SENSEX plunges 1,009 pts, NIFTY50 below 25,450 in noon deals; MobiKwik, Airtel among buzzing stocks

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, plunged to the deep red during the afternoon session on Tuesday, February 24, amid a broader-based sell-off in the markets, weighed down by IT stocks.

The SENSEX tanked as much as 1,030.19 points to an intraday low of 82,264.47. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 reached the session’s low of 25,416.85.

At 12:24 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX crashed by 1,009.38 points, or 1.21%, to 82,285.27, while NSE’s NIFTY50 was trading at 25,422.80, reflecting a 290.20 points, or 1.13% plunge.

On Monday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth ₹3,483.70 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,292.24 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

Shares of Tech Mahindra, which lost 5.72%, contributed to the decline of the NIFTY50 index. It was followed by HCL Technologies (-5.50%), Eternal (-4.76%), Infosys (-4.13%) and Tata Consultancy Services (-3.75%), which were among the top losers.

On the contrary, the top gainers included Power Grid Corporation of India (0.66%), NTPC (0.61%), Axis Bank (0.56%), Hindustan Unilever (0.43%) and JSW Steel (0.23%).

Buzzing stocks on February 24: Check list

The NIFTY IT index declined by over 4% on February 24, as AI-led disruption fears continued to sour investment sentiments, mirroring the trend in the US market.

All 10 constituents of the index were trading in the negative territory, with Persistent Systems (-7.2%), Coforge (-6.2%), LTIMidtree (-5.6), among others, leading the losses.

US equities tumbled in the overnight trade on Monday, February 23, as investors grappled with persistent fears around artificial intelligence disruptions to various industries. Besides, President Donald Trump’s decision to raise his global tariffs also weighed on the sentiment.

Shares of One Mobikwik Systems (Mobikwik) rallied as much as 12.6% to hit a high of ₹227.37 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the early trade on Tuesday, February 24.

This comes after the company on Monday said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mobikwik Securities Broking Private Limited (MSBPL), has received approval from the BSE to commence its stockbroking business.

The press release added, "BSE has enabled MSBPL on its platform with effect from February 24, 2026. The BSE nod follows the grant of stockbroking registration to MSBPL by the Securities & Exchange Board of India in July 2025. With the latest approval in place, the company is now authorised to begin broking operations on the BSE. This enables MSBPL to carry on the activities of buying, selling, dealing, clearing, and settlement of equity trades."

Bharti Airtel stock fell as much as 3.78% to hit the session’s low of ₹1,921.80 per equity share, a day after the company announced major plans for its non-banking financial company (NBFC), Airtel Money Limited, "underscoring its commitment to narrow the credit gap in India."

In a regulatory filing dated February 23, Airtel said the NBFC subsidiary will be capitalised with ₹20,000 crore to be injected over the next few years. Airtel will contribute 70% with the promoter group via Bharti Enterprises Limited, bringing in the balance of 30%.

Shares of Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) advanced as much as 4.02% to a fresh 52-week high of ₹72.44 per unit on the NSE, as it announced that it will convene for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Monday, March 23.

The EGM is being held to secure shareholder approval for the appointment of Prabhat Kiran as Executive Director of the Bank.

The stock of Waaree Energies gained as much as 2.54% to an intraday high of ₹2,990 per equity share, after securing a new order.

The company bagged an order for the supply of 500 MW solar modules from a renowned domestic customer who is a solar power developer and an Independent Power Producer, it said in an exchange filing dated February 23.

The order will be executed in the financial year 2026-27. Waaree Energies said that the firm has no interest in the entity that awarded the order, and it doesn't fall within related party transactions.

Brahmaputra Infrastructure shares hit their 5% upper limit at ₹167 apiece on the BSE, as it was declared the lowest (L1) bidder for a contract worth ₹397 crore from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, New Delhi.

The EPC order is for the widening to 2-lanes with Paved Shoulder of the Raipur-Jassakhera section (Km 0.000 to Km 29.770) of NH-458 in Rajasthan.

Fractal Industries stock started trading at ₹229 apiece, reflecting a premium of 6.02% over the IPO issue price of ₹216 per share on the BSE SME on February 24, 2026.

The minimum investment for an individual investor was 1,200 shares. This category of investors who secured the Fractal Industries IPO allotment made ₹2,74,800.

The initial share sale sought to raise ₹49 crore via fresh issuance of 0.22 crore equity shares, with no offer for sale (OFS) component.