Indian equity benchmarks extended their slide on Friday, mirroring weakness in global markets, as a sustained selloff in technology stocks continued to dent investor sentiment. 

The BSE Sensex opened with a sharp gap-down and remained under pressure in early trade. At 9:40 AM, the index was trading at 82,855, down 820 points or 0.98%. On the other hand, the Nifty50 also slipped 263 points, or 1.02%, to 25,544. 

Heavyweights drag indices lower as 27 of 30 Sensex stocks slip 

Market breadth was decisively negative, with 27 of the 30 Sensex constituents trading in the red. The decline was led by heavyweights such as Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Trent, M&M, Eternal, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, NTPC, Titan, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, IndiGo, and Power Grid. 

IT rout deepens amid AI disruption fears 

The ongoing rout in IT stocks has emerged as the key drag on benchmark indices. Over the past few weeks, global concerns around artificial intelligence-driven disruption have rattled technology counters, compressing valuations and triggering sustained profit-booking. 

The rollout of advanced AI tools by US-based firm Anthropic has unsettled global tech stocks, with the ripple effects spilling over into Indian markets. Growing concerns that generative AI could cannibalise traditional IT services revenues—particularly in segments such as ERP implementations and legacy system management—have weighed heavily on sentiment. 

After declining 7% last week, IT stocks have continued to slide, falling another 6% so far this week. The Nifty IT index slumped 5% in early trade on Friday, dragged lower by Infosys (down 5.6%), TCS, HCL Tech, LTIMindtree, Coforge, and Wipro. The index touched a 10-month low amid persistent selling pressure. 

In contrast, only SBI, Bajaj Finance, and Bharti Airtel managed to stay afloat, posting marginal gains in the range of 0.01% to 0.48%. 

Broader markets bleed, India VIX spikes 4%

Broader markets fared worse, with the Nifty MidCap index declining 1.76% and the Nifty SmallCap index dropping 2%. Volatility spiked, with India VIX rising 4%. 

Among other sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal fell 3%, while the Nifty Media and Nifty FMCG indices slipped 1% and 0.8%, respectively, reflecting broad-based risk aversion across sectors. 

Rupee falls 8 paise

The rupee slipped 8 paise to 90.69 against the US dollar in early Friday trade, weighed down by a firm dollar and weak domestic equities. Forex traders noted that the strength of the greenback capped gains for emerging-market currencies, including the rupee.

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.69, down from Thursday’s close of 90.61, when it had gained 17 paise against the US dollar.