Sensex, Nifty trim morning gains by midday; Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto lead gainers

The indices had opened with considerably stronger momentum; the Sensex had climbed as high as 82,711.12 in early trade, before paring those gains as the session progressed.

Equity benchmarks surrendered most of their early gains by Wednesday afternoon, with the Sensex slipping into marginal negative territory and the Nifty holding on to a slim advance, as sectoral divergence widened and banking stocks weighed on the broader recovery that had begun at the open following Tuesday’s AI-led selloff.

As of 1 pm, the Sensex was trading at 82,208.90, down 17.02 points or 0.02 per cent from its previous close of 82,225.92, having opened at 82,530.12. The Nifty 50 stood at 25,471.65, up 47 points or 0.18 per cent over its previous close of 25,424.65. The indices had opened with considerably stronger momentum; the Sensex had climbed as high as 82,711.12 in early trade, before paring those gains as the session progressed.

Among broader market indices, the Nifty Next 50 gained 377.05 points or 0.54 per cent to 70,155.50, while the Nifty Midcap 100 added 129.75 points or 0.22 per cent to 59,184.05, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 93.85 points or 0.55 per cent to 17,046.75. The Nifty Financial Services index edged lower by 13.80 points or 0.05 per cent to 28,277.90, and the Nifty Bank fell 115.75 points or 0.19 per cent to 60,926.55, reflecting continued pressure in financial stocks.

On the Nifty 50, Tata Steel led gainers, rising 2.49 per cent to ₹214.34, followed by Bajaj Auto, which climbed 2.41 per cent to ₹10,065.50. HCL Technologies advanced 2.17 per cent to ₹1,368.30, extending its recovery from Tuesday’s sharp IT sector decline. Shriram Finance gained 1.99 per cent to ₹1,082.80, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 1.78 per cent to ₹1,762.60.

On the losing side, Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 1.44 per cent to ₹421.55, and ITC declined 1.38 per cent to ₹319.05. Tata Consumer Products slipped 1.29 per cent to ₹1,162.80, while State Bank of India dropped 1.22 per cent to ₹1,208.40, reversing early session levels. Eternal fell 1.14 per cent to ₹251.10, continuing pressure seen since the morning open.

On the BSE, 4,184 stocks were traded by midday, with advances at 2,022 against declines of 1,964 and 198 stocks unchanged. A total of 104 stocks hit 52-week highs while 240 touched 52-week lows, with 141 stocks in the upper circuit and 135 in the lower circuit.

The midday pullback comes despite an otherwise constructive morning, where technology stocks had initially led the rebound. The morning session had seen Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra post gains of over 2 per cent, though those moves were not enough to sustain index-level momentum as banking and consumer stocks faced selling pressure through the afternoon.

FIIs had remained net sellers at ₹102.5 crore at the open, while DIIs provided support with net buying of ₹3,161.2 crore. Markets will look to the final two-and-a-half hours of trade, with the session closing at 3.30 pm, to determine whether the benchmarks can recover or extend their mid-session drift.

Published on February 25, 2026