SGX Nifty February 2026 futures declined by 133.50 points, indicating a significantly negative opening for the Nifty 50 today.
Institutional Flows:
On 20 February 2026, provisional data indicated that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) divested shares amounting to Rs 934.61 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) recorded net purchases totaling Rs 2,637.15 crore in the Indian equity market. Foreign Institutional Investors have divested shares amounting to Rs 2,011.24 crore in the cash market as of February 20, 2026. This comes after their cash sales of Rs 41,435.22 crore in January 2026 and Rs 34,349.62 crore in December.
Global Markets:
Asian stock markets experienced predominantly positive movements on Monday as investors kept a close watch on updates concerning the United States tariffs. Trading activities in China and Japan were halted due to a holiday observance. On Friday, the Supreme Court determined that the Trump administration had unlawfully implemented the measures last year. In response, US President Donald Trump utilized alternative legal avenues to increase global levies from 10% to 15% over the weekend.
On Friday, U.S. stocks experienced an uptick following the Supreme Court ruling, which may offer relief to companies facing increased costs from duties and alleviate worries regarding persistent inflation affecting the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 increased by 0.69%, finishing at 6,909.51, whereas the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.9%, closing at 22,886.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 230.81 points, reflecting a gain of 0.47%, closing at 49,625.97. The 30-stock index rebounded from a 200-point decline earlier in the session due to disappointing economic data.
Data released on Friday indicated that the US economy experienced an annualized growth of 1.4% in Q4 2025, marking the slowest pace since Q1 2025. This follows a robust 4.4% growth in Q3 and falls significantly short of the widely anticipated forecasts of 3%, according to the advance estimate.
Domestic Market:
The Indian equity markets demonstrated a robust rebound on Friday, February 20, 2026, recovering some of the significant losses incurred in the prior session. The Sensex increased by 316.57 points, and the Nifty 50 successfully closed above the significant 25,550 level.
Despite a cautious start influenced by rising U.S.-Iran tensions and elevated crude oil prices, widespread buying in major players such as Hindalco, NTPC, and L&T, bolstered by favorable news from the India AI Impact Summit, mitigated ongoing weakness in the IT sector, enabling both benchmark indices to conclude the week with slight gains. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, increased by 0.38%, closing at 82,814.71. The Nifty 50 index increased by 116.90 points, reflecting a gain of 0.46%, closing at 25,571.25.