Mumbai, Feb 28, 2026, 12:06 IST — Market closed.
Indian stocks ended last week lower, with the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex sliding 1,527.52 points, or 1.84%, in the five sessions to Friday. The Sensex finished at 81,287.19 and the Nifty 50 at 25,178.65. Foreign institutional investors sold 34.66 billion rupees of equities on Thursday, while domestic institutions bought 50.32 billion rupees, exchange data showed. 1
It was the last trading day of February, and selling hit autos and financials even as IT stocks ended in the green. “A risk-off tone prevails as the earnings season winds down,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, pointing to weak global cues and U.S.-Iran tensions. 2
Technology is still doing the heavy lifting for sentiment. The Nifty IT index tumbled 19.5% in February — its worst monthly performance since September 2008 — after U.S. firms such as Anthropic and Palantir unveiled AI automation tools, Reuters reported. “There is now a cloud of uncertainty” over profitability and margins, said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of retail equities at SMC Global. 3
Dr Reddy’s Labs, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Life and Sun Pharma were among the top drags on Friday, while Trent, HCL Tech, Infosys and Apollo Hospitals rose, data showed. Advancers trailed decliners on the NSE, and the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices fell about 1% each. 4
After the close, the government said India’s economy grew 7.8% in October-December from a year earlier, slowing from 8.4% in the prior quarter, as it rolled out a revised GDP series with a 2022-23 base year. For the fiscal year ending in March, the National Statistics Office forecast growth of 7.6%, up from a 7.4% estimate under the old series. 5
The GDP print nudged risk appetite back up, at least for now. GIFT Nifty futures jumped after the data, ETMarkets reported, offering a read on how Indian equities could open on Monday. Maulik Patel, head of research at Equirus Securities, said the quarter was “supported by strong manufacturing and services.” 6
The rupee strengthened about 1% in February to log its first monthly rise since April 2025, though it ended Friday at 90.9750 per dollar, Reuters reported. Foreign investors bought more than $2.5 billion of local stocks on a net basis in February, the report said. Traders are watching whether the currency’s typically positive March seasonality shows up. 7
But higher crude remains a clear risk for Indian assets, from inflation to the trade deficit. Brent, the global oil benchmark, settled at $72.48 a barrel on Friday and Barclays said it could reach $80 if U.S.-Iran tensions trigger a supply disruption. 8
Overseas, U.S. stocks were set to end February in the red as investors weighed sticky inflation, tariff uncertainty and AI-related worries, Reuters reported. Indian markets have tracked those swings lately, particularly through technology names. 9
Weekend oil headlines may dictate the first moves on Monday: key OPEC+ members meet on Sunday and are likely to consider a modest 137,000 barrels-per-day output increase for April, Reuters reported, with crude trading above $72. Markets reopen on March 2, and traders will watch whether Friday’s GDP surprise can offset any fresh global risk-off pressure. 10
