Stock Market Today: Cautious Optimism Returns: Global Cues Cheer, But Traders Stay Alert
Dalal Street begins the day with a smile- but will it turn into a full rally or fade by closing bell? Supported by upbeat global cues, Indian markets opened with mild gains, yet traders remain cautious after recent profit booking. The big question for investors today: ride the momentum or wait for clearer signals?
Stock Market Today : Market Snapshot (26 February, 2026)
Pre-Opening Market
- Sensex: 82,309.87 (up 33.80 points, +0.04%)
- Nifty 50: 25,515.35 (up 32.85 points, +0.13%)
- Market Trend: Flat to mildly positive in the pre-opening session
Indian markets opened on a flat yet positive note in the pre-opening session, with Sensex and Nifty showing mild gains as traders remained cautious, tracking global cues and awaiting stronger directional triggers.
Stock Market Opening Bell.
- Sensex: 82,531.42 (up 255.35 points, +0.31%)
- Nifty 50: 25,561.20 (up 78.70 points, +0.31%)
- Market Breadth: 538 shares advanced, 276 declined, 84 unchanged
- Trend: Positive opening supported by global cues
- Top Gainers: HCL Technologies, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, Adani Enterprises, Cipla
- Top Losers: Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, ITC, Eternal
Indian markets opened higher on positive global cues, with Sensex and Nifty gaining over 0.3%. Broad market breadth remained positive as IT and auto stocks led advances while limited gains.
Stocks To Watch Today
- TCS: Company urges employees to actively use AI tools, even if it disrupts existing revenue models, signaling a strategic shift toward AI-led services.
- Reliance Industries: Reliance Enterprise Intelligence becomes a step-down subsidiary after share allotment to a Meta unit.
- IRFC: Government will not exercise the oversubscription option in OFS; company also secured a $400 million equivalent JPY loan via ECB.
- Sanofi India: Q4 profit declined to ₹61.7 crore; revenue also fell year-on-year.
Stock Market On Wednesday
The Indian markets showed initial strength at the start but finished the session almost unchanged, demonstrating to traders how quickly momentum can fade. The Nifty remained positive for most of the trading day, touching an intraday high of 25,652.60, but lost its early gains as profit booking emerged later in the session.
The Sensex rose 50.15 points (0.06%) to close at 82,276.07, while the Nifty advanced 57.85 points (0.23%) to settle at 25,482.50. Midcap and smallcap indices outperformed the benchmarks, keeping the broader market sentiment positive.
The session reflected cautious optimism as traders balanced global cues with profit booking. Auto, IT, metal, pharma, and healthcare sectors gained, while telecom, FMCG, and PSU banks saw mild declines.