IT rout deepens: Infosys, TCS, HCLTech, Persistent shares tumble; a long-term opportunity or more pain ahead?
The weakness in IT counters came amid concerns about AI-led disruption and an ongoing correction in US technology stocks, prompting profit booking across large-cap and mid-cap names.
- Feb 13, 2026,
- Updated Feb 13, 2026 11:21 AM IST
Domestic equity benchmarks recorded a sharp drop in Friday's trade, driven by a heavy selloff in information technology (IT) stocks. At last check, frontline IT players such as Infosys Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies Ltd and Persistent Systems Ltd slumped up to 5.58 per cent.
The weakness in IT counters came amid concerns about AI-led disruption and an ongoing correction in US technology stocks, prompting profit booking across large-cap and mid-cap names.
Some market experts pointed out that while the sector may remain turbulent in the near term, investors should avoid panic selling and wait for the dust to settle, as the correction could present a long-term buying opportunity to accumulate select IT counters with a long-term perspective.
"The Indian IT companies are going through turbulent times. All the bellwether and midcap IT companies are witnessing profit booking at this point, with declines seen in the medium to short term. US markets, including NASDAQ, are also in a corrective phase right now," said Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist at WealthMills Securities.
"In the last few years, Indian IT companies were in a complacent mode. They could not scale up the companies, develop new technologies and adopt the changes. Now, it's high time for Indian IT companies to adopt the change and transform their business models in line with the disruption taking place in the technology world. Companies which adopt new technologies and changes -- and how quickly they can transform their business models -- are expected to sustain. The remaining companies are going to face challenging times ahead," he added.
"Investors with high risk appetite and a medium to long-term horizon can buy Indian IT companies in a very staggered manner, looking at global developments and how these companies are changing their business models. In the medium to short term, better to avoid IT," Bathini further stated.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said, "The real impact of the 'Anthropic shock' on the IT sector is yet to be ascertained. Panic selling in IT stocks at this stage may not be a good idea. Investors may wait and watch for the dust to settle."
Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Mastertrust, said, "IT stocks are currently facing sustained pressure, with the Nifty IT index down more than 20 per cent from its recent peak and underperforming the broader Nifty this year. Large-cap names have corrected meaningfully as investors reassessing growth expectations. AI disruption concerns have added another layer of uncertainty. While automation may compress traditional billing models, it also open new revenue streams. The market is currently pricing in more risk than opportunity."
Market expert Avinash Gorakshakar highlighted that larger players may be better positioned to navigate the disruption. "For the IT sector, one needs to understand that it is exactly like the survival of the fittest. Larger players are more likely to survive in the AI era, while the smaller ones may find it a little tougher," Gorakshakar noted.
With that being said, he continued to remain positive on larger companies like TCS, Infosys, HCLTech and Persistent.
"These IT companies have very strong domain knowledge across the entire business chain, which is highly competitive. However, one should also understand that such events create a level of panic and uncertainty for some time. My view is that Indian IT companies are quite strong. Of course, those who want to invest now should take a long-term view (12–18 months) if they are looking for better risk-reward. In the short term, volatility will continue because there is a lot of noise in the market, which creates uncertainty. But fundamentally, these companies appear to be quite solid," Gorakshakar stated.
Domestic equity benchmarks recorded a sharp drop in Friday's trade, driven by a heavy selloff in information technology (IT) stocks. At last check, frontline IT players such as Infosys Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies Ltd and Persistent Systems Ltd slumped up to 5.58 per cent.
The weakness in IT counters came amid concerns about AI-led disruption and an ongoing correction in US technology stocks, prompting profit booking across large-cap and mid-cap names.
Some market experts pointed out that while the sector may remain turbulent in the near term, investors should avoid panic selling and wait for the dust to settle, as the correction could present a long-term buying opportunity to accumulate select IT counters with a long-term perspective.
"The Indian IT companies are going through turbulent times. All the bellwether and midcap IT companies are witnessing profit booking at this point, with declines seen in the medium to short term. US markets, including NASDAQ, are also in a corrective phase right now," said Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist at WealthMills Securities.
"In the last few years, Indian IT companies were in a complacent mode. They could not scale up the companies, develop new technologies and adopt the changes. Now, it's high time for Indian IT companies to adopt the change and transform their business models in line with the disruption taking place in the technology world. Companies which adopt new technologies and changes -- and how quickly they can transform their business models -- are expected to sustain. The remaining companies are going to face challenging times ahead," he added.
"Investors with high risk appetite and a medium to long-term horizon can buy Indian IT companies in a very staggered manner, looking at global developments and how these companies are changing their business models. In the medium to short term, better to avoid IT," Bathini further stated.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said, "The real impact of the 'Anthropic shock' on the IT sector is yet to be ascertained. Panic selling in IT stocks at this stage may not be a good idea. Investors may wait and watch for the dust to settle."
Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Mastertrust, said, "IT stocks are currently facing sustained pressure, with the Nifty IT index down more than 20 per cent from its recent peak and underperforming the broader Nifty this year. Large-cap names have corrected meaningfully as investors reassessing growth expectations. AI disruption concerns have added another layer of uncertainty. While automation may compress traditional billing models, it also open new revenue streams. The market is currently pricing in more risk than opportunity."
Market expert Avinash Gorakshakar highlighted that larger players may be better positioned to navigate the disruption. "For the IT sector, one needs to understand that it is exactly like the survival of the fittest. Larger players are more likely to survive in the AI era, while the smaller ones may find it a little tougher," Gorakshakar noted.
With that being said, he continued to remain positive on larger companies like TCS, Infosys, HCLTech and Persistent.
"These IT companies have very strong domain knowledge across the entire business chain, which is highly competitive. However, one should also understand that such events create a level of panic and uncertainty for some time. My view is that Indian IT companies are quite strong. Of course, those who want to invest now should take a long-term view (12–18 months) if they are looking for better risk-reward. In the short term, volatility will continue because there is a lot of noise in the market, which creates uncertainty. But fundamentally, these companies appear to be quite solid," Gorakshakar stated.