New Delhi, Feb. 12 -- IT stocks came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday, February 12, following a sharp sell-off in global technology stocks amid renewed concerns around disruptions caused by AI-led start-ups. Moreover, stronger-than-expected US jobs data which weakened hopes of a near-term rate cut by the US Federal Reserve added to the negative sentiment.

The sell-off dragged the Nifty IT index down as much as 4.6% to an intraday low of 33,471.55, making it the worst-performing sectoral index on the benchmarks for the day. The sharp decline in the IT stocks erased more than Rs.1.3 lakh crore in market capitalisation of the IT index to Rs.27.6 lakh crore during the session.

The pressure on the sector has been building over time. ...