Indian equity benchmarks ended with cut of over half a percent on Thursday as traders avoided to take risk ahead of CPI data. Besides, hefty selling in IT sector’s stock kept the markets lower during the day. Indices made negative start and remained lower till the end of the session. Concerns over artificial intelligence-led disruptions weighed on market sentiments.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India’s consumer price inflation data to be out later in day: Traders remained cautious ahead of the release of the India’s consumer price inflation (CPI) data later in day. The government will publish a new inflation series today to reflect the changing spending patterns and give a better view of underlying price pressures. 

Outward FDI commitments see minor dip in January: Traders took note of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest report showing that India's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) commitments declined marginally by 0.78% to $3417.88 million in January 2026 as against $3444.68 million in January 2025, impacted by fall in equity investments.

Net direct tax collection rises 9.40% till February 10 of FY26: Traders overlooked the Income Tax Department’s data showing that net direct tax collection grew 9.40 per cent to Rs 19,43,743.97 crore till February 10, 2026 in the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26) as compared to Rs 17,76,728.11 crore in the corresponding period of previous year.

On the global front: European equity markets were trading higher as investors cheered upbeat earnings from the likes of Legrand, Hermes and Siemens. Asian markets ended mostly in green as producer prices in Japan were up 0.2 percent on month in January, in line with expectations and up from 0.1 percent in December. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 83674.92, down by 558.72 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 83516.67 and 84061.62. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.64%, Telecom up by 0.19%, Industrials up by 0.16% and Capital Goods was up by 0.07%, while IT down by 5.29%, TECK down by 3.58%, Realty down by 1.50%, Oil & Gas down by 1.18% and Energy was down by 1.18% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 3.24%, ICICI Bank up by 1.71%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.46%, Trent up by 1.38% and SBI up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 6.32%, Infosys down by 6.07%, TCS down by 5.62%, HCL Tech down by 4.99% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.37% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government has projected a total expenditure of Rs 53.47 lakh crore for the next financial year (FY27), marking a 7.7% rise from the current fiscal ending March 31 (FY26). The revised estimate showed that the size of the Budget for FY26 is Rs 49.64 lakh crore, lower from Rs 50.65 lakh crore estimated in February 2025. The Budget for fiscal 2024-25 was at Rs 46.52 lakh crore.

She stated total expenditure for the next fiscal year is projected at Rs 53.47 lakh crore, much more than tax receipts. The government aims for tax receipts of Rs 44.04 lakh crore, 8 per cent higher than the previous year. Further, she stated the government has made the highest-ever allocation of Rs 12.2 lakh crore, which is 3.1 per cent of GDP and 11.5 per cent higher than the Revised Estimates (RE) for 2025-26.

On the advice of state finance ministers, she said capital expenditure loans for 50 years are increased to Rs 2 lakh crore for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI). With this move, she said the effective capital expenditure grows to Rs 17.1 lakh crore, which is 4.4 per cent of the GDP. Besides, according to her, the government is following the fiscal discipline and has forecasted the fiscal deficit at 4.3 per cent of the GDP or Rs 16.95 lakh crore for FY27.

The CNX Nifty ended at 25,807.20, down by 146.65 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 25,752.40 and 25, 906.70. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 3.11%, Shriram Finance up by 2.48%, Eicher Motors up by 2.13%, ICICI Bank up by 1.70% and Trent up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 6.39%, Infosys down by 5.97%, TCS down by 5.49%, HCL Tech down by 4.87% and Wipro down by 4.79% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 28.09 points or 0.27% to 10,500.20, France’s CAC rose 61.06 points or 0.73% to 8,374.30 and Germany’s DAX was up by 388.45 points or 1.54% to 25,244.60.