Frontline indices on the Wall Street traded lower around 10:16 AM ET (8:47 pm India time), with the Nasdaq Composite falling 195 points or 0.9% to 22,597.15. The S&P 500 was down 0.11% at 6,825.45, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 81.77 points, or 0.17%, to 49,370.20.
Heavyweights like Nvidia, Cisco Systems and Apple were down by up to 2% around this time.
The US CPI data for January 2026 was released today, showing the annual inflation rate slowing to 2.4% in January 2026. It was below forecasts of 2.5%, marking its lowest level since May. The inflation print was down from 2.7% in each of the previous two months.
This may impact the Fed’s decision on rate cuts, forcing it to go slow on the policy decision.
Earlier today, the Nifty IT index fell 1.4%, continuing its southward journey. In the 10-stock index, 9 settled in the red while Persistent Systems was the lone gainer.
The worst hit was Coforge which fell 4.4%. It was followed by Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) which fell 2%, each. Others including OFSS, LTIMindtree, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Mphasis and Tech Mahindra slipped between 2% and 0.2%.Nifty IT is the worst performing index, plunging 22% over the past 12 months.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research Geojit Investments has attributed the current decline in Indian IT stocks to stronger-than-expected US employment data, with a marginal decline in the unemployment rate, which has reduced expectations of an early rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. This pressure was further compounded by ongoing concerns around AI-led disruption in the sector, he said.
On the AI-related fears, Nair said that AI is creating a structural shift in Indian IT services by reducing timelines and automating tasks, putting pressure on the traditional headcount-based outsourcing model.
(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)
