The Indian stock market witnessed a sharp sell-off in Tuesday’s session, as renewed fears surrounding artificial intelligence triggered another wave of heavy selling, with technology stocks bearing the brunt. The broad-based weakness dragged the key benchmark indices down more than 1% for the fourth time so far in February.
Apart from persistent fears around AI-linked disruptions, market sentiment was also damaged by threats of higher tariffs from US President Trump, along with mounting tensions in the Middle East, which pushed crude oil prices to a seven-month high.
Consequently, the . The broader markets, too, witnessed similar heat, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index falling over 0.30%.
Nifty IT index slumps 4.7%, heads for biggest monthly drop in 23 years
The ongoing sell-off in domestic tech stocks further deepened, with the Nifty IT index falling 4.74% after a report from Citrini Research amplified worries about businesses that are vulnerable to the growing influence of artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reported.
With today’s decline, the . All constituents of the index have now entered bear market territory, with each stock falling more than 20% from its recent high.
The Nifty Realty was also the top laggard, falling 2.54%, followed by Nifty Media and Nifty Auto, which declined 1.31% and 0.45%, respectively.
In terms of gainers, the Nifty Metal withstood the sell-off, rising 0.93%, while the Nifty Oil and gas also closed with a 0.5% gain.
On the geopolitical front, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the emergency tariffs, saying he could impose much higher duties under other trade laws.
Tech stocks hit hard; textiles slide on fresh concerns
In a broad-based sell-off, over 50 constituents of the Nifty 500 index finished the session with cuts of more than 3%, with tech stocks leading the declines. L&T Technology Services was the top laggard, falling 8.3% to ₹3,153. The stock was last seen around these levels in June 2022, indicating sustained pressure from market.
LTIMindtree also lost 7.5% of its value, falling to a fresh one-year low of ₹4,489 apiece. Affle 3i, Tech Mahindra, Persistent Systems, Coforge, HCL Technologies, KPIT Technologies, Zensar Technologies, Info Edge (India), Signatureglobal, Hexaware Technologies, Firstsource Solutions, Tata Elxsi, and Tata Technologies were among the tech stocks that fell over 5%.
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Meanwhile, textile stocks, which had rallied lately, closed with sharp cuts. Stocks such as Gokaldas Exports, Arvind, and Vardhman Textiles fell up to 6% after the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) notified a 50% reduction in the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme across all lines with immediate effect.
The Street fears that a reduction in RoDTEP benefits could potentially increase the cost of yarn and fabric, which are the primary inputs for textile manufacturing.
New-age tech stocks such as Eternal, Paytm, and Nykaa closed lower by 5.3%, 3.5%, and 2%, respectively.
Natco Pharma, Endurance Tech lead gains as broader market remains under pressure
In a widespread sell-off, some stocks bucked the trend, with Natco Pharma rallying 5.6% to ₹943 apiece, while Endurance Technologies also gained 5.2% to ₹2,687 apiece.
Keeping its bullish momentum intact, Blue Jet Healthcare shares advanced another 4.16% to ₹407 apiece, remaining higher for the second consecutive day.
Bandhan Bank, too, extended its winning run to the third day in a row, surging 4.33% to ₹181 apiece, the highest level since July 2025. An order to supply 500MW of solar modules from a renowned domestic solar power developer triggered a 4% rally in Waaree Energies.
Other top gainers in the Nifty 500 pack were Adani Energy Solutions, R R Kabel, Chennai Petroleum, Bank of Maharashtra, Siemens Energy India, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, DOMS Industries, CCL Products India, Hitachi Energy India, and Schaeffler India, all closing with gains of over 3%.
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