Infosys, Wipro, TCS slump as NIFTY IT plunges over 5%

The NIFTY IT index tumbled sharply on Thursday, falling 1,842.45 points, or 5.25%, to 33,252.70, according to exchange data, as selling intensified across large-cap and mid-cap technology stocks.

The index opened at 34,439.00 and slid through the session amid persistent intraday pressure, with losses deepening across constituents.

Declines were broad-based. Coforge and LTM Limited (formerly LTIMindtree) led losses among mid-tier names, while Infosys, TCS, and Wipro also dropped sharply. Persistent Systems, Tech Mahindra, Mphasis, and HCLTech traded lower as investors cut exposure across the IT pack.

The fall deepens a sharp sectoral correction underway since early February.

The index has dropped from 38,611.75 on February 3 to 33,252.70, eroding more than 5,300 points in just over a week.

From its mid-January high of 39,086.65, the NIFTY IT has fallen by over 5,800 points, underscoring mounting pressure on the sector.

Historical data showed the index held fort largely in the 38,000–39,000 range through much of January before sliding below 36,500 from February 4 onward and continuing to weaken into mid-February.

The latest decline marks one of the steepest short-term corrections for the IT index this year, with all major constituents trading in the red and mid-tier stocks underperforming frontline peers.

Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said tech stocks, reeling under AI-led disruption fears, are unlikely to recover quickly. The sharp fall in ADRs of Indian IT majors in the US signals continued near-term pressure on the sector, he added.

On February 4, Indian IT stocks saw heavy selling amid rising “SaaSpocalypse” concerns, triggered by a mix of technological and macroeconomic factors.

Anthropic rolled out upgrades and enterprise capabilities for its Claude AI models that can automate routine enterprise tasks, unsettling IT services companies dependent on US technology spending.

Palantir, in its earnings call, said AI is compressing enterprise resource planning (ERP) timelines from years to weeks—a domain traditionally seen as resistant to automation—and highlighted how its AI offerings are reshaping pay-per-seat software and third-party enterprise solutions.

On Thursday, hopes of a rate cut in the US faded after job growth unexpectedly accelerated in January and the unemployment rate fell, leaving the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates unchanged for longer. That weighed on IT firms’ shares, which count the world’s largest economy among their biggest markets.

Rate cuts are widely seen as a key lever for reviving demand for IT spending, which has remained muted amid cautious enterprise budgets and high borrowing costs globally.