Anthropic's AI Tool Launches Trigger $68.6 Billion Rout in Indian IT Stocks
13 Sources
[1]
Indian shares trail regional peers on $68.6 billion IT rout over AI concerns
Feb 25 (Reuters) - Indian shares have lagged their Asian and emerging market peers so far in February, pressured by a $68.6 billion rout in the market value of information technology stocks, as investors fretted over disruptions linked to artificial intelligence. The Nifty 50 index (.NSEI), opens
[2]
Software stocks rebound as Anthropic announces new partnerships
The market is 'very spooked' on recent AI fears, says SandboxAQ's Jack Hidary Software stocks made a comeback on Tuesday after Anthropic hosted its enterprise agents event, where it revealed new partnerships, quelling some investor fears that the sector could be displaced by artificial
[3]
Analysts' comments after Anthropic unveils new plug-ins
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence lab Anthropic on Tuesday unveiled 10 new ways for business customers to plug in its technology to key areas of their work, weeks after other releases sparked an aggressive selloff of traditional software company shares. The San Francisco-based startup
[4]
Frightful February for IT stocks: How Anthropic's 6 AI tools sparked a multi-billion dollar meltdown in 4 weeks
Indian IT stocks have seen a sharp downturn in February, with the Nifty IT index dropping 21%. This decline was triggered by new AI launches and capabilities from startup Anthropic, raising investor concerns about potential disruptions to the sector. Major IT firms experienced significant
[5]
Explained: How IBM share price's 13% plunge on Anthropic's COBOL disruption fears sparked bloodbath in TCS, Infosys, Wipro & other IT stocks
IBM Share Price and Anthropic AI Impact: IT stocks slumped on February 24, falling up to 8%, after IBM plunged 13% on Wall Street -- its worst drop in 25 years -- amid concerns that Anthropic's Claude AI tool could streamline COBOL code and disrupt IBM's legacy business. The weakness spilled over
[6]
Anthropic's 'misanthropic' moment for Indian IT! Claude parent's valuation tops the whole industry
Amid the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, AI firm Anthropic -- valued at about $380 billion -- has overtaken the combined market capitalisation of India's top IT companies, including TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra, which together are worth around $240 billion. Amid
[7]
Investors look for signs of bottom in software rout after Anthropic announcement
Software stocks have been pummeled in recent weeks, driven by fears their business models would be upended by AI tools, including those from Anthropic. Investors were looking anew for signs of a bottom in beleaguered shares of software companies on Tuesday after an announcement that artificial
[8]
Markets tumble with IT shares hit by renewed anxiety over AI impact
Mumbai: AI company Anthropic sparked another wave of panic selling in IT stocks, the second in three weeks, this time with a blog post. Mounting anxiety over the outlook for India's billion-dollar software services sector dragged benchmark indices down. The NSE Nifty fell 288.35 points, or 1.1%,
[9]
Investors look for signs of bottom in software rout after Anthropic announcement
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Investors were looking anew for signs of a bottom in beleaguered shares of software companies on Tuesday after an announcement that artificial intelligence startup Anthropic was partnering with an array of companies. Software stocks have been pummeled in recent weeks, driven by
[10]
US software stocks climb as Anthropic announcement sparks relief rally
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. software companies that entered into partnerships with AI startup Anthropic on Tuesday helped lead a rebound in the sector that has been hammered by fears about the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence. Anthropic said it was developing new tools, the
[11]
US software stocks climb as Anthropic announcement sparks relief rally
Software stocks saw a strong rebound on Tuesday. This followed news of new AI tools developed by Anthropic with its partners. These tools aim to assist in areas like investment banking and HR. Shares of companies like LSEG, FactSet, Salesforce's Slack, and DocuSign saw gains. This positive movement
[12]
Analysts' comments after Anthropic unveils new plug-ins
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence lab Anthropic on Tuesday unveiled 10 new ways for business customers to plug in its technology to key areas of their work, weeks after other releases sparked an aggressive selloff of traditional software company shares. The San Francisco-based startup
[13]
Wall St muted after Anthropic announces new AI tools
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were subdued on Tuesday as investors assessed Anthropic's announcement of new AI tools, including plug-ins that could help with investment banking tasks, private equity, engineering and design. Anthropic unveiled 10 new ways for business customers to
Share
Copy Link
Indian IT stocks suffered their worst month in 23 years, with the Nifty IT index plunging 21% in February as Anthropic unveiled multiple AI capabilities. The selloff erased $68.6 billion in market value, led by TCS and Infosys, as investor concerns about AI disruption intensified across the $300 billion IT services industry.
