India's equity benchmarks showed little change at the opening bell on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, as sectoral rotations created a balanced market. The S&P BSE Sensex edged up by 19.33 points to reach 83,470.29, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 12.50 points to settle at 25,737.90. The muted start reflected a tug-of-war between advancing metal and banking shares and a pronounced sell-off in the information technology sector.
IT Sector Under Pressure
The technology segment emerged as the primary laggard in early trading. Infosys Ltd. led the downturn with a decline of 2.64%. Other major IT firms, including Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies, also traded lower, contributing to the sector's weakness. This downward movement snapped a two-day gaining streak for Indian IT stocks.
AI Launch Sparks Investor Concern
The sell-off was largely attributed to renewed investor anxiety over artificial intelligence disruption. The trigger was the launch of Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6, a new AI model promoted as the company's most capable iteration to date, featuring enhanced coding and reasoning capabilities. The Nifty IT index fell 2.5% following the announcement.
Persistent Systems saw its shares drop more than 3%, while Infosys declined nearly 3%. Other significant players like Coforge, Wipro, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) registered losses ranging between 2% and 3%. The fear that such advanced AI could erode the traditional service models of IT companies prompted the broad-based retreat. The sentiment echoed in global markets, where firms like Cognizant and Accenture also experienced share price declines.
Resilience in Other Sectors
Offsetting the tech weakness, metal and banking stocks provided support to the indices. Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd. was a notable gainer, rising 3.39%. Tata Steel Ltd. advanced 2.39%, reflecting positive momentum in the metals space. Banking shares also contributed to the market's stability.
Market analysts pointed to underlying strength. Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted that better-than-expected third-quarter corporate earnings were helping to sustain market resilience. However, he cautioned that ongoing volatility and uncertainty, particularly within the IT sector due to AI-related developments, remained a key challenge for investors.
Broader Market Sentiment
The activity of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) provided a cautiously optimistic signal, as they have been net buyers in recent sessions. This suggests a degree of confidence amid the sectoral shifts, though the focus remains on how different industries adapt to technological change.
Global Currency Movements
Beyond equities, the U.S. dollar strengthened to a one-week high. This move was supported by hawkish commentary from Federal Reserve officials, including Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Fed Governor Michael Barr. Their remarks reinforced market expectations that interest rates would remain steady in the near term. Goolsbee highlighted concerns over elevated services inflation, while Barr indicated a likely pause in policy adjustments to assess incoming economic data.
The dollar's rise was further aided by weakness in the euro and British pound, which both touched one-week lows. The euro softened following disappointing German economic growth expectations. In contrast, the Japanese yen recovered some ground after a Bank of Japan official made comments supportive of a potential interest rate hike. Market-derived probabilities currently assign minimal odds to an imminent Federal Reserve rate cut, underscoring diverging monetary policy paths among major central banks.
In summary, the Indian market's flat opening on February 18, 2026, masked significant sectoral churn. While metals and banks offered support, the IT sector succumbed to fears of competitive disruption from the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, setting a cautious tone for the trading session.
