Market Meltdown: IT Giants Drag Nifty Below 26,000; Vodafone Idea Sinks on Downgrade

The Indian stock market witnessed a sharp reversal on Thursday, February 12, 2026, as the Nifty 50 snapped its five-day winning streak. Despite a record-breaking rally across other Asian markets, the domestic sentiment was hammered by a massive sell-off in the IT sector, coupled with specific brokerage downgrades in Telecom.

1. The IT Bloodbath: What Went Wrong?

The “Big Five” of the Indian IT space were the biggest drags today, with TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and HCLTech all plunging over 4%.

• The Trigger: Sentiment was rattled by global developments, particularly the launch of new AI automation tools by companies like Anthropic. These tools are perceived as a direct threat to the traditional “human-led” outsourcing model that Indian firms depend on.

• Valuation Concerns: After a strong run-up in 2025, investors used the AI disruption news as a reason to book profits, leading to a sector-wide reset just ahead of the Sensex weekly expiry.

2. Corporate Movers & Shakers

• Vodafone Idea (VIL): Shares tumbled after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to “Underweight” with a target price of ₹9. The brokerage cited a persistent funding gap and market share losses as critical hurdles.

• LG Electronics India: Provided a silver lining. After early losses, the stock recovered significantly as management signaled a “stronger fourth quarter” (Q4 FY26) during an interview with CNBC-TV18, citing premiumization and new manufacturing capacity at their Sri City plant.

• The Resilience: Amidst the sea of red, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, and Eternal managed to trade in the green, providing some support to the broader indices.

3. Broader Market & Earnings Radar

While the heavyweights struggled, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices remained largely flat