Wipro jumps 5% as AI pact and buyback lift IT stocks

What moved Wipro and the IT pack

Wipro shares rose nearly 5% on Thursday, setting off a broader rally in Indian information technology stocks after the company announced an expanded artificial intelligence partnership with US software firm ServiceNow. The move quickly lifted sentiment across large-cap IT names, helping keep benchmark indices in positive territory even as several banking, industrial and consumer stocks traded lower.

The market reaction also spilled over to Wipro’s US-listed American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Wipro’s ADRs jumped 18.54% to close at $1.43 on the New York Stock Exchange, after rising as much as 21% during the session. The gain was described as the biggest single-day move since October 2008.

ServiceNow partnership: what is being built

Wipro said the expanded collaboration with ServiceNow will focus on deploying agentic AI workflows across enterprise operations. Under the partnership, Wipro will integrate Wipro Intelligence, its suite of AI-powered platforms and solutions, with the ServiceNow AI Platform.

The companies aim to help enterprises automate and streamline processes across functions such as IT, human resources, procurement and cybersecurity. Wipro said the AI-driven workflows could reduce procurement bottlenecks, improve service quality and issue resolution in telecom operations, and strengthen cybersecurity response systems.

Sector-wide reaction and index performance

Wipro’s rally spread across the wider IT space, with the Nifty IT index climbing more than 2% and ranking among the day’s top-performing sectoral indices. The strength in heavyweights including Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Wipro helped support broader indices at a time when other pockets of the market were in the red.

On another session highlighted in the same flow of news, Indian IT stocks again outperformed a weak market in early trade on Monday as investors rotated toward export-oriented sectors amid higher global uncertainty and a softer rupee. At 09:30 am, the Nifty IT index was up 0.78% at 30,677.80.

Buyback catalyst: size, price and timeline

Investor sentiment around Wipro has also been supported by its upcoming share buyback. In April, Wipro’s board approved a ₹15,000 crore buyback at ₹250 per share. The company plans to repurchase up to 60 crore equity shares, representing more than 5% of its equity capital.

Wipro has fixed June 5 as the record date for the buyback. Alongside optimism on AI-led growth opportunities and the ADR jump, the buyback has been part of the narrative behind Wipro’s recent outperformance among large-cap IT names.

The Olam Group deal and the rupee factor

Market participants also pointed to another deal announcement as a driver of the move. Mayank Jain, Market Analyst at Share.Market, said three factors came together: a landmark deal announcement, a record-low rupee, and early positioning ahead of the quarterly earnings season.

Wipro announced a multi-year technology transformation agreement with Singapore-based Olam Group, valued at over $1 billion, described as one of the largest contracts in the company’s history. The same commentary linked the rise in Wipro’s shares to the announcement, while also noting that a record-low rupee of 93.00 against the US dollar added a tailwind for export-oriented IT earnings.

Broader tape: geopolitics, defensives and rotation to exporters

The relative strength in Indian IT stocks was also set against a backdrop of rising volatility linked to escalating tensions in West Asia. In such environments, investors often prefer defensives and export-oriented sectors, and IT tends to benefit when currency depreciation supports translated earnings.

HDFC Securities noted that recent sessions saw selective risk-on flows into IT stocks even as banking and broader markets remained under pressure, reflecting a shift in investor positioning. Another market view in the same stream said there was a short-term trade in IT because Q4 results were expected to be better than expectations and the segment could benefit from rupee depreciation.

Global cues and shifting AI narratives

Indian IT sentiment has also been influenced by global signals. The sector surged after Accenture reported results that beat revenue expectations, posted record bookings, and raised its full-year revenue growth forecast. Analysts flagged AI-driven demand, particularly in financial services, while noting that macro uncertainty remained.

Separately, IT stocks rallied up to 4% in another session after CLSA retained its Outperform rating on key names, easing concerns around AI-led disruption that had contributed to a sharp selloff the previous month. The same set of market narratives referenced fears that AI automation could impact outsourcing demand, amplified by high-profile AI chip announcements.

Earnings follow-through: deal wins, broker upgrades, ADR move

Wipro later rose as much as 4% in early trade on a Friday after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings, supported by improved client spending in parts of its Americas business. According to LSEG data cited in the report, Wipro posted a 0.8% rise in first-quarter revenue and an 11% jump in net profit, both topping analysts’ average estimates.

At least six brokerages upgraded the stock, and data also showed that at least 10 brokerages raised their price targets. Analysts at Morgan Stanley said strong large deal wins at Wipro “bode well” for growth in the second half of the fiscal year, while Investec flagged deal wins as the big highlight of the quarter.

Wipro reported $1 billion in large deal wins in the quarter, up from $1.3 billion a year earlier. Another update in the same set of information said total deal wins were $1 billion, up from $1 billion in the previous quarter, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 25%, while large deal wins rose 50% to $1.7 billion from $1.8 billion last quarter.

Key numbers at a glance

Market impact: what the data shows

The immediate market impact was visible in both the cash market and the US-listed line. Wipro’s ADR surge of 18.54% to $1.43 and the near-5% rise in the domestic share price coincided with a more than 2% jump in the Nifty IT index on the day of the ServiceNow announcement.

The buyback parameters also provided a quantifiable support point for investors, with ₹15,000 crore earmarked at ₹250 per share and a planned repurchase of up to 60 crore shares. In subsequent trading narratives, the sector’s outperformance also aligned with a softer rupee and risk-off global positioning tied to West Asia tensions.

Analysis: why Wipro became the focal point

Multiple catalysts landed close together: an expanded AI partnership framed around agentic workflows, a large transformation agreement with Olam Group valued at over $1 billion, and a sizeable buyback with a fixed record date. In parallel, the quarter’s deal pipeline figures such as $1 billion in large deal wins and the step-up from $1 billion to $1 billion in total deal wins quarter-on-quarter reinforced the market’s focus on booking momentum.

At the sector level, the move highlighted how Indian IT can attract flows when investors prefer exporters during currency weakness and geopolitical volatility. It also showed how global cues from large peers, and shifting market debates around AI disruption versus AI-led demand, can quickly change near-term sentiment.

Conclusion

Wipro’s rally was driven by a mix of company-specific triggers and sector tailwinds, including the expanded ServiceNow AI collaboration, the Olam Group deal announcement, and a ₹15,000 crore buyback scheduled around a June 5 record date. Alongside a softer rupee and global risk aversion linked to West Asia tensions, these factors helped lift Nifty IT and keep benchmark indices supported on otherwise weak sessions.

The next data points investors are watching, based on the information disclosed, include the buyback timeline and how Wipro’s deal wins translate into execution and results across upcoming quarters.