Bourses recover from losses in early afternoon session

Indian markets recouped from early losses and traded marginally in green during early afternoon session. As for broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded in green. Sustained buying in metal sector stocks pushed the markets higher. Traders took note of Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran’s statement that economic growth serves as the most robust and sustainable path to financial inclusion for India. He said ‘when an economy is generating jobs, incomes, markets and demand, people do not need to be forced into the financial system. They enter naturally...because they see opportunities, they invest, because the future looks larger than the present.’ 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green buoyed by Japanese shares, as investors braced for a snap election in Japan that could lead to more fiscal stimulus. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83680.32, up by 52.63 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 83288.13 and 83809.98. There were 18 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.49%, Basic Materials up by 1.59%, Oil & Gas up by 0.98%, Energy up by 0.98% and Telecom was up by 0.97%, while Realty down by 1.06%, IT down by 0.48%, Auto down by 0.37%, Consumer Durables down by 0.36% and Consumer Disc was down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.73%, Axis Bank up by 2.89%, NTPC up by 2.77%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.34% and Bharat Electronics up by 1.57%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.64%, Asian Paints down by 1.54%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.24%, Sun Pharma down by 1.05% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, after pausing licenses for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) since 2004, the Reserve bank of India (RBI) has proposed resumption of issuance of licences for UCBs, subject to various regulatory requirements, including a minimum capital threshold of Rs 300 crore. Earlier, a large number of the newly licensed UCBs became financially unsound within a short period which led to RBI pausing the licenses for the banks. However, in October last year, the RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had announced that considering the positive developments in the sector during the last two decades and in response to the growing demand from the stakeholders, RBI would publish a discussion paper on licensing of new UCBs. As on March 31, 2025, there were 1,457 UCBs with total aggregate assets of Rs 7.38 lakh crore, and total deposits of Rs 5.84 lakh crore.

In order to sought stakeholders’ view of on licensing of new UCBs, it issued a discussion paper on 'Licensing of UCBs' and has invited comments on it from stakeholders by February 13, 2026. The paper has primarily sought comments on two questions -- Is it the right time to resume licensing of new UCB and What should be the broad eligibility criteria, if new UCB licensing is to be resumed now. The paper said that over the years, several high-level committees formed by RBI have visited the matter of re-opening of UCB licences and come out with various recommendations.

The paper has provided arguments, both in favour and against resuming licensing. It said that that considering the fact that most of the failures of UCBs have been of smaller banks, if licensing is resumed for UCBs, it may be prudent to license only large co-operative credit societies as they will have a longer track record and would have established its governance and put in place sound management practices. It also argued that ideally, the governance standards applicable to a bank should be agnostic to the incorporated structure of the bank whether commercial or co-operative. More on track record, it suggested active operations for at least 10 years and a good financial track record of at least 5 years are desirable from a co-operative credit society to apply. The paper cites recommendations of various panels, including that of an Internal Working Group. Further to analyse the financials, assessed CRAR should not be less than 12% and the Net NPA ratio should not be more than 3% at the time of grant of licence to the eligible applicant.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25762.30, up by 30.00 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 25638.35 and 25791.75. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.79%, Axis Bank up by 2.92%, NTPC up by 2.68%, ONGC up by 2.62% and Coal India up by 1.43%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.75%, Sun Pharma down by 1.74%, Asian Paints down by 1.70%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.28% and Eicher Motors down by 1.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 728.84 points or 1.34% to 54,278.00, Taiwan Weighted added 234.56 points or 0.76% to 30,941.78, Hang Seng advanced 129.53 points or 0.48% to 26,978.00, Jakarta Composite gained 90.57 points or 1% to 9,038.87 and KOSPI was up by 30.46 points or 0.64% to 4,723.10. On the flip side, Straits Times fell 7.85 points or 0.16% to 4,799.28 and Shanghai Composite was down by 15.96 points or 0.39% to 4,122.80.