SENSEX down 176 pts, NIFTY50 below 25,450 in noon deals; Tejas Networks, Welspun among buzzing stocks

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, erased early gains to trade in the negative territory during the afternoon session on Thursday, February 26, as investors booked profits amid weak global cues.

The SENSEX declined by as much as 292.11 points to an intraday low of 81,983.96. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 touched the session’s low of 25,400.95.

At 12:35 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX fell by 175.91 points, or 0.21%, to 82,100.16. NSE’s NIFTY50 was trading flat at 25,434.60, reflecting a 47.90 points, or 0.19% decline.

On Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth ₹2,991.64 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth ₹5,118.57 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

NIFTY50 index was weighed down by Coal India (-1.87%), Power Grid Corporation of India (-1.50%), Trent (-1.40%), NTPC (-1.31%) and Tata Consumer Products (-1.25%), which were among the top losers.

On the other hand, the top gainers included Tata Motors PV (2.19%), Max Healthcare Institute (1.53%), Bharat Electronics (1.30%), Adani Ports (1.14%) and Tata Consultancy Services (0.92%).

Buzzing stocks on February 26: Check list

Shares of Welspun Corp advanced 4.23% to hit an intraday high of ₹831 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, February 26, as its wholly owned subsidiary in the Free Trade Zone, United Arab Emirates, was incorporated in the name of “Welspun International FZCO” (WIFZCO) in Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).

It added that it received the certificate of incorporation or licence on February 25 from the relevant DMCC authority.

“WIFZCO will handle global marketing for all our products and also carry out the business of trading of any of the products and raw materials in which the parent company and its subsidiaries transact,” a regulatory filing stated.

Masayuki Kayahara, Corporate Senior Vice President of Global Network Division at NEC Corporation, noted that the deal furthers NEC’s collaboration with Tejas Networks for 5G massive MIMO radio and achieves supply-chain diversification, which helps to mitigate risks to its customers by building a “resilient, flexible globalized ecosystem.”

In the same period last year, it had logged a profit of ₹44.3 crore, as stated in a regulatory filing dated February 25.

The Mumbai-based firm’s revenue from operations jumped 47.04% YoY to ₹251 crore during the reporting quarter, compared to ₹170.7 crore in the fourth quarter of CY24.

The board of directors of Sanofi Consumer Healthcare India also recommended a final dividend of ₹75 per equity share with a face value of ₹10 each for FY25, subject to shareholder approval at the ensuing annual general meeting (AGM).

Abhishek Pareek, Group Head, Finance, Waaree Energies, said, "At this stage, the company does not anticipate any material adverse impact on its ability to service its US order book."

Analysts at Nomura note the United States has imposed a 126% countervailing duty (CVD) on solar imports from India to offset alleged benefits arising from government subsidies.

The leading financial services firm noted that Indian solar companies with manufacturing presence in the US and those sourcing solar cells from non-Chinese suppliers are likely to face a relatively lower impact from the move.

Among key players, Waaree Energies (WEL) is seen as better positioned due to its diversified supply chain. The company’s management expects a limited impact from the CVD, Nomura highlighted.

Shares of Balu Forge Industries gained as much as 10% to hit the session’s peak of ₹489.40 apiece, as it entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the supply of empty shells from its greenfield manufacturing campus in Belgaum, Karnataka.

The said agreement covers the complete large caliber ammunition category starting with 155 mm M107, 152 mm & 155 mm ERFB/BT variants & will be extended to 105 mm, 120 mm, 81 mm, amongst others, it said in a regulatory filing.

“This is in line with the company’s strategy to build a strong foundation in the defence consumables space, starting with large calibre ammunition & will further expand towards medium & small calibre in the near future,” it added.

The stock of Xtglobal Infotech zoomed as much as 19.98% hit the day’s high of ₹33.63 per equity share, as its step-down subsidiary XTGlobal Inc bagged an order from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for AI-enabled engineering services.

The work order, for a six-month program increment commencing March 16 and concluding on September 30, 2026, is valued at $796,900 (or ₹7.2 crore), payable against defined milestone-based deliverables.

Manappuram Finance shares declined as much as 4.1% to an intraday low of ₹284.45 apiece, as it announced that its CEO and key managerial personnel, Deepak Reddy, requires medical leave of absence from February 25, 2026, to travel overseas for medical treatment, for a period of 90 to 120 days, depending on the progression of the treatment.