The Sensex and Nifty have a rocky start; mid- and small-cap stocks are down up to 1%, while financial, oil, and gas equities are down.

The sell-off was most severe for oil and gas and banking stocks, which fell 0.3 and 1 percent, respectively.

Following conflicting global signals, the Indian equity market began the day cautiously on February 18, as investors considered rising valuations, stalling corporate results, and worries about U.S. tariffs. Investor attention is now fixed on the FOMC minutes set to be released on February 19, which could reveal a hawkish Fed stance—dampening expectations for rate cuts in 2025.

The Sensex had down 16 points, or 0.02 percent, to 75,980 at 09:47 AM, while the Nifty had dropped 28 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,931. About 928 shares advanced, 2,099 shares declined, and 121 shares were unchanged.

emphasized that IT and banking stocks are proving resilient and could overtake other market leaders before a further correction occurs. He also pointed to today’s weekly Sensex expiry as a catalyst for increased volatility.

The derivatives market continues to reflect investor anxiety, with significant players adopting a consolidation approach with a modest positive bias. Mishra stated that market investors are predicting a limited rebound, given that the indices have already suffered a severe 13-14 percent drop from record highs.

“With support around the 22,700-22,800 mark in Nifty, some consolidation or an uptick is possible before any further decline,” he pointed out.

thinks the market is turning its attention to value purchasing as the earnings season comes to an end.

Stocks that have demonstrated earnings visibility and growth possibilities following reports are being examined by investors. Expectations of a liquidity injection and potential rate reduction, along with solid earnings visibility, are driving demand in banking stocks in particular.

Small- and mid-cap equities underperformed the benchmarks while the overall market experienced difficulties. Mid-cap stocks are still around 18 percent below their all-time highs, while small-cap stocks have confirmed a bear market. The benchmarks were underperformed by the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices, which fell 0.6 percent each during the day.

Midcap and smallcap stocks were identified by Mishra as a major concern. He cautioned that although oversold conditions may cause a brief bounce, a clear bottom has not yet developed.

All 12 sectors indices saw positive trading, with the exception of IT. The largest losses were in banking and oil and gas equities, which fell 0.3 and 1 percent, respectively. In the meantime, Infosys and Persistent Systems’ increases propelled the Nifty IT index’s 0.7 percent increase.

After JP Morgan offered a ‘overweight’ recommendation and advised investors to ‘buy the dip’ despite the current drop, Persistent Systems’ shares jumped 3%, ending a six-day losing run. The brokerage set a target price of Rs 7,200 per share, almost 30% higher than the previous day’s closing price.

even if the index recovers, there may be more declines or erratic movements in small- and mid-cap stocks. Until a definite turnaround is evident, it would be wise for short-term investors to refrain from opening new positions or increasing their current loss-making holdings in mid-caps and small-caps,” he suggested.

Asia-Pacific markets saw mixed trading following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarks endorsing the private sector and urging companies to “show their talents.” In the meantime, President’s Day saw the closure of the US stock exchanges.

Positively, a weaker U.S. dollar, declining oil prices, the RBI’s monetary policy stance, and the geopolitical de-escalation between Russia and Ukraine are all emerging as possible tailwinds.

Also Read : Indian Stock Market Crash: Why are indices down so much? The Sensex and Nifty 50 are down for the ninth consecutive day.

Nonetheless, net withdrawals from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have reached Rs 33,121 crore so far in February, indicating that they are still leaving the Indian markets.

While Tech Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals, Maruti Suzuki, HCL Tech, and Dr. Reddy’s topped the list of gainers, rising 0.3–1%, Grasim, Shriram Finance, Tata Steel, ONGC, and Coal India led the declines, falling 1-2 percent.

Following a steep sequential decline in its Q3 earnings, Zen Technologies’ shares continued to be heavily sold for the third straight session. The stock plunged 10 percent today, bringing its total three-day loss to 33 percent.

Following the company’s impressive December quarter results, which saw net profit jump 56 percent to Rs 528.4 crore in Q4 from Rs 338.7 crore in the same period previous year, shares of ABB India surged more than 5 percent.