Stock Market News Wrap: Friday, February 13, 2026

If you checked your portfolio yesterday, you probably saw a lot of red. Indian equity markets faced a brutal "Friday the 13th" sell-off, driven by global tech fears, a strengthening dollar, and intense foreign selling.

Here is everything you need to know about yesterday's market action, wrapped up in a quick read.

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** The Big Picture: By the Numbers**

The bears were firmly in control yesterday, pulling both major indices down significantly and causing a massive erosion of investor wealth.

• BSE Sensex: Crashed 1,048.16 points (1.25%) to close at 82,626.76.
• NSE Nifty 50: Dropped 336.10 points (1.30%), slipping below the 25,500 support level to end at 25,471.10.
• Wealth Wiped Out: Investors lost a staggering ₹7.02 lakh crore in a single day, dropping total BSE market cap to ₹465.46 lakh crore.
• Fear Index: The India VIX (volatility gauge) surged over 13%, indicating highly nervous trader sentiment.
• Broader Markets: The pain wasn't just at the top; the MidCap index fell 1.71% and the SmallCap index dropped 1.79%.

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** What Caused the Crash?**

Two primary themes dragged the markets down yesterday:

1. The "Anthropic Shock" in IT: Indian IT stocks faced a brutal sell-off (the Nifty IT index dropped over 4% intraday) due to mounting global fears over AI-driven automation. Investors are increasingly worried that rapid AI advancements will disrupt the traditional, labor-intensive outsourcing models of Indian tech giants.
2. Global Metal & Dollar Dynamics: The Nifty Metal index was the worst performer (down over 3%). This was triggered by profit-booking, a stronger US dollar, and reports that Russia might return to the US-dollar settlement system—raising fears of lower global metal prices.

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Winners & Sinners

Out of the 50 stocks on the Nifty, only five managed to end the day in the green!

Top Losers (The Sinners):

• Hindalco: Plunged over 6% after reporting a 45% YoY drop in Q3 profit due to exceptional losses.
• Hindustan Unilever (HUL): Dropped 4.3% in a sign that even defensive FMCG stocks weren't safe.
• IT Heavyweights: TCS, Infosys, and HCLTech all dropped between 4% and 6%.
• Muthoot Finance: Tanked 11.8% despite reporting record Q3 profits, as investors worried the earnings surge wasn't sustainable.

Top Gainers (The Winners):

• Bajaj Finance: The star of the day, rising over 3%.
• GE Power India: Defied the market gravity to surge 20%.
• Engineers India: Jumped 10.5% after Q3 net profit soared 219%.
• Eicher Motors & SBI: Managed modest gains to keep their heads above water.

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🏢 Corporate Buzz & Earnings

• ONGC: Delivered a strong Q3 with a 22.6% YoY profit jump to ₹11,946 crore and declared an interim dividend of ₹6.25/share.
• Bharat Forge: Rose 2% after beating estimates with a 28% increase in Q3 profit.
• Amara Raja Energy: Slumped 6% following a massive 53% YoY drop in net profit.
• First IVF IPO: Gaudium IVF and Women Health Ltd announced plans to launch a ₹150-200 crore IPO next week (Feb 20), making it India's first fertility services provider to go public.

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** Money Flow: Institutional Activity**

Foreign investors were in a very unforgiving mood yesterday:

• FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors): Aggressively dumped Indian equities, pulling out a massive ₹7,395.41 crore.
• DIIs (Domestic Institutional Investors): Tried to absorb the shock, buying up ₹5,553.96 crore worth of shares.
• Currency: The Indian Rupee weakened to close around 90.64 against the USD, pressured by the heavy foreign outflows.

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