Stock market today: The Indian stock market saw a sharp selloff on Thursday, February 19, as investors booked profits across sectors after recent gains. The 30-pack Sensex ended the session 1,236 points, or 1.48%, lower at 82,498.14, while its 50-stock counterpart, the Nifty 50, settled the day at 25,454.35, suffering a loss of 365 points, or 1.41%. The Bank Nifty index crashed 811 points and closed at 60,739.
The broad-based selloff also impacted second-rung mid- and small-cap indices, as the BSE 150 MidCap Index crashed 1.54% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index declined 1.16%. Investors lost about ₹7 lakh crore as the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly ₹465 lakh crore during the day from ₹472 lakh crore in the previous session.
Speaking on the outlook of the Indian stock market today, Ponmudi R, CEO at Enrich Money, said, “The sell-off was broad-based across banking, auto, FMCG, metals, and aviation stocks, reflecting a clear risk-off sentiment driven by escalating US–Iran tensions, a hawkish US Fed outlook, a spike in India VIX to 13.46 (up over 10%), and sustained FII pressure, with DIIs also turning net sellers in the previous session.”
Expecting a weak opening on Friday, Hariprasad K, SEBI-registered Research Analyst and Founder of Livelong Wealth, said the Gift Nifty today indicates a slightly bearish start for the Nifty 50, extending yesterday’s negative momentum.
US-Iran war
Awaiting President Donald Trump’s orders, a massive military buildup, including warships, fighter jets and refuelling aircraft, is hovering in West Asia. The target would be Iran if the ongoing negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme fail to produce an agreement.
According to CNN and CBS, the US military is ready to launch strikes against Iran as early as this weekend, but Trump has not yet made a final decision. Russia and Iran, too, have conducted naval exercises in the Sea of Oman to deter any “unilateral action” in the region.
Gold, silver rates today
Following the escalation in US-Iran tensions, gold and silver opened today with an upside gap. The COMEX gold rate today opened higher and touched an intraday high of $5,033.39/oz, logging an intraday gain of nearly 0.50%. Likewise, the COMEX silver rate today opened with an upside gap and touched today’s high of $78.655/oz, recording an intraday high of around 0.75% within a few minutes of the Opening Bell.
Speaking on the outlook of the silver, gold rates today, Anuj Gupta, a SEBI-registered market expert, said, “Gold and silver rates are rising due to the escalation in the US-Iran tension. This has increased demand for gold and silver as safe-haven assets.”
Anuj Gupta said that the gold rate today is in $4,850 to $5,200 per ounce range, whereas the silver rate today is in $70 to $85 per ounce range. He said that the gold rate today in India is in the ₹1,50,000 per 10 gm to ₹1,58,000 per 10 gm range, while the silver rate today in India is in the ₹2,30,000 per kg to ₹2,55,000 per kg range.
FII-DII data
Both FIIs and DIIs ended the day as net sellers. The FIIs sold out Indian shares worth ₹881 crore, whereas the DIIs sold out shares worth ₹596 crore.
USD vs INR
The Indian Rupee is expected to trade in a range of 89 to 90 against the US dollar by the end of fiscal year 2027, supported by a softer dollar and a manageable current account deficit (CAD), according to a report by CareEdge Ratings.
The report highlighted that the USD/INR strengthened from recent lows of around 92 to approximately 90.6 following the trade deal with the United States and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union.
Stock market today
Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 today, Nilesh Jain, VP- Head of Technical and Derivative research at Centrum Finverse, said, “The Nifty 50 index has slipped below its key short-term moving averages and formed a bearish engulfing candlestick, indicating a potential bearish reversal. Immediate resistance is at the 100-DMA near 25,700. On the downside, the crucial support of the 200-DMA is positioned at 25,310, and a decisive break below this could open further downside towards 25,100 levels.”
On the outlook of the Bank Nifty today, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said, “The Bank Nifty has formed a bearish engulfing pattern on the daily chart, suggesting a potential reversal or at least a pause following the recent rise. The bullish trend appears to be waning after a large red candle formed on the daily chart. The RSI has entered a bearish crossover and is trending lower, indicating weakening momentum. Overall, the sentiment looks weak. On the lower end, support is seen at 60,500/60000, while on the higher end, resistance is placed at 61,200.”
Stocks to buy today
Regarding stocks to buy today, stock market experts — Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking; Ganesh Dongre, Senior Manager of Technical Research at Anand Rathi; and Shiju Koothupalakkal, Senior Manager of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, recommended these seven intraday stocks for today: UPL, Biocon, HDFC Life, Fortis Healthcare, Tata Technologies, Samman Capital, and MM Forging.
Sumeet Bagadia’s stock recommendations for today
1] UPL: Buy at ₹765, Target ₹820, Stop Loss ₹738; and
2] Biocon: Buy at ₹383, Target ₹410, Stop Loss ₹370.
Ganesh Dongre’s buy or sell stocks
3] HDFC Life: Buy at ₹732, Target ₹758, Stop Loss ₹715;
4] Fortis Healthcare: Buy at ₹906, Target ₹940, Stop Loss ₹890; and
5] Tata Technologies: Buy at ₹602, Target ₹635, Stop Loss ₹590.
Shiju Koothupalakkal’s intraday stocks for today
6] Samman Capital: Buy at ₹151.35, Target ₹161, Stop Loss ₹147; and
7] MM Forging: Buy at ₹488.50, Target ₹520, Stop Loss ₹478.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.