INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares log weekly gains as earnings optimism fuels banks
By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
Feb 20 (Reuters) - Indian share benchmarks logged weekly gains, helped by a tactical bounce on Friday, as optimism around earnings recovery fueled gains in banks, while worries about U.S.-Iran tensions and AI disruption weighed.
The Nifty 50 .NSEI added 0.46% to 25,571.25 on Friday, and the BSE Sensex .BSESN rose 0.38% to 82,814.71. They rose 0.4% and 0.2% for the week.
Twelve of the 16 major sectors logged weekly gains. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 fell 0.2% while mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 added 0.1%.
State-owned banks .NIFTYPSU were the top sectoral gainers, rising 5.5% for the week.
The index added 8.9% in two weeks on post-earnings optimism.
"PSU banks have been beating expectations while private sector banks have been lagging," said Suresh Ganapathy, managing director and head of financial Services research at Macquarie Capital.
Ganapathy added that strong asset quality, sub-40-basis-point credit costs, and potential for increase in foreign holdings been helping gains in state-owned lenders.
Private sector banks .NIFPVTBNK and financials .NIFTYFIN rose 0.8% and 0.3% for the week, underperforming the PSU banks.
Among other gainers, energy .NIFTYENR and FMCG .NIFTYFMCG stocks added 2.4% and 1.7%, respectively, for the week.
However, the concerns over AI disruption in the IT sector and rising crude oil prices due to U.S.-Iran tensions have dimmed earnings optimism, per analysts.
Higher crude prices are a negative for India, the world's third-largest crude oil importer. O/R
While the market outlook has improved, with strong earnings and attractive valuations after 16 months of underperformance, geopolitical risks persist and AI-related disruption could weigh in the near term, said Sunil Singhania, founder of Abakkus AMC.
India VIX .NIFVIX - a measure of the market's expected volatility for the next 30 days - spiked this week to 14.36, just shy of an eight-month high hit on the day of the federal budget on February 1.
The IT index .NIFTYIT fell 2.1%, marking a fifth consecutive week of losses, in its longest losing streak in six months on AI disruption fears.
India's Nifty 50 ends week flat on US-Iran tensions, AI disruption worries
Weekly performance of India's key stock indexes
Weekly performance of India Nifty 50 stocks
Related Articles
Why the Yen Falls Further the More It Is Rescued: The Answer Lies in Japan’s Own Structural Contradictions
TradingKey - Entering early 2026, the attention of global investors is once again locked on the Japanese Yen (JPY). Despite the Bank of Japan (BoJ) gradually raising policy rates to a range of 0.5% - 0.75%, marking a definitive end to the era of negative interest rates, the yen continues to trend lower against the U.S. dollar.
What Is the Best Nuclear Energy Investment in 2026? Which Should You Buy in, OKLO or Nuclear Energy ETFs?
TradingKey - Demand for electricity is surging, and data centers designed for artificial intelligence are a big reason. Governments are also demanding cleaner, dependable power. This coupling has brought about a revival in nuclear power, with capacity expected to increase in the coming decades. To i
Stock Market Crash 2026: What Fed Signals and Economic Data Mean for Investors
TradingKey - The possibility of a stock market crash occurring in 2026 is becoming increasingly likely as investor sentiment continues to decline.
New Fed Chair Warsh Takes Office: Major Shift in Monetary Policy? US Dollar Short-Term Rebound, 2026 Investment Strategy Analysis
TradingKey - At the start of 2026, global financial markets witnessed a major leadership change as U.S. President Trump officially nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair. Pending Senate confirmation, he will succeed Jerome Powell this May to lead the world’s most influential central bank.
