Domestic equities were weighed down by weak global cues
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Ta Nu
Markets witnessed sharp selling pressure on Friday, and benchmark indices slid 1.3 per cent on mounting concerns over artificial intelligence-led disruption in the IT sector triggered widespread profit-booking across sectors.
The IT sector bore the brunt of the selloff, with major heavyweights witnessing significant declines. TCS fell 2 per cent and Wipro 2.2 per cent. The Nifty IT Index has lost over 8 per cent this week.
“Today’s weakness in Sensex and Nifty is largely driven by selling pressure in the IT sector, which weighed on broader market sentiment,” said Swapnil Aggarwal, Director, VSRK Capital.
He pointed out that concerns around global demand slowdown, cautious commentary from tech companies, and uncertainty related to AI-led disruptions and job losses had triggered profit-booking after recent gains.
“The view that software or IT services are structurally obsolete appears overstretched, particularly in the enterprise segment, which runs mission critical multilocational and highly secure applications,” noted N. ArunaGiri, CEO, TrustLine Holdings.
“In the current IT melt-down, instead of taking a universal buy-on-dips approach, take a prudent selective and stock-specific approach based on underlying business models,” he added.
Sensex shaved off over 1000 points in trade and Nifty ended 336.1 points power, as foreign portfolio investors have escalated selling. According to provisional data, they offloaded shares nearly worth ₹7,400 crore.
Hindalco emerged as the top Nifty loser, plummeting 6.08 per cent followed by Hindustan Unilever, which dropped 4.34 per cent. Among gainers, Bajaj Finance rose 3.09 per cent and, Eicher Motors gained 1.56 per cent.
The broader market correction was widespread, with metals and FMCG stocks facing heavy selling.
The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 1.71 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 tumbled 1.79 per cent. All sectoral indices closed in the red, with Nifty Bank down 0.91 per cent.
“At present, this appears to be more of a sentiment-driven correction rather than the start of a deeper structural downturn,” Aggarwal said, advising investors to “adopt a staggered investment strategy” through systematic investment plans to navigate volatility.
Looking ahead, Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, expects markets to “remain range-bound in the near term amid mixed global cues,” with investor attention shifting toward the upcoming India AI Impact Summit scheduled in New Delhi next week.
Published on February 13, 2026
