Nifty IT drops 3.65% after Accenture cuts guidance

What triggered the selloff in Indian IT

Indian IT stocks swung sharply on Friday after Accenture’s guidance cut and cautious demand commentary unsettled investors. The technology pack was the biggest drag on the market even as some of the day’s early losses were recovered later in the session. The Nifty IT index had plunged more than 6% in early trade, reflecting a rush to reduce exposure to the sector. Through the day, the index pared a significant portion of the decline, but it still ended as the worst-performing sector on Dalal Street. The move underlined how sensitive Indian IT stocks remain to global cues on enterprise tech spending.

Nifty IT’s intraday plunge and partial recovery

In one market snapshot, the Nifty IT index fell 6.02% to 26,752.85, marking the steepest sectoral decline among NSE indices at that point. Another update described the index as down more than 6% in early trade before it clawed back losses. By the close, the Nifty IT index ended down 3.65%, still leaving the sector at the bottom of the day’s leaderboard. The pattern suggested two-way activity: early panic selling followed by bargain hunting and short covering. But the final close still reflected a clear risk-off stance toward IT.

Broader market close: benchmarks end lower

The IT-led weakness fed into headline indices. The Sensex ended down 607 points, or 0.78%, at 76,803. The Nifty closed 155 points, or 0.64%, lower at 24,013. Despite the recovery from intraday lows in some pockets of the market, technology remained the biggest drag. The session also saw IT names among the heaviest losers on the benchmark index, reinforcing that the selling was concentrated rather than broad-based across all sectors.

Large-cap IT stocks take the brunt

Large-cap technology stocks led the decline on Friday. Infosys was repeatedly flagged as the biggest casualty across updates, with reported declines ranging from 6.75% (as the top Nifty 50 loser) to as much as 8.03% in another snapshot, where it was quoted at Rs 1,037. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was also hit, with one closing read showing a 3.55% fall, while other updates during the selloff cited steeper drops. Tech Mahindra and HCLTech declined 2.63% and 2.59% respectively in one closing snapshot, while Wipro lost 1.12%. Four of the day’s eight biggest losers on the benchmark index were IT companies.

Mid-tier names extend the fall across the sector

The selling was not limited to the largest names. Another market update listed broad cuts across IT counters: Mphasis down 6.21%, TCS down 6.07%, Tech Mahindra down 5.81%, Larsen & Toubro Technology Services down 5.47%, HCLTech down 5.28%, Persistent Systems down 5.21%, Coforge down 4.57%, and Wipro down 3.34%. This breadth mattered because it showed the reaction was sector-wide rather than company-specific. It also indicated that investors were pricing in a wider slowdown in client decision-making and discretionary tech budgets.

What the market heard from Accenture

The trigger was Accenture’s guidance cut and cautious commentary on demand, which raised fresh concerns around the pace of technology spending. With Indian IT companies deeply tied to global enterprise budgets, any negative shift in sentiment from a large global peer tends to spill over quickly. The day’s price action suggested investors re-assessed near-term growth expectations and the durability of recent rallies in IT names. The selloff was described as one of the sharper sector declines in recent months.

A week of volatility: prior sessions added pressure

Friday’s decline followed a period where IT stocks had already been under pressure in multiple sessions. In another update, IT shares were down 1% to 2% in an intraday move after US markets fell overnight on a more hawkish Federal Reserve outlook. The Nifty IT index was also reported to have hit a 52-week low of 27,078 on May 14, 2026. Even when the index showed a short rebound in the past three trading days and gained nearly 4% till Wednesday, the larger trend remained weak. Over the past six months, the Nifty IT index was reported to have plunged 27%, compared with a 6.6% decline in the Nifty 50 over the same period.

Drawdown from the peak and the growth debate

A separate market note said continued weakness had pulled the Nifty IT index more than 40% below its record peak touched in December 2024. That context is important because it frames the sector’s current corrections as part of a longer re-rating. The commentary pointed to slowing growth expectations, muted client spending, and rising concerns about artificial intelligence-led disruption as factors influencing investor positioning. While the broader market could move higher on some days, IT was described as extending its losing streak in that period, showing the divergence between sectors.

Key numbers at a glance

Market impact and what investors will watch next

The session showed how quickly global guidance changes can reshape sentiment for Indian IT, especially when valuations and growth expectations are already being debated. With multiple large caps posting the steepest cuts on benchmark indices, passive and sector-linked flows can amplify day-to-day swings. Investors are likely to monitor whether demand commentary from global peers continues to soften and how it translates into deal momentum for Indian companies. For now, Friday’s close left a clear message: the market treated the Accenture update as a meaningful negative cue, even after a partial recovery from the day’s lows.