The NSE sectoral index Nifty IT slumped over 5% intraday on Friday, April 24, on the back of weak Infosys earnings amid a broader volatility on D-Street due to the Middle East conflict. The index has lost Rs 1.2 lakh crore in market capitalisation so far during the session and is headed towards the lowest levels since June 2023. The Nifty IT index down more than 38% from all-time highs and has slumped more than 10% this week so far. This comes after India's second-largest information technology major gave a weak revenue growth guidance for the near-term, despite recording a robust momentum in order book volumes.
All of Nifty IT constituents were trading in red, except Oracle Financial Service Software. Leading IT service majors such as Coforge, Infosys, and LTIMindtree lead the fall in the index, all trading down by more than 6%. Nifty slipped as much as 1.16% to dip below the immediate support level of 24,000. The BSE Sensex shed over 900 points or 1.2%. HCLTech, Infosys, Cipla, Tata Consultancy Services, were some of the top losers on the blue-chip index. The broader market is also facing pressure, with the Nifty Smallcap 250 falling almost 1.25%, and the Nifty Midcap 150 dropping about 1.13%.
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Nifty IT slumps over 5% intraday
Infosys Q4 Results
Infosys reported a 28% surge in profit at Rs 8,501 crore in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal. This compares to profit of Rs 6,654 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. Revenue advanced by 2% year-on-year for the three months ended March, reaching Rs 46,402 crore in comparison to Rs crore. The total contract value (TCV) of large deal wins was $3.2 billion in the March quarter and $14.9 billion in FY26, 'with a net new of 55%' as per Infosys earnings statement.
Indian tier-1 IT earnings struggled with FY27 guidance and the management tone remains more cautious than the headline profit growth suggests. The sector's strength is in deal wins, AI positioning, and margins; the weakness is that conversion, discretionary spending, and growth visibility are still not strong enough to justify an aggressive rerating yet. Tier-1 is still dealing with soft demand visibility, conservative client spending, and cautious FY27 commentary even where reported Q4 numbers looked optically healthy.
Top losers from Nifty IT pack
Asian Markets, Crude Oil Prices
Meanwhile, most Asian stock markets were down as investors remained cautious despite a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. The two countries agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks following a meeting in the White House with top US officials, including President Donald Trump. The MSCI Asia Pacific index was flat. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.6%, Hang Seng fell 0.2% and the CSI 300 dropped 0.8%. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9%.
Crude oil prices rose on Friday over concerns of a renewed military escalation in the Middle East after Iran released footage of commandos boarding a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, and a lack of progress in re-opening the key waterway. The navigation through the strait, which before the war carried about a fifth of global oil output, remains effectively blocked. Iran's capture of two cargo ships highlighted Washington's difficulties in trying to control the passage.
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Brent crude futures were last up $1.93, or 1.8%, to $107 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 76 cents, or 0.8%, at $96.61. For the week, Brent is up 18% and WTI 15%, the second-largest weekly gains since the war began. Both contracts settled more than 3% higher on Thursday after reports that air defences were engaging targets over Tehran and of a power struggle between Iran's hardliners and moderates.
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