Anthropic hack puts IT stock pack on slide row in February; Nifty IT's 19% fall worst since 2008 crisis

The Nifty IT index tumbled 19.5% in February, its worst monthly fall in 17 years since the nearly 21% drop in September 2008, as fears of an AI-led disruption rattled the sector.

The index declined in 12 out of 21 trading sessions, wiping out nearly Rs 5.7 lakh crore in market capitalisation during the month, according to data from the ET Intelligence Group.

Selling pressure intensified after Anthropic, a US-based artificial intelligence firm, unveiled its tools Claude Cowork and Claude Code, triggering a sell-off in technology services stocks across the US and India.

On Friday the Nifty IT index edged up 0.16% to 30,603.85, even as the benchmark Nifty fell 318 points, or 1.25%, to 25,178.65. The Nifty has declined 0.6% for the month.

Among individual stocks, Coforge, LTIMindtree, Tech Mahindra, Persistent Systems, and Infosys fell more than the index, dropping between 21% and 28%, with Coforge the worst hit. Oracle Financial Services declined the least, by 10.7%, followed by Wipro, while Tata Consultancy Services, Mphasis and HCL Technologies fell by 15–18%.