Stock market today: Sensex gains 146 pts, Nifty above 25,850; IT stocks shine

Domestic benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty extended their gains to open higher on Thursday, tracking positive cues from global markets and buying in IT stocks such as Infosys, HCL Technologies and others.

At 9:16 am, the BSE Sensex gained 146.03 points, or 0.17%, to 83,880.28. The NSE Nifty rose 45.55 points, or 0.18%, to 25,864.90.

Among Sensex constituents, HCL Technologies advanced 1.83% to Rs 1493.75. Tech Mahindra gained 1.73%, while Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Tata Steel rose 1.51%, 1.30% and 0.86%, respectively. 

Improved earnings recovery and signs of a continuing uptrend have returned mid and small caps to investors' attention, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited. “At the institutional level, there is a trend of selective accumulation of mid and smallcaps,” he said.

Asian markets traded higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.80% to 57,598.83, while South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.75% to 5,658.50, hitting a fresh record high in early trade. Meanwhile, markets in China and Hong Kong remained closed due to the Lunar New Year holidays.

Wall Street ended the overnight session on a positive note, with all three major indices closed in the green. The S&P 500 gained 0.56% to settle at 6,881.31, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.26% to end at 49,662.66. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.78% to close at 22,753.64.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity for the second consecutive session on February 18, with net purchases amounting to Rs 1,154 crore, said Hitesh Tailor, Research Analyst, Choice Equity Broking Private Limited.

“Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also remained net buyers for the fifth consecutive session, investing Rs 440 crore in equities,” Tailor added.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the Sensex rose 283.29 points, or 0.34%, to close at 83,734.25, while the Nifty advanced 93.95 points, or 0.37%, to settle at 25,819.35.

“However, even now, largecaps have valuation comfort while mid and smallcaps are trading at much higher valuations. Nifty is trading at around 20 times FY27 estimated earnings while the NSE midcap and NSE smallcap indexes are trading at 28 and 24 times estimated FY27 earnings,” Vijayakumar said.

“This makes this market a stock picker’s market. Prospects for financials, autos, capital goods, pharmaceuticals and hotels look good," Vijayakumar added.