Equities Rise as US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs, but IT Weighs

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

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India Shares rise

By Dehuti Jani

February 23, 2026 at 11:39 AM IST

Indian equity benchmarks closed higher on Monday, buoyed by a US Supreme Court ruling that struck down President Donald Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs, though gains were capped as persistent AI disruption concerns kept IT shares under pressure. The Nifty50 rose 0.55% or 141.75 points to 25,713, while the BSE Sensex added 0.58% or 479.95 points to 83,294.66, extending gains into a second consecutive session. The rally drew additional support from strength in PSU bank and healthcare stocks, as well as positive global cues following the court's ruling. However, sentiment remained cautious after Trump announced a new temporary 15% global tariff on imports from all countries, and India delayed plans to send a trade delegation to Washington this week to finalise an interim trade deal that had been expected to bring US tariffs on Indian goods down to 18%.

Broader markets ended on a mixed note, with the Nifty MidCap 100 slipping 0.43% while the Nifty SmallCap 100 edged 0.29% higher. Among sectors, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Mid Small Healthcare were the top outperformers, gaining 1.36% and 1.03% respectively, while Nifty IT was the worst-performing sector, followed by Nifty Chemicals. Analysts cautioned that ongoing US tariff uncertainty could weigh on Indian exporters across key sectors including textiles, pharmaceuticals, gems and machinery, adding a layer of caution to what was otherwise a relief-driven session on Dalal Street.

Top Movers of the Day

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rose around 3.5% to an intraday high of ₹1,564.50 on the NSE after its subsidiary signed a strategic MoU with NMDC and Brazil's Vale SA on iron ore over the weekend.

BLS International surged 3.58% to ₹278 on the NSE on heavy volumes, though the precise catalyst for the sharp move was not immediately clear.

TD Power Systems hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹932.65, gaining 6% on the BSE amid heavy volumes, extending a 49% rally over the past month driven by strong third-quarter earnings and healthy order inflows.

Pine Labs climbed as much as 4.09% to ₹210.30, its biggest intraday gain since 28 January, after securing multi-year digital payments infrastructure contracts from three domestic oil marketing companies.

ITC Hotels jumped 2.45% to an intraday high of ₹181.00 on the NSE, snapping a three-day losing streak on the back of heavy volumes.

Vodafone Idea extended its negative run into a third straight session after the NSE imposed an additional exposure margin of 15% on select equity derivatives stocks, including Vodafone Idea, effective from the March F&O series.

Sterlite Technologies rallied nearly 7% to a multi-year high of ₹170.15 on the BSE amid heavy volumes, having surged 90% over the past month from ₹89.76.

Morepen Laboratories zoomed as much as 14.99% to ₹45.11 on the NSE after winning an international order worth ₹8.25 billion, though gains pared slightly to around 13% as the session progressed.

Baazar Style Retail rose 4% to an intraday high of ₹345.40 on the NSE after the value fashion retailer announced plans to open new stores in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Vedanta climbed 2% after announcing a board meeting to consider a proposal to issue non-convertible debentures as part of a fresh fundraising plan.

Narayana Hrudayalaya gained 2.8% to an intraday high of ₹1,879 on the BSE after the company disclosed the purchase of an immovable property in Bengaluru as part of its business expansion.

Dee Development Engineers surged 14.9% to an intraday high of ₹266 on the BSE after securing job work contracts aggregating approximately ₹1.73 billion, including a ₹260 million letter of intent from BHEL for manufacturing critical piping components.

CIE Automotive India rose as much as 5.19% to ₹493.70 after reporting a 10.4% rise in consolidated net profit for the third quarter of FY26, with analysts remaining bullish on the stock.

AU Small Finance Bank slipped 5.17% to an intraday low of ₹976.40 on the BSE after reports that the Haryana state government had directed all its bank accounts held with the lender across the state to be de-empanelled with immediate effect.

IDFC First Bank tumbled 12% after the lender disclosed a ₹5.90 billion fraud detected at one of its branches in Chandigarh, leading to the suspension of four branch employees.

Futures & Options
Nifty February 2026 futures closed at 25,700.30, a discount of 12.70 points to the spot Nifty, which gained 141.75 points or 0.55% to settle at 25,713 in the cash market. The discount to spot suggested some caution among traders ahead of the monthly expiry, due tomorrow on 24 February 2026. India VIX eased 1.35% to 14.17, offering a modest reprieve after two consecutive sessions of sharp gains, though volatility expectations remain elevated. HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank were the most actively traded stock futures contracts in the F&O segment on the NSE.

Bonds
The Indian government bond yields eased marginally on Monday, with the benchmark 6.48% 2035 bond yield closing at 6.6970%, down from 6.7215% at Friday's close, as trades moved in a narrow range through the session. Demand remained subdued, however, with geopolitical concerns and a domestic supply overhang continuing to weigh on sentiment, limiting any meaningful recovery after Friday's 4 basis point jump, the sharpest single-session rise in two weeks.

Forex
The Indian rupee edged marginally higher on Monday, closing 0.1% firmer at 90.8825 per dollar, though it surrendered most of an early advance as hedging demand from importers and upcoming maturities in forward contracts weighed on the currency through the session. The rupee had opened stronger at 90.76 per dollar, buoyed by positive sentiment following the US Supreme Court's ruling striking down President Trump's emergency tariffs, before gradually paring gains as the day progressed.

Crypto
Crypto markets came under significant selling pressure on Monday as Bitcoin slipped below the critical $65,000 support level, falling 4.77% to $64,755 after breaking out of its previous $66,000–$67,000 range, with President Trump's new tariff announcement and heavy whale selling triggering a broader market retreat. Ethereum underperformed slightly, declining nearly 6% to trade around $1,859, with market participants noting that the token's weakness reflected both its sensitivity to Bitcoin's direction and elevated leverage across the crypto derivatives complex.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he was raising global tariffs to 15% from 10%, following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down his earlier "reciprocal" tariff framework. The escalation heightened market uncertainty over the outlook for inflation and global growth, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropping 300 points or 0.5%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields edged slightly lower on Monday as a surge in safe-haven demand offset lingering fiscal concerns, following President Trump's announcement of a new 15% global tariff after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier reciprocal duties. While the protectionist measures initially stoked fears of a wider fiscal deficit, the immediate market reaction was a flight to the safety of government debt, pushing the benchmark 10-year yield down to approximately 4.07%–4.08%.

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