Indian markets faced a bruising session on Thursday, February 12, 2026, as a massive selloff in the technology sector dragged the benchmarks deep into the red. The Sensex tumbled to 83,675, while the Nifty 50 slipped below the 25,900 mark to finish at 25,807.
The primary culprit was the Nifty IT index, which plummeted nearly 4.6%, hitting a four-month low and wiping out over ₹1.3 lakh crore in investor wealth in a single day.
The “Anthropic Shock”: Why IT Stocks Tanked
The panic was triggered by a “SaaSpocalypse” fear following new advancements from US-based AI startup Anthropic.
- AI Cowork Tools: Anthropic launched “Claude Cowork,” a suite of AI agents capable of automating complex enterprise tasks across legal, sales, and data analysis—territory traditionally dominated by Indian IT’s labor-intensive model.
- Structural Risk: Analysts from Jefferies and Motilal Oswal warned that AI is no longer just a “tool” but a direct competitor that could render legacy software testing and business process outsourcing (BPO) redundant.
- Top Losers: * TCS: Slipped over 4%, falling below a ₹10 lakh crore market cap.
- Infosys & Wipro: Both giants hit 52-week lows, declining between 4–5%.
- Coforge & LTIMindtree: The worst hit, losing as much as 5.5%.
Global Macro Pressure
Beyond AI fears, global economic signals added to the bearish sentiment:
- US Jobs Data: Stronger-than-expected US labor market data (130,000 new jobs) signaled that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates soon, a negative for high-growth tech stocks.
- ADR Slump: Overnight, Indian IT ADRs (American Depository Receipts) fell sharply in New York, setting a grim tone for the domestic opening.
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