Stock markets decline in early trade after three-day rally

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday (February 5, 2026) after a three-day rally amid a weak trend in global stock markets.

After starting the trade on a bearish note, the 30-share BSE Sensex further dropped 278.72 points to 83,538.97. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 94.15 points to 25,681.85.

From the Sensex firms, InterGlobe Aviation, Bharat Electronics, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel were among the major laggards.

Hindustan Unilever, Trent, NTPC, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and State Bank of India were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi traded lower by over 3%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were also trading in negative territory.

U.S. markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday (February 4, 2026). The Nasdaq Composite index tumbled 1.51% and S&P 500 declined by 0.51%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.53% higher.

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹29.79 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth ₹249.54 crore in the previous trade.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 2.07% to $68.02 per barrel.

On Wednesday (February 4, 2026), the Sensex ended 78.56 points or 0.09% higher at 83,817.69. The Nifty went up by 48.45 points or 0.19% to settle at 25,776.