IDFC First Bank fell sharply after a ₹590 crore fraud linked to Haryana government accounts surfaced; Nifty PSU Bank strong buying momentum
Market Recap: 23rd February, 2026
🗞 Stock News Highlights
RailTel Corporation of India (+1.93%): Stock surged after receiving ₹1,136 crore LoI with Ashoka Buildcon from Maharashtra Government for IGR office modernization, boosting order book visibility.
Highway Infrastructure (+3.04%): Stock advanced after securing contracts worth ₹224 crore, including toll collection at Moti Naroli Fee Plaza in Gujarat and a road development project in Indore, strengthening order book visibility.
IDFC First Bank (-16.13%): Stock fell sharply, hitting lower circuit after ₹590 crore fraud linked to Haryana government accounts; bank appointed KPMG for forensic audit, keeping sentiment under pressure.
UPL Ltd (-14.30%): Stock fell sharply after the restructuring announcement raised leverage and dilution concerns; Nuvama downgraded to ‘hold’, keeping investor sentiment under pressure.
🏢 Sectoral Performance
PSU Banks | Nifty PSU Bank (+1.36%): The index advanced, extending its rally as strong buying momentum lifted stocks like SBI, Bank of Baroda, and Indian Bank to new highs, with broad-based gains across PSU banking space supporting the up move.
Infra | Nifty Infra (+0.85%): The index gained, led by Reliance, Bharti Airtel, and Larsen & Toubro, as strong order books, healthy inflows, and government capex supported sectoral momentum.
IT | Nifty IT (-1.42%): The index declined sharply after analysts flagged AI disruption concerns and earnings pressure, with Infosys, Coforge, and Persistent Systems leading losses across the sector.
Defence | Nifty India Defence (-0.38%): The index moved lower with 7 gainers and 11 draggers, as HAL declined on Tejas incident concerns, triggering profit booking and broad-based weakness across defence stocks.
🔍 Market Insights
Technical Level: Nifty opened with a gap-up and faced resistance near 25,770, after which selling pressure emerged, dragging the index lower throughout the session. It found support around 25,610 and witnessed a mild recovery towards the closing hours.
Advance-Decline Ratio: Market breadth remained negative, with 1,494 advances against 1,672 declines, indicating broad-based selling pressure across the market.
The Big Picture:Europe warned that trade deals with the U.S. are at risk after Donald Trump imposed a new 15% global tariff on imports, creating fresh uncertainty in global trade. Officials expressed concern over policy instability following the Supreme Court’s rejection of earlier tariffs, while the revised duties—effective immediately—could disrupt existing EU and U.K. trade agreements and strain business relations further.
FII/DII Activity (Feb 23, 2026): FIIs remained net sellers with outflows of ₹934 crore, while DIIs supported the market with buying of ₹2,637 crore, helping cushion broader selling pressure.
🔮 Watch Out For Tomorrow
IPO Corner: Gaudium IVF & Women Health IPO, closing tomorrow, has been subscribed 2.7x so far, reflecting moderate investor interest.
Macro: China Loan Prime Rate 1Y & USA ADP Employment Change Weekly are scheduled to be released next week.
Index Watch: Nifty opened with a gap-up but failed to sustain the upward momentum, witnessing selling pressure throughout the session. Despite this, the index managed to remain positive for the second consecutive day. It faced resistance near higher levels, while support was seen around 25,600. Sustaining above this level may keep the positive bias intact, while any weakness could lead to consolidation.
5-Day Course
Theme: Stock Market Basics (Understand → Analyze → Act)
Day 1 – What is a Stock? (Introduction + Simple Analogy + How to Choose)
Think of a stock like owning a small part of a business.
Imagine your friend starts a chai shop and asks you to invest ₹10,000. In return, you own a share of that shop. If the business grows, your investment grows. If it struggles, your value also goes down.
That’s exactly what stocks are. When you buy a stock, you’re buying ownership in a company like Reliance, TCS, or HDFC Bank.
Now the real question is: How do you choose your first stock?
Start simple. Don’t chase “multibagger” hype. Focus on strong, well-known companies. These are called blue-chip stocks and are more stable for beginners.
Check two basic things before choosing:
The company should have consistent profits (not random growth)
It should be a leader in its industry
Practical approach: If you’re starting today, pick one strong, well-known company and invest a small amount. The goal is not perfection—it’s getting started and learning.
📝 Word Of The Day
Tracking Error: Tracking error is the difference between an ETF’s returns and its benchmark index returns, showing how accurately the fund replicates index performance; lower tracking error indicates better efficiency and closer alignment.
👀 Stay tuned. Stay diversified.
Until next time,
Team Pocketful.