Dalal Street Rally: Tata Steel Leads as IT Stocks Lag

Metal-Led Rally Lifts Dalal Street as Tata Steel Outperforms While IT Stays Under Pressure

Indian equities closed higher on February 18, 2026, with a late-session push from metals and PSU banks. The Sensex rose 283.29 points to 83,734.25, and the Nifty gained 93.95 points to 25,819.35.

The rise was not broad-based. Buying remained concentrated in cyclical pockets, especially metal stocks, while large IT stocks stayed weak into the close. Tata Steel was among the stronger contributors. Infosys, TCS, and Tech Mahindra ended in the red, limiting broader upside.

This left a clear split in market leadership by the end of trade. Cyclical counters drove index gains, while technology remained a drag.

Why the Market Reacted

The day’s move reflected sector rotation rather than a broad rally. Metals and parts of financials attracted buying, while IT continued to face selling pressure. In such phases, indices can stay positive even when heavyweight sectors are weak.

Current positioning shows near-term risk appetite in domestic cyclicals, supported by gains in metals and select banks. At the same time, continued declines in frontline IT stocks show participation is still uneven.

For retail investors, this is important because index strength can mask stock-level divergence. Benchmarks closed higher, but sector performance remained mixed, and stock selection stayed important.

Price and Technical Snapshot

All price and indicator readings below are as of February 18, 2026. The total score mentioned below is as of February 17, 2026.

• Tata Steel closed at 208.90, up 2.87%. Volume was 47,975,664 versus average volume of 37,611,023. RSI was 65.00. MACD line was 6.0538, above signal 5.6794. The stock was above SMA 20 at 198.03 and SMA 50 at 185.72. Total score: 7.
• JSW Steel closed at 1251.40, up 0.55%. It was above SMA 20 at 1226.82 and SMA 50 at 1173.96. RSI was 62.39.
• Hindalco closed at 899.25, up 0.81%, but remained below SMA 20 at 947.30 and SMA 50 at 914.70. RSI was 42.74.
• SBI closed at 1220.00, up 0.54%. RSI was 79.71. MACD line was 51.7151, above signal 39.6835. The stock was above SMA 20 at 1108.14 and SMA 50 at 1039.46.
• Axis Bank closed at 1376.30, up 1.41%, above SMA 20 at 1337.16 and SMA 50 at 1294.38.
• Infosys closed at 1372.00, down 1.38%, below SMA 20 at 1541.79 and SMA 50 at 1593.54. RSI was 24.07.
• TCS closed at 2694.90, down 0.92%, below SMA 20 at 2993.46 and SMA 50 at 3135.40. RSI was 25.53.
• Tech Mahindra closed at 1504.80, down 1.00%, below SMA 20 at 1649.21 and SMA 50 at 1625.99. RSI was 30.59.

What Traders and Investors Are Watching Next

The next focus is whether metal leaders can hold above short-term and medium-term averages after this move. Tata Steel and JSW Steel are already above SMA 20 and SMA 50, while Hindalco still needs follow-through to reclaim these levels.

In banking, traders will watch whether SBI and Axis Bank can sustain momentum with continued support above moving averages. In IT, the key monitor is whether Infosys, TCS, and Tech Mahindra can stabilise and start reclaiming SMA 20 levels. If that does not happen, sector divergence may continue even when headline indices remain firm.

This is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.