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Published : 18 Feb 2026, 09:43 AM
India's equity benchmarks are expected to open little changed on Wednesday, following modest gains in the previous session that were led by IT stocks after the Infosys–Anthropic deal.
Analysts expect further consolidation in the absence of key triggers.
The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 25,759.5 points as of 7:51 am IST, indicating the benchmark Nifty 50 will open near Tuesday's close of 25,725.4.
On Tuesday, the Nifty and Sensex rose about 0.2% each, with the IT index up roughly 1% as investors welcomed the potential for AI-led deal momentum in complex, regulated industries after Infosys announced a collaboration with Anthropic.
Even so, analysts see limited upside follow-through near term. Ajit Mishra, senior vice president of research at Religare Broking, said sentiment remains cautious without meaningful domestic catalysts, pointing to a likely consolidation phase in the Nifty.
Both Nifty and Sensex have risen about 1% in two sessions this week following a drop of about 1% in the previous week.
Regionally, broader cues were muted. Asian markets opened flat in thin holiday trade, with China, Hong Kong and several others shut for the Lunar New Year. Overnight, Wall Street eked out small gains, while oil prices softened as US–Iran nuclear talks showed progress, easing immediate supply concerns.
Foreign portfolio investors bought Indian shares worth 9.95 billion rupees ($110 million) on Tuesday, following two days of net selling. Domestic institutional investors also purchased stocks worth 1.87 billion rupees, according to NSE's provisional data.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** Bharti Airtel's unit, Airtel Money, receives Reserve Bank of India's approval for registration as Type-II non-bank financial company
** Dilip Buildcon has been declared the lowest bidder for projects worth 6.68 billion rupees and 7.02 billion rupees, respectively
** Infosys unveils its AI-first value framework, to capture a share of the estimated $300 billion AI services opportunity
