From 52-week high to 52-week low: Nifty IT tanks 30% since February 3; here's why 

IT stocks are in a tailspin since February 3 sending the Nifty IT index lower by 30% till date. The index, which hit a 52 week high of 40,301 on February 3, 2026 tanked 29.80% to a 52 week low of 28,288 in the current session. 

In February alone, the IT index sinked 19.54%, its worst monthly fall since the 2008 global crisis. 

IT stocks have taken a hit due to AI-led disruption in sector. On February 5, American AI company Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4.6 on February 5, 2026. It claimed this tool could can automate many office processes. On February 17, Anthropic launched Claude Sonnet 4.6. These tools are capable of handling tasks like routine documentation, code generation and data processing.

The launch of these tools wrecked investor sentiment toward the Indian IT industry. Additonally, IT stocks came under pressure because the sector depends on overseas clients, where spending has been slow.

This prompted global brokerage Jefferies pared its price targets by up to 33 per cent on Indian IT stocks. 

Artificial intelligence is likely to structurally change IT business mix towards consulting and implementation while shrinking managed services. This, the brokerage said, would not only increase cyclicality but also require a change in talent and operating model, thus adding risks.

TCS shares, which closed at Rs 3220 on February 3 this year, have crashed 26% till date. Infosys shares have plunged over 25% from a high of Rs 1654.70 on February 3. On similar lines, Wipro shares have lost 21.38% till date from the high of Rs 242.56 on February 3. 

The ongoing war between US-Israel and Iran also has dampened equity sentiment across the globe with US markets, along with the IT stocks also taking a hit. Dow Jones Index is down 2031 pts or 4.14% since the US-Iran war started on February 28. Nasdaq Composite Index too plunged 294 pts or 1.29% since the start of war. 

The US markets taking a hit due to the ongoing war has proven as bad news for investor sentiment in Indian IT firms most of which earn over 60% of their revenue from the US alone.