GIFT Nifty:

GIFT Nifty March 2026 futures were down 21.00 points, suggesting a red start for the Nifty 50 today.

Institutional Flows:

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,465.99 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 5,031.57 crore in the Indian equity market on 26 February 2026, provisional data showed.

The FIIs have bought shares worth Rs 895.58 crore in the cash market so far in February (till 26 February 2026). This is in contrast to their cash sales of Rs 41,435.22 crore in January 2026 and Rs 34,349.62 crore in December.

Global Markets:

Asia market traded mixed on Friday, after U.S. stocks declined overnight as Nvidia shares tumbled despite a quarterly earnings beat.

In Asian tech stocks, SK Hynix, which is a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia, dipped over 2%. Samsung Electronics, which has been a decades-old partner of Nvidia, was down 0.69%.

Gold prices held broadly steady on Friday, with investors digesting the previous day's U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, while the dollar, hovering near three-week highs, pressured the yellow metal.

An Omani mediator of U.S. and Iran nuclear talks has reportedly given an optimistic readout over the latest round of negotiations, but uncertainty still hung over energy markets with no sign of a breakthrough that would avert potential U.S. strikes.

Following these developments, Brent crude futures settled down 10 cents, or 0.14%, to $70.75 a barrel.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 pulled back after the latest results from tech titan Nvidia and software giant Salesforce failed to boost the broader market.

The broad market index fell 0.54% to end at 6,908.86, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.18% and closed at 22,878.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17.05 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 49,499.20.

Nvidia shares fell more than 5%, even after the chip giant posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that were higher than widely reported forescasts.

On the other end, Salesforce, which has been one of the biggest victims of recent artificial intelligence disruption fears, rose 4% after the software company’s latest quarterly results were higher than widely reported forecasts on the top and bottom lines. However, the company issued a disappointing fiscal 2027 revenue forecast.

Sentiment has been fragile in software and cybersecurity stocks this year as worries remain about the rapidly developing capabilities of AI products that could interfere with incumbent software vendors’ businesses.

Domestic Market:

The key equity benchmarks ended in sideways trend, as market participants monitored Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel. The visit comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the region, U.S. warnings, and evolving global diplomatic dynamics, adding a layer of caution to market sentiment.

The Nifty briefly slipped into negative territory amid volatility surrounding the monthly F&O expiry before recovering marginally in the final hour to close little changed. Nifty ended near the 25,500 level.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 27.46 points or 0.03% to 82,248.61. The Nifty 50 index rose 14.05 points or 0.06% to 25,496.55.