Hindalco Shares Decline Amid Significant Market Selloff

On February 13, 2026, Indian financial markets experienced notable declines as benchmark indices were heavily impacted by widespread selling of shares. The BSE Sensex plummeted by 1,048.16 points, or 1.25%, to conclude the day at 82,626.76. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty 50 index fell by 336.10 points, equivalent to a 1.30% drop, finishing at 25,471.10. These losses were driven by declining investor confidence amidst unsettling global market signals and profit booking, particularly in the metal, information technology, and commodity sectors.

The selloff in the stock market was compounded by poor quarterly earnings reports from key companies, with Hindalco Industries being among the hardest hit. The company’s shares dropped by 6.08% following a report that its consolidated net profit had decreased by 45% year-on-year to ₹2,049 crore for the quarter ending December 2025. This compared unfavourably to a profit of ₹3,735 crore recorded during the same period the previous year.

Other significant losers in the market included Hindustan Unilever, which fell by 4.34%, Eternal dropping 4.30%, and Adani Enterprises which declined by 3.83%. Additionally, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation's shares fell by 3.20%.

In contrast, some stocks managed to record gains during this tumultuous day. Bajaj Finance led with a rise of 3.09%, followed by Eicher Motors at 1.56% and SBI Life Insurance Company at 0.84%. Both the NIFTY Midcap 100 index and the NIFTY Smallcap 100 index also faced declines, indicating a broader market contraction.

The NIFTY Midcap 100 dropped by 1.71%, losing 1,032.85 points and closing at 58,432. The downturn was largely attributed to a significant fall in the share price of Muthoot Finance, which fell by 11.80%, despite posting a strong quarterly performance that indicated a 94.9% rise in profit year-on-year to ₹2,656 crore. Other pronounced losers included Alkem Laboratories and National Aluminium Company, down 8.01% and 5.42% respectively.

The selling trend continued in the NIFTY Smallcap 100 index, which fell by 1.79% or 311.20 points, concluding at 17,032.90. Firstsource Solutions saw a sharp decline of 7.23%, alongside Newgen Software Technologies which fell by 5.28%.

In the midst of the turbulence, investors were being cautious due to weaker global cues, particularly ahead of imminent inflation data from the United States. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, commented on the issue, stating, "Sentiment gains from the U.S.-India trade deal have faded as renewed AI-driven disruption fears weigh on risk appetite."

Market activity showed that foreign institutional investors purchased stocks amounting to ₹108.42 crore, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹276.85 crore on the previous trading day, as reported by market exchanges. The decline does highlight a growing sense of vulnerability within investor sentiment as companies report less optimistic earnings amid a backdrop of global economic uncertainty.