The Indian stock market closed Monday’s session, February 23, with sharp gains as market sentiment was boosted after the US Supreme Court struck down import levies imposed by President Donald Trump.
The Nifty 50 gained 0.52% to 25,703, while the Sensex rallied 0.56% to 83,276. The broader markets, however, closed mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index falling 0.40% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rising 0.30%.
Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Nifty PSU Bank extending its bull run to the third day, gaining another 1.36%. During the intraday session, the PSU gauge touched another record high. It was followed by Nifty Auto and Nifty FMCG, which scaled up 0.83% and 0.70%, respectively.
On the downside, Nifty IT was the worst performer, plunging 1.42%, while Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty fell by 0.23% and 0.19%, respectively.
In a major development, the US Supreme Court on Friday, in a 6-3 ruling, invalidated the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs announced by President Donald Trump in April 2025. In reaction, Trump said that he will raise a temporary tariff on US imports from all countries from 10% to 15%, the maximum allowed under the law.
Given the court ruling and the uncertainty over tariffs following the judgment, India has delayed plans to send a trade delegation to Washington this week, Reuters reported, citing a source in the trade ministry.
Blue Jet Healthcare surges 10%; capital goods stocks extend gains
Blue Jet Healthcare was the top performer in the Nifty 500 pack, rallying 10% to ₹391.40 apiece on the back of a strong spike in trading volumes. Aegis Vopak Terminal was another top performer in the pack, with the stock rebounding 8.7% to ₹230 apiece, ending its two-day losing streak.
Neuland Laboratories, too, saw its shares witness strong demand during trade, advancing 8% to ₹13,651 and snapping its three-day losing streak. After remaining under pressure for four sessions in a row, BLS International Services rebounded 5.6% to ₹283.50 apiece.
Meanwhile, capital goods stocks came under another round of buying, with Kalpataru Projects, Elgi Equipments, Cummins India, and Siemens surging between 3% and 4.5%. Banking stocks such as Indian Bank and City Union Bank rallied 3.8% and 3.4%, respectively.
In the metals space, Jindal Stainless jumped 4.45% to ₹795 apiece, while Metropolis Healthcare and OneSource Specialty also rallied over 4%. Nearly 30 constituents of the Nifty 500 finished the session with gains of over 3%.
IDFC First Bank tumbles 16% on fraud disclosure; UPL slides on restructuring concerns
IDFC First Bank was the biggest casualty today, with the stock crashing 16% to ₹70 apiece after the lender disclosed over the weekend that a ₹590-crore fraud had occurred at its Chandigarh branch involving Haryana government-linked accounts, prompting the Reserve Bank of India to step in with assurances that there was no systemic risk.
UPL was the second-worst performer, falling 14.3% to ₹644.8 apiece after the company announced a group restructuring, prompting brokerages to trim their ratings
Godfrey Phillips India fell 11% to ₹2,213 as investors appeared to book profits following the recent run-up. Swan Corp shares came under renewed selling pressure, falling another 7% to ₹379. The stock was last seen around these levels in April 2025.
Reliance Infrastructure was locked in the 5% lower circuit limit at ₹98.8 apiece. Mid-cap IT stocks such as Hexaware Technologies, Coforge, and Newgen Software Technologies each dropped 3.3%, 3.9%, and 3.6%, respectively.
Other stocks such as Hindustan Aeronautics, Inventurus Knowledge Solutions, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, and Sagility all fell over 3%.
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