Anthropic Sparks Historic Selloff in IT Stocks
Indian IT stocks endured their most brutal month in nearly 23 years as artificial intelligence lab Anthropic rolled out a series of AI tool launches throughout February, triggering a $68.6 billion market value erosion
1
. The Nifty IT index crashed 21% during the month, with all 10 constituents falling between 16.8% and 27%1
. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys led the market value erosion, losing approximately $21.9 billion and $16.3 billion respectively, while Coforge emerged as the steepest percentage decliner, down 26.8%1
.The selloff reflects mounting investor concerns about AI's potential to fundamentally reshape the labor-intensive delivery model that underpins India's roughly $300 billion IT services industry
1
. This Indian IT sector downturn caused the Nifty 50 index to rise just 0.4% in February while the Sensex edged 0.1% lower, significantly underperforming both the MSCI Asia ex-Japan and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes1
.Timeline of AI Disruption Events
The market reaction to AI intensified through a cascade of announcements from Anthropic. On February 3, the company launched plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent capable of automating tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis, prompting Wall Street to end sharply lower
4
. The tech selloff spilled over to Dalal Street the following day, with the Nifty IT index crashing 6% as heavyweights like Infosys, Tech Mahindra, LTI Mindtree, and TCS fell up to 8%4
.On February 6, Anthropic unveiled Claude Opus 4.6, designed to handle complex financial research and enterprise tasks that would normally take days for humans to complete
4
. The index tumbled 5.5% on February 13 after the company announced that any organization could purchase Claude Enterprise directly on its website with no sales conversation required4
.COBOL Modernization Fears Intensify
The most dramatic single-day decline occurred on February 24 when IBM shares plunged 13%—their steepest drop in 25 years—after Anthropic said its Claude AI tool could help streamline COBOL code
5
. The company claimed that tools like Claude Code can automate the exploration and analysis phases that consume most of the effort in COBOL modernization, potentially reducing timelines from years to quarters5
.This development hit Indian IT firms particularly hard. Coforge, Persistent Systems and HCLTech led losses with declines of 7-8%, while Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Mphasis and TCS fell roughly 4-6%
5
. COBOL remains critical for many Indian IT firms supporting global banking, insurance and retail infrastructure, with TCS among the largest employers for mainframe and COBOL-related roles in India5
.Enterprise AI Partnerships Offer Limited Relief
On February 24, Anthropic attempted to ease software sector fears by hosting an enterprise agents event where it revealed new partnerships
2
. The company launched updates to Claude Cowork allowing integration into enterprise apps such as Salesforce-owned Slack, Intuit, Docusign, LegalZoom, FactSet and Google's Gmail2
. Organizations can now deploy customizable plug-ins across sectors like financial analysis, engineering and human resources2
.The announcement provided temporary relief, with the S&P 500 software and services index climbing 0.5%, though it remained down 23.5% for the year
3
. Salesforce advanced 3.4%, becoming one of the biggest gainers on the Dow3
.Related Stories
Automation Tools Threaten Revenue Models
Investors have zeroed in on the AI-driven automation push from U.S. firms, heightening concerns over faster project execution, pricing pressure and reduced billable hours
1
. Brokerages warn the sector could face further pressure if AI starts eating into application services revenue, which typically accounts for 40% to 70% of total revenue for these companies1
."There are no easy answers to whether AI eventually renders IT services obsolete over the long term," said analysts led by Abhishek Pathak of Motilal Oswal
1
. "The narrative that AI is coming for not just IT but large swathes of the economy could be too strong to shake, at least in the short term," the analysts added1
.Broader Economic Implications and Human Intervention Debate
A slowdown or contraction in India's IT sector could have immediate consequences on both residential and commercial real estate demand, with the Nifty Realty index rising roughly 2% in February following an 18% decline over the past three months
1
. Foreign portfolio investors pulled out approximately 110 billion rupees ($1.21 billion) from IT stocks in the first half of February, following a record 750 billion rupees of net selling in 20251
.Robert Pavlik, Senior Portfolio Manager at Dakota Wealth, noted that while parts of these products would be welcomed by corporations trying to reduce overhead and costs, human intervention remains essential
3
. "I don't think that people anticipate AI will taking over for real humans and real tasks," Pavlik said, adding that workforce adaptation and implementation of AI products is not yet fully done3
.Ken Polcari, Partner at Slatestone Wealth, emphasized that while AI will clearly disrupt the world, it's not the end of the world
3
. "Like every industrial revolution, there'll be anxiety going through it, but then when it comes out the other side, there will be new opportunities," Polcari stated3
. The share price volatility reflects a "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality driven by algorithms, with some analysts identifying potential value in stocks that have been severely punished3
.References
Summarized by
Navi
Related Stories
Anthropic's AI legal tool triggers massive sell-off in software stocks across Europe and India
03 Feb 2026•Business and Economy
AI disruption triggers $100 billion market value erosion in Indian IT sector as foreign investors flee
06 Mar 2026•Business and Economy
Indian IT Stocks Lose $56 Billion as AI Disruption Fears Test Sector's Resilience
13 Feb 2026•Business and Economy
Recent Highlights
1
OpenAI Claims AI Math Breakthrough on Navier-Stokes, Sparks Controversy Over Credit and Future of Research
Science and Research
2
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Declares AGI Has Arrived With OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra Release
Technology
3
Apple debuts $1,999 iPhone Duo foldable and A20 Pro chip as new CEO John Ternus takes the stage
Technology
Recent Highlights
Today's Top Stories
Don’t drown in AI news. We cut through the noise - filtering, ranking and summarizing the most important AI news, breakthroughs and research daily. Follow topics that matter to you and stay ahead.
