Nifty ended below the 25,200 level. Realty, metal and FMCG shares declined, while media, consumer durables and IT stocks advanced.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 961.42 points or 1.17% to 81,287.19. The Nifty 50 index dropped 317.90 points or 1.25% to 25,178.65.

The broader market outperformed the key equity indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index tumbled 1.09% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slumped 0.86%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,668 shares rose and 2,518 shares fell. A total of 198 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 4.89% to 13.70.

Pakistan and Afghanistan conflict

Pakistan has launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban, citing what it described as 'unprovoked aggression' along the border, as clashes between the two neighbours intensified.

In a declared 'open war,' Pakistan launched overnight airstrikes in Afghanistan, heavily bombing multiple key cities, including Kabul and Kandahar, and claiming that 133 people were killed in what Islamabad called a 'strong and effective' retaliation for 'unprovoked firing' from across the border.

Economy

India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.8% in the third quarter of FY26, surpassing market estimates of 7.4%, supported by robust festive demand and revisions to the country's economic data series.

Economic activity received a boost during the quarter as higher consumer spending in the festive season lifted overall output. Additionally, GST rate cuts across select sectors provided further momentum, contributing to stronger-than-expected growth.

New Listing:

Shares of Gaudium IVF and Women Health were at Rs 80 on the BSE, representing a premium of 1.27% as compared with the issue price of Rs 79.

The stock was listed at Rs 83, reflecting a premium of 5.06% to the issue price.

The stock has hit a high of 87.15 and a low of 79.05. On the BSE, over 5.96 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

IPO Update:

Omnitech Engineering received bids for 1,83,50,310 shares as against 1,89,09,890 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:30 IST on Friday (27 February 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.97 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 25 February 2026 and it will close on 27 February 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 216 and 227 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index slumped 2.27% to 780.50. The index rose 0.23% in the past trading session.

Godrej Properties (down 3.97%), Sobha (down 3.56%), Phoenix Mills (down 3.48%), Brigade Enterprises (down 3.18%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 2.93%), Lodha Developers (down 2.4%), Oberoi Realty (down 1.52%), DLF (down 1.21%) and Anant Raj (down 1.19%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Netweb Technologies India gained 4.17% after announcing a strategic partnership with Vertiv to jointly develop and validate GPU-based AI infrastructure solutions. The leading Indian high-end computing solutions provider will collaborate with Vertiv to engineer and validate its in-house GPU compute platforms alongside Vertiv's integrated, end-to-end AI data center solutions.

Gem Aromatics shed 0.28%. The company's subsidiary, Krystal Ingredients has commenced the production of additional products, including Gem Cool 5 (Cooling Agents) and Safranal (Citral Derivatives) at its Dahej facility, Gujarat.

Kirloskar Brothers (KBL) shed 0.78%. The company said that it has secured orders worth Rs 214 crore from Adani Power and its subsidiaries for supply and installation of pump systems for thermal power projects. The scope of work includes supply and erection, testing and commissioning of circulating water pumps (concrete volute pump technology) and auxiliary cooling water pumps, along with associated electrical and control systems. The projects are located in Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.

Steel Exchange India slipped 0.84%. The company announced that its board will meet on Wednesday (04 March 2026) to consider a proposal to raise funds amounting to Rs 350 crore.

Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services slipped 2.45%. The company has entered into multiple agreements to provide its corporate expense management solutions to leading domestic entities. The company will offer Zaggle Corporate Expense Cards to employees and associates of Chennai Super Kings and Superking Ventures. Each contract is valid for a period of one year. Separately, Zaggle has signed a five-year agreement with Saurashtra Cement to deploy its Zaggle Save platform for employee expense management and benefits administration.

Mamata Machinery rose 0.68%. The company announced that it has secured its first Rest of the World (ROW) order for its Packaging Machinery Segment from a customer in South Africa.

Indian Oil Corporation rose 0.46%. The company has announced that a meeting of its board of directors is scheduled for Friday, 6 March 2026, to consider the declaration of a second interim dividend for the financial year 2025'26.

Mastek shed 0.45%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Mastek (UK) has secured a five-year engineering, integration, and product development contract from the UK's Home Office, with an overall budget of approximately euro 49 million ($67 million).

Huhtamaki India declined 1.37%. The company said that its board has approved the appointment of Anil Kaul as chief financial officer (CFO) of the company with effect from 27 February 2026.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) shed 0.31%. The company said that it has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Bharat Petroleum Global Energy Services (Singapore) Pte to setting up trading desk in Singapore.

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) fell 1.34%. The company said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NTPC to jointly explore opportunities in coal and lignite gasification and downstream utilisation.

Jio Financial Services shed 0.43%. The company said that it has subscribed to 3,35,71,923 equity shares of Rs 10 each of Jio Credit (JCL), a wholly owned subsidiary, for cash at a premium of Rs 585.70 per equity share, aggregating to Rs 1,999.88 crore.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals rose 0.49%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Glenmark USA, will launch Sodium Phosphates InjectionUSP, 15 mM P/5 mL, 45 mM P/15 mL and 150 mM P/50 mL (3 mM P/mL) Single-Dose Vials.

NBCC (India) lost 1.74%. The company has received work orders worth approximately Rs 775.27 crore from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for the comprehensive redevelopment of staff quarters in New Delhi.

Dee Development Engineers dropped 4.01%. The company has secured a letter of intent (LoI) for manufacturing alloy steel seamless pipes at its new forged seamless pipe plant in Anjar, Gujarat.

Global Markets:

European markets traded mixed on Friday as investors awaited key economic data releases across the region.

Inflation figures from Germany, France, and Spain are set to be published, alongside unemployment data from Germany and France. Investors are also watching for the latest U.K. housing price data, which could provide further insight into the strength of the property market and broader economic conditions.

Most Asian markets ended in higher, supported by regional buying interest. This came despite a weak overnight session on Wall Street, where U.S. indices closed lower after Nvidia shares tumbled, even though the company reported a quarterly earnings beat.

In Asian tech stocks, SK Hynix, which is a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia, dipped over 2%. Samsung Electronics, which has been a decades-old partner of Nvidia, was down 0.69%.

Gold prices held broadly steady on Friday, with investors digesting the previous day's U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, while the dollar, hovering near three-week highs, pressured the yellow metal.

An Omani mediator of U.S. and Iran nuclear talks has reportedly given an optimistic readout over the latest round of negotiations, but uncertainty still hung over energy markets with no sign of a breakthrough that would avert potential U.S. strikes.

Following these developments, Brent crude futures settled down 10 cents, or 0.14%, to $70.75 a barrel.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 pulled back after the latest results from tech titan Nvidia and software giant Salesforce failed to boost the broader market.

The broad market index fell 0.54% to end at 6,908.86, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.18% and closed at 22,878.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17.05 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 49,499.20.

Nvidia shares fell more than 5%, even after the chip giant posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that were higher than widely reported forescasts.

On the other end, Salesforce, which has been one of the biggest victims of recent artificial intelligence disruption fears, rose 4% after the software company's latest quarterly results were higher than widely reported forecasts on the top and bottom lines. However, the company issued a disappointing fiscal 2027 revenue forecast.

Sentiment has been fragile in software and cybersecurity stocks this year as worries remain about the rapidly developing capabilities of AI products that could interfere with incumbent software vendors' businesses.

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