Nifty IT slides 6% after Accenture cuts FY26 guidance

Sell-off returns after a brief relief rally

Indian IT stocks came under renewed selling pressure on Friday, June 19, after a short-lived relief rally earlier in the week. The immediate trigger was a weaker outlook from Accenture, a bellwether for global IT services demand. In early trade, the spillover from US cues was visible across large-cap and mid-cap technology names. The Nifty IT index emerged as the worst-performing sectoral gauge, falling sharply while broader benchmarks were relatively more stable. The declines were broad-based, with all Nifty IT constituents trading in the red during the session.

What Accenture said and why it mattered

Accenture lowered its FY26 revenue growth forecast to 3-4%, compared with its earlier 3-5% guidance. It also projected quarterly sales below Wall Street estimates, according to the market update. The guidance change and commentary revived concerns about near-term demand visibility and client caution on technology spending. The outlook also highlighted revenue headwinds from West Asia, adding to investor caution around discretionary spends and deal conversions. For Indian IT services companies, Accenture’s guidance is often treated as a sentiment marker because of overlapping client segments and comparable global exposure.

Weak ADR cues set the tone for India

Overnight trading in the US added pressure to local sentiment. Accenture shares plunged nearly 18% overnight after its outlook and results disappointed investors. Indian IT ADRs also fell sharply, reflecting the global risk-off tone toward the sector. Infosys ADR tumbled 9.7% and Wipro ADR lost 3.6% in the overnight move cited. Separately, the update also noted ADRs of Infosys and Wipro fell as much as 10% on Thursday, following the revised guidance.

Infosys hits a fresh 52-week low

Infosys was among the biggest drags on the sector. In early trade, Infosys shares dropped more than 8.6% to hit a 52-week low of ₹1,030 on the NSE. Later snapshots in the session showed Infosys down 7.85% to ₹1,039, and another data point put the stock down 8.03% to ₹1,037. The move pushed Infosys to its lowest level in more than five years, as cited in the update.

Other frontline IT names trade sharply lower

The decline was not limited to a single stock. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the largest Indian IT firm, was reported down more than 5% in one snapshot, and in another it fell 6.07% with the price cited at ₹2,072.7. Another reference showed TCS down 6.5% to ₹2,059, and it was also described as hovering near a six-year low. Tech Mahindra fell sharply as well, with declines cited at over 4% in one update and 5.81% in another. HCLTech and Wipro also traded lower, with session references including HCLTech down 5.28% and Wipro down 3.34%, while Wipro also hit a low of ₹174.89 with a 4.3% decline cited.

Nifty IT leads sectoral losses as benchmarks fall

The Nifty IT index fell nearly 6% as selling accelerated through the morning. At 9:20 am, the Nifty IT index was down 5.8%, and by 10:57 am it was down 5.51%, according to the update. Another cited level showed the index down 6.02% at 26,752.85. In contrast, the broader market fell less, with one reference showing the Nifty 50 down 0.85% to 23,962.8. Another comparison in the update put the Nifty IT index down 6.5% against a 1% fall in the Nifty 50, underlining the sector-specific nature of the move.

Market value erosion and investor positioning

The sell-off erased a meaningful amount of market value from Indian IT stocks during the session. One estimate in the update put the single-session erosion at nearly ₹135,000 crore. Another data point said the combined market capitalisation of Nifty IT companies fell to ₹2,157,000 crore as the index slid around 6%. Technology stocks also dominated the list of laggards, with all five top losers on the Nifty 50 described as IT names in one snapshot. The session action reflected a reset in risk appetite for the sector after the global guidance cut.

Key numbers to track from Friday’s move

Global trigger table: guidance cut and ADR reaction

What investors will watch next

Friday’s move linked Indian IT stock performance directly to offshore cues and global demand commentary. The key near-term monitorables remain further updates on demand visibility, discretionary spending trends, and any sustained weakness in deal conversion timelines, as referenced in the update. Investors will also track whether the sector stabilises after the sharp reset, especially with all constituents in the red during the session. For the broader market, the relative divergence between the Nifty IT index and the Nifty 50 will remain a gauge of whether the weakness is contained to IT or spills into other sectors.

Conclusion

Indian IT stocks fell sharply on June 19 after Accenture cut its FY26 revenue growth guidance and flagged a weaker demand environment. The Nifty IT index dropped around 6%, Infosys hit a 52-week low, and ADR declines reinforced the negative tone. The next cues for the sector are likely to come from further global commentary on client spending and follow-through in overseas trading signals.