Punjab National Bank rising over 3%. Banking stocks remained firm amid continued buying interest in the public sector space.IT stocks, however, stayed under pressure amid lingering uncertainty around AI-led spending trends. LTIMindtree fell over 2%, reflecting broader weakness in the sector.In stock-specific action, Godfrey Phillips and ITC surged up to 20% following reports of a cigarette price hike, boosting sentiment in the tobacco space.Ola Electric snapped its four-day losing streak to rise 1% after the Goa High Court stayed CEO Bhavish Aggarwal’s arrest warrant.Aurobindo Pharma declined more than 2% after the US FDA flagged lapses at its Unit-7 facility. Dabur slipped over 1% following a CEO reshuffle, with Herjit S Bhalla named as the new chief executive.Among other movers, 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 gained 4% after being declared the L-1 bidder for a ₹702 crore Gujarat government project.Benchmark indices ended higher for the third straight session, closing near the day’s high, with the Sensex rising 283 points to settle at 83,734 and the Nifty gaining 94 points to end at 25,819.Market breadth remained positive, with advances slightly outpacing declines as the NSE advance-decline ratio stood at 1:1. Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the Midcap index climbing 302 points to 60,183. The Nifty Bank index added 377 points to close at 61,551.Among the top contributors to the Nifty’s gains were Reliance Industries, ITC, Tata Steel, Axis Bank and L&T, which helped lift the index above the 25,800 mark.PSU banks extended their rally for a third consecutive session, with Punjab National Bank rising over 3%. Banking stocks remained firm amid continued buying interest in the public sector space.IT stocks, however, stayed under pressure amid lingering uncertainty around AI-led spending trends. LTIMindtree fell over 2%, reflecting broader weakness in the sector.In stock-specific action, Godfrey Phillips and ITC surged up to 20% following reports of a cigarette price hike, boosting sentiment in the tobacco space.Ola Electric snapped its four-day losing streak to rise 1% after the Goa High Court stayed CEO Bhavish Aggarwal’s arrest warrant.Aurobindo Pharma declined more than 2% after the US FDA flagged lapses at its Unit-7 facility. Dabur slipped over 1% following a CEO reshuffle, with Herjit S Bhalla named as the new chief executive.Among other movers, 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 gained 4% after being declared the L-1 bidder for a ₹702 crore Gujarat government project.Alok Agarwal, Head of Quant & Fund Manager, Alchemy Capital Management on IT sector“On a relative performance basis, the sector looks quite appealing. But when we start looking for growth opportunities, barring a few select midcap IT names, it is difficult to find real growth visibility across the bulk of the sector.When I say growth visibility, I mean at least a good, decent double-digit kind of growth in earnings — and that is difficult to find currently.The turning point would be when we start seeing those growth numbers accelerate into double digits. By then, the price movements would already have been quite attractive, and the sector would become more compelling. But in the absence of that growth, it is difficult to form a positive view on the sector.”Lancelot D’Cunha of ValueX Wealth Connect on Jio Financial said,“Jio Financial is a stock that holds a lot of promise because it is the holding company for the entire financial services gamut of the Reliance Group. If you look at valuations, the stock is very expensive. Even at current levels, it is trading at above 100 times earnings. Over the long term — say five to ten years — the company should grow. However, in the near term, over the next two to three years, it may be difficult to generate returns from an entry at these levels, because earnings may not sustain or justify such high valuations for long. If there are periods when earnings do not grow or there are negative surprises, the stock could see a serious correction.”Lancelot D’Cunha of ValueX Wealth Connect on Raymond Lifestyle said,“Raymond Lifestyle is essentially the Raymond suiting business. It has strong brands like Park Avenue and nearly 1,600 stores in operation. However, considering the current situation in terms of growth and profitability, there are many new brands entering the B2C space. Raymond Lifestyle also has a B2B business, which was impacted mainly by the US trade deal, although it may now get some relief. If you look at the financials, it has been a difficult period for the company, and that is not likely to change in the near term because there is significant domestic as well as global competition. The stock is trading at about 60 times its earnings. From this perspective, it looks challenging. Perhaps a correction in the stock would provide a better entry opportunity.”Bharat Forge has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with VVDN Technologies to collaborate across the automotive, defence, and data centre domains.Following the announcement, shares of Bharat Forge closed 1% higher at ₹1,770 on the NSE.

Rupee Ends Flat At 90.67/$ Against Tuesday’s Close

Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal Financial Services on Medi Assist Healthcare said, “The trend of the counter is negative, but on the daily chart, it is bottoming out. From a short-term perspective, the counter appears to be forming a base. I believe that with support at ₹395, the stock can head towards ₹445–455. So, a short-term recovery can be seen in the counter.”

Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal Financial Services on Raymond Lifestyle said,“The trend of the counter is negative. It has been making lower tops and lower bottoms on both the monthly and weekly charts. However, it has been consolidating over the last couple of weeks. The major trend remains negative. My suggestion is to try to exit on any bounce-back move while keeping the technical levels in mind. As of now, I would not recommend entering, because the trend is negative and it is very tough to catch a counter that is continuously on the downside. One can watch the key support near ₹895 and try to exit on a bounce. In that scenario, it could bounce to the ₹1,020–1,050 levels.”

RVNL

Gets LoA from Northern Railways for a project worth ₹1,201 Cr

The shares of Punjab National Bank rose as the PSU Bank index topped the day.

The shares of Bank of Maharashtra have risen by over 2%, making it one of the biggest gainers among banking stocks.

The Nifty PSU Bank index has risen over 1% and is one of the best-performing indices today.

The conversation platform ‘Samvaad’ was introduced by Indian artificial intelligence (AI) firm SarvamAI on Wednesday, February 18, during the India AI Impact Summit.

The startup unveiled several apps, including Sarvam for Conversations, Work, and Content, that were based on the company’s in-house models.

Market at day’s high, all major indices are now trading in the green. Nifty near 25,800

E2E Networks Says: No new commercial agreement entered into with #Nvidia

Not entered into any new negotiations or agreements with Nvidia

Today’s announcement is about the existing’ agmt co has with Nvidia

According to K Krithivasan, CEO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), as the company increases expenditures in infrastructure, models, and applications, artificial intelligence is expanding rather than contracting the market for IT services.

Safari Industries has inked a licensing agreement with Carlton Retail for the use of the ‘Carlton’ brand under Class 18 for certain products, including luggage, in India.

here

With a three-stage $18 billion investment planned in Argentina, multinational mining company BHP is focusing its next phase of expansion on copper, which might sustain consistent production over the ensuing ten years.

The shares of LTI Mindtree dipped close to 3%, making it the biggest loser on the Nifty IT Index.

Ajit Mishra, Religare Broking

Sneha Seth, Derivatives Research Analyst, Angel One

On ITC

The Nifty IT index has declined by over 500 points, as tech stocks trade under pressure.

Safari Ind enters into a licensing agreement with CRL to use CARLTON brand for 20 years

License fee to use the Carlton brand will be ₹45 lk or 5% of net sales per year

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