IT Stocks Rout! Nifty IT hits fresh 52-week low — What’s spooking investors this time?

Information technology (IT) stocks remained under pressure on Tuesday, with the Nifty IT index touching its fresh 52-week low amid continued selling in sectoral counters.

The Nifty IT index fell 3.58 per cent, or 1,048.55 points, to trade at 28,280.90 as of 11:06 am after hitting an intraday low of 28,240.25, which also marked its fresh 52-week low. During the session, the index touched a high of 29,091.05, while its 52-week high stands at 40,301.40.

The index has declined around 29.8 per cent from its 52-week high of 40,301.40 to around 28,280 levels. In absolute terms, the index is down nearly 12,020 points from its one-year peak.

The sectoral index has remained under pressure across timeframes, declining 2.84 per cent in one week, 8.86 per cent in one month, 14.72 per cent in three months, 23.27 per cent in six months, 25.91 per cent on a year-to-date basis and 26.13 per cent over the past year.

Among the constituents, Persistent Systems declined 4.69 per cent to Rs 4,859.10, while Tata Consultancy Services fell 4.06 per cent to Rs 2,295.70 and Infosys slipped 3.81 per cent to Rs 1,132.10.

LTIMindtree dropped 3.70 per cent to Rs 4,191.30, Tech Mahindra lost 3.44 per cent to Rs 1,407.20, and HCL Technologies was down 3.43 per cent at Rs 1,153.90.

Further, Wipro declined 2.86 per cent to Rs 191.06, Coforge fell 2.26 per cent to Rs 1,344.10, Mphasis slipped 2.12 per cent to Rs 2,154.50, while OFSS was the least affected, down 0.67 per cent at Rs 9,178.

The fall in IT stocks came at a time when OpenAI announced the launch of the OpenAI Deployment Company, a new business unit aimed at helping organisations build and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) systems across their operations.

OpenAI also said it has agreed to acquire Tomoro, an applied AI consulting and engineering firm, to strengthen enterprise AI deployment capabilities.

According to OpenAI, the Deployment Company will focus on embedding specialised engineers, called Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs), directly inside organisations to help redesign workflows, integrate AI into daily operations and improve productivity.

The acquisition of Tomoro is expected to bring nearly 150 experienced engineers and deployment specialists into the new company. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and is expected to close in the coming months.

OpenAI said the Deployment Company has been formed in partnership with 19 global investment firms, consultancies and systems integration companies. The initiative is being led by TPG along with co-lead partners Advent, Bain Capital and Brookfield.

Other founding partners include Goldman Sachs, SoftBank Corp. and Warburg Pincus. Consulting and systems integration firms, including Bain & Company, Capgemini and McKinsey & Company, are also part of the partnership network.

The company said the Deployment Company will begin operations with more than USD 4 billion in initial investment, which will be used to scale operations globally and acquire additional firms supporting AI deployment and integration.

OpenAI said more than one million businesses are already using its products and APIs, though many organisations still face challenges in integrating AI systems into core business operations.

According to the company, the next stage of enterprise AI growth will depend not only on building advanced AI models but also on helping companies successfully deploy them in real-world situations.