Indian equity benchmarks ended over half percent lower on Thursday amid heavy selling in IT shares, as concerns over AI-led disruptions and waning hopes of a Fed rate cut after firm US economic data weighed on investor sentiment.  

Some of the important factors in trade: 

Direct tax collection up 9.4% to Rs 19.44 lakh crore: Data released by the Income Tax Department showed that net direct tax collection grew 9.4 per cent to about Rs 19.44 lakh crore in the current fiscal till February 10 on slower refunds and higher corporate tax mop-up.

Piyush Goyal urges exporters to use FTAs: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal urged exporters to take full advantage of the series of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signed with developed countries to boost exports of goods and services. 

Outward FDI commitments see minor dip in January: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report has showed 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. 

Rupee rises against US Dollar: Indian rupee appreciated against the US dollar, as foreign fund investments lifted investor sentiments. On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 943.81 crore, according to exchange data. 

Global front: European markets were trading higher as investors cheered upbeat earnings from the likes of Legrand, Hermes and Siemens. Asian markets ended mixed as a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report spurred optimism about the world's largest economy but dented hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts in the near term.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 558.72 points or 0.66% to 83,674.92 and the CNX Nifty was down by 146.65 points or 0.57% to 25,807.20.     

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 84,061.62 and 83,516.67 respectively. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

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 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 down by 1.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 3.17%, ICICI Bank up by 1.86%, Trent up by 1.52%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.43% and SBI up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 5.99%, Infosys down by 5.79%, TCS down by 5.41%, HCL Technologies down by 4.84% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department in its latest data has showed 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. The growth in next direct tax collection can be attribute to slower refunds and higher corporate tax mop-up.

As per the data, net corporate tax (CT) collection grew 14.50 per cent to Rs 889,752.90 crore in the reporting period over Rs 777,047.63 crore in the same period last year. Net Non-Corporate Tax (NCT) collection was Rs 10,03,385.52 crore in reporting period as compared to Rs 947,477.30 crore in the same period last year, a growth of 5.90 per cent. NCT includes taxes paid by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), Firms, Association of Persons (AoPs), Body of Individuals (BoIs), Local Authorities, Artificial Juridical Person. Net Securities Transaction Tax (STT) collection stood at Rs 50,279.17 crore between April 1 and February 10 of FY26, almost flat as compared to Rs 49,201.40 crore in the same period last year.

The data also showed that tax refund issuance nosedived 18.82 per cent to Rs 334,324.63 crore till February 10 of current fiscal year as compared to Rs 411,826.75 crore in the corresponding period of previous year. However, gross direct tax collection increased 4.09 per cent to Rs 22,78,068.60 crore till February 10 of this fiscal over Rs 2,188,554.86 crore in the same period last year. This includes gross CT and NCT mop-up of Rs 10,88,533.85 crore and Rs 11,38,897.14 crore, respectively. Meanwhile, in the Revised Estimates (RE) for current fiscal (2025-26), the government projected direct tax collection at Rs 24.84 lakh crore.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,906.70 and 25,752.40 respectively. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 3.31%, Shriram Finance up by 2.48%, Eicher Motors up by 2.13%, ICICI Bank up by 1.84% and Bharat Electronics up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 6.40%, Infosys down by 5.97%, TCS down by 5.77%, HCL Technologies down by 5.20% and Wipro down by 4.79% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 22.54 points or 0.22% to 10,494.65, France’s CAC rose 47.76 points or 0.57% to 8,361.00 and Germany’s DAX gained 382.85 points or 1.54% to 25,239.00.

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday after stronger-than-expected US jobs report dented hopes for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts in the near term. Data showed that US non-farm payroll employment jumped by 1,30,000 jobs in January after rising by a downwardly revised 48,000 jobs in December. The jobless rate dipped from 4.4% to 4.3% in January. Traders were awaiting CPI data from the US, due on Friday, which could provide clearer direction on inflation trends and the Fed’s policy outlook. Chinese shares gained after reports indicated that the United States and China are likely to extend their trade truce for up to a year when US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meet in Beijing in early April 2026. Hong Kong shares fell, dragged down by heavy losses in technology shares and ahead of China’s extended Lunar New Year break from February 15, while Premier Li Qiang’s call for greater tech innovation and AI adoption failed to lift markets. Taiwan market was closed on account of holiday.