IT rout drags Indian markets; sector on track for worst month in 23 years on AI fears

Indian equity benchmarks tumbled on Tuesday, dragged by information technology stocks which are on course for their worst month since April 2003 on persistent fears of AI-driven disruption.

The Nifty 50 fell 1.12% to 25,424.65 and the BSE Sensex shed 1.28% to 82,225.92.

IT stocks slumped 4.7% to a 30-month low.

The sub-index has lost 21% so far in February, wiping out an aggregate $68.5 billion in market value from its 10 constituents.

In contrast, AI-linked stocks in South Korea and Taiwan helped those markets notch record closing highs as Asian markets steadied after a wobbly start on Tuesday.

If losses hold in the next three sessions, the Nifty IT index will post its worst monthly performance in about 23 years, when the sector cracked on geopolitical tensions due to the U.S.-Iraq war, poor earnings from Infosys and SARS virus outbreak in South-East Asia.

READ MORE: Indian shares gain on US tariff relief, IT firms extend losses

Rapid developments in AI are spurring questions about the long-term outlook for India’s technology sector, even as executives frame disruption as an opportunity.

The industry is set to see revenue flatten next financial year at around $315 billion, driven by artificial intelligence-led services as well as business at global capacity centres, according to industry body Nasscom.

TCS, Infosys, HCLTech and Wipro lost 2.7%-6.1%.

“The IT index slipping below key technical levels and struggling to sustain short-term pullbacks indicates that the market strategy has shifted to ‘sell on rise’ from ‘buy on dips’,” said Sachin Gupta, vice president of research at Choice Broking.

Overall, half of the 16 major sectors in India fell on Tuesday, as risk sentiment was also soured by renewed uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

The broader small-caps and mid-caps dropped 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.

Trump warned countries against abandoning newly negotiated trade deals in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the emergency tariffs, saying he could impose much higher duties under other trade laws.

India delayed planned trade talks with the U.S. while China pressed

Washington to roll back tariff measures and the EU put its approval process on ice.

Textile stocks Gokaldas Exports, Welspun Living, Indo Count Industries, and Arvind dropped about 3.6%-5.6% after the government halved benefits under the RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) scheme.