{"id":76275,"date":"2026-02-04T17:14:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T20:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/889417589"},"modified":"2026-02-04T17:14:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T20:14:58","slug":"anthropic-ai-fears-spark-tech-rout-is-this-pain-in-it-stocks-expected-to-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/04\/anthropic-ai-fears-spark-tech-rout-is-this-pain-in-it-stocks-expected-to-last\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthropic AI fears spark tech rout: Is this pain in IT stocks expected to last?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Indian IT stocks were bleeding on Wednesday, February 4, mirroring a sharp selloff in US technology counters and reacting to fresh developments around AI startup Anthropic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The trigger was news that Anthropic had launched new AI tools capable of automating tasks in legal, compliance, marketing, and data analysis \u2014 areas traditionally serviced by software firms and IT service providers. Adding to the pressure was the strength in the Indian Rupee, which typically weighs on export-heavy IT companies by hurting margin expectations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Nifty IT <\/a>index plunged over 7%, with all 10 constituents trading in negative territory. Among major names, Infosys <\/a>slipped nearly 9% to \u20b9<\/span>1,510.10, on course to log its worst single day loss since April 2023. Meanwhile, TCS <\/a>dropped over 7%. Other stocks, Tech Mahindra, LTIMindtree, Coforge also declined around 7 each%. Mphasis, Persistent Systems, HCL Tech, Wipro also lost between 5-6% each.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The concerns were amplified by a similar rout on Wall Street, where AI heavyweights Nvidia and Microsoft fell almost 3%, Alphabet declined 1.2%, and Amazon lost 1.8%. The Nasdaq Composite ended 1.43% lower at 23,255.19.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Why Anthropic AI spooked global tech markets<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude family of AI models, introduced plug-ins and extensions for its Claude Cowork agent that can automate professional tasks typically handled by licensed software platforms and IT services. These AI tools are capable of replacing workflows in legal research, compliance documentation, analytics, and professional services \u2014 segments where traditional software firms and IT service providers derive high-margin revenues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Also Read<\/strong> | How to pick the right Silver ETF and other key questions answered<\/a><\/div>\n
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This sparked fears that AI could erode pricing power, long-term subscription models, and volume-based billing structures that many IT and software companies rely on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Why not all is negative for Indian IT?<\/h2>\n

However, some market experts have asked the investors to ‘look beyond the suffering.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We strongly advise investors to look beyond the suffering giants and focus on these specialized ‘AI beneficiaries’ to capture the next upcycle,” said Prasenjit Paul, Equity Research Analyst at Paul Asset & Fund Manager at 129 Wealth Fund.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Paul noted that sharp correction in IT stocks <\/a>like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, etc validates a structural shift: generic service models relying on headcount are facing an existential test as agentic AI automates volume-based tasks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However, the expert added that he views this rout as a bifurcation opportunity and are actively allocating capital to specialized IT firms those serve niche verticals like healthcare giants and global OEMs. By deploying agentic AI to decouple revenue from manpower costs, niche smaller IT firms are poised for significant margin expansion and a massive valuation re-rating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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ICICI Securities also believes that not all is bad for the domestic technology pack, as the recently concluded trade deal with the US offers some positive benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“While IT services and software exports are not directly tariff-linked, improved trade relations with the US, which contributes over 60% of revenues for the sector signals stronger strategic alignment and easing geopolitical overhang. The impact of the India-US trade deal is sentimentally positive, while key catalysts for IT services would remain factors such as visa norms, tech budgets, and data regulations. Improved policy optics could encourage US enterprises to advance discretionary tech spending and GCC expansion, even though immediate revenue or margin acceleration for IT firms is unlikely.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The key takeaway for investors, experts say, is to differentiate between volume-based IT models and specialised firms that can integrate AI into their offerings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sentiment-driven sell-off<\/h2>\n

As the IT selloff intensified through the session, market experts believe the sharp reaction is being driven more by fear of disruption than by any measurable impact on existing order books or earnings visibility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Also Read<\/strong> | Infosys, TCS to HCL Tech: IT stocks crash up to 6% \u2014 What’s behind the selloff?<\/a><\/div>\n
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Pranay Aggarwal, Director and CEO of Stoxkart, said, “While fears of disruption to outsourcing revenues have led to aggressive selling, this may reflect short-term anxiety rather than structural long-term damage. AI presents challenges but also expands opportunities for implementation, oversight, and higher-value services. With Indian IT firms actively investing in AI capabilities, the present correction seems more like an overreaction to immediate developments than a sign of irreversible impact.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He emphasised that Indian IT companies are already integrating AI into their offerings, which could allow them to move up the value chain rather than lose relevance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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… over 7%. Other stocks, Tech<\/span> Mahindra, LTIMindtree, Coforge also … Why Anthropic AI spooked global tech<\/span> markets Anthropic, the company … bad for the domestic technology<\/span> pack, as the recently … enterprises to advance discretionary tech<\/span> spending and GCC expansion, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}