Stock Market Today: Dalal Street Under Pressure!
Indian stock markets opened their Friday trading session on a cautious note as mixed global signals, profit booking, and geopolitical developments created uncertainty. Early movements in Sensex and Nifty reflected fragile investor sentiment, while traders tracked global trends, sectoral performance, and stock-specific action to assess whether momentum would improve, volatility would persist, or clearer market direction would emerge.
Stock Market Today : Market Snapshot (20 February, 2026)
Pre-Opening Market
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Sensex: 82,304.87, down 193.27 points (-0.23%)
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Nifty: 25,427.55, down 26.80 points (-0.11%)
Indian markets opened weak in the pre-opening session with Sensex and Nifty slipping amid cautious sentiment, mixed global cues, and profit booking, signaling a tentative start as investors await direction.
Stock Market Opening Bell
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Sensex: 82,520.03, up 21.89 points (+0.03%)
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Nifty: 25,471.55, up 17.20 points (+0.07%)
Indian markets opened marginally higher despite weak global cues, with Sensex and Nifty holding modest gains. Mixed breadth and sectoral divergence kept sentiment cautious as investors tracked signals and momentum.
Stocks To Watch Today
Karur Vysya Bank
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Cut MCLR rates by 10 basis points across tenors, effective February 22.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance
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Tax demand of ₹984 crore upheld by appellate authority under GST provisions.
Waaree Energies
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In talks with multiple state governments for a greenfield facility.
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Approved ₹8,000 crore expansion of lithium-ion and BESS capacity.
Stock Market On Thursday
Thursday Market Wrap: Bulls Took a Break, Bears Took Charge
The Thursday session halted investor optimism after three consecutive days of gains. Trading began on a steady note, but selling pressure gradually intensified, pushing the Nifty below 25,500 and dragging the Sensex down by 1,236 points. Traders turned cautious as losses spread across sectors, while rising geopolitical tensions further added to market uncertainty.
Midcap and smallcap stocks also declined, worsening the overall sentiment, and more than ₹7 lakh crore in market value was wiped out in a single session. The broad-based fall left investors wondering whether this was merely profit booking or the beginning of fresh volatility. The answer is likely to unfold in Friday’s trading session.
Aishwarya is a journalism graduate with over three years of experience thriving in the buzzing corporate media world. She’s got a knack for decoding business news, tracking the twists and turns of the stock market, covering the masala of the entertainment world, and sometimes her stories come with just the right sprinkle of political commentary. She has worked with several organizations, interned at ZEE and gained professional skills at TV9 and News24, And now is learning and writing at NewsX, she’s no stranger to the newsroom hustle. Her storytelling style is fast-paced, creative, and perfectly tailored to connect with both the platform and its audience. Moto: Approaching every story from the reader’s point of view, backing up her insights with solid facts.
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