Indian equity markets have displayed selective resilience through early 2026, characterized by significant profit recoveries and sharp sectoral rotations. As of late February 2026, the benchmark Nifty 50 has stabilized around the 25,556 level, while the BSE Sensex holds firm at approximately 82,418. A standout trend in the December quarter was the return to profitability for 27 BSE-listed companies with market capitalizations exceeding 3,000 crore. This shift has triggered polarized stock movements. While nearly 22% of these newly profitable entities saw share prices surge between 10% and 55%, a larger segment of the market faced corrections. The top five laggards in this category experienced steep declines ranging from 20% to 40% over a three-month period. The exchange operator BSE itself emerged as a top performer, reporting a massive 174% year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit to 601.81 crore for the December quarter. This was fueled by a 122% rise in equity derivatives revenue and a 62% increase in operational revenue, reaching 1,244 crore. Consequently, BSE shares touched a 52-week high of 3,188 in mid-February. Sectoral shifts are currently driving market momentum. Banking and Metal sectors have shown strength, with state-owned banks adding roughly 1.3% in recent sessions. Vedanta, a major metal player, reported a 60% increase in profit to 7,807 crore, supported by a 57% jump in aluminum production. In contrast, the IT sector faces pressure due to evolving automation trends, leading to a 2.1% weekly decline in the Nifty IT index by late February. The broader macro environment remains supported by a series of repo rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India, which brought the rate down to 5.25% by December 2025 to stimulate liquidity. Retail participation continues to be a structural pillar, with domestic investors now contributing 52% of total capital in key segments. Volatility, as measured by the VIX, stands near 14.36, reflecting a guarded but optimistic sentiment. Investors are currently prioritizing quality large-caps and companies with improving EBITDA margins, which expanded by over 440 basis points for leading market infrastructure firms this quarter. [Stock market news and latest price analysis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isnCoh78j0Q) This video provides a detailed scorecard of top gainers and losers, offering visual context for the market trends and sectoral shifts discussed in the brief. http://googleusercontent.com/youtube_content/0