Prime End of the Day Summary: View on Market Performance 18 Feb 2026

Nifty Gains for the Third Straight Day on Broad-Based Buying

The Nifty extended its winning streak to a third session, gaining 93 points to close at 25,819. After an initial hour of weakness, it reversed direction and steadily built gains through the rest of the session to end near day high. NSE cash market volumes were lower by 3% compared to the previous session.

HDFC Life, Tata Steel, and ITC led Nifty gainers while Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Eternal lagged amid selling pressure.

The rally was broad-based. Baring IT sector, all sectoral indices ended in positive territory, with Metals, PSU Banks, and FMCG spearheading the advance.

Broader markets continued their outperformance with both Nifty Midcap and smallcap 100 continued their upward journey for the third day in the row and ended with gains of 0.5%. Market breadth stayed positive for the second straight day, with an advance-decline ratio of 1.15, confirming sustained buying interest beyond the heavyweights.

The technical setup now favors the bulls, with Nifty holding firmly above key moving averages and bullish indicators aligning on the daily chart. The next resistance placed near 26,000, beyond which the index could move to its all-time high. Meanwhile, strong support lies at the 20 day EMAplaced at 25660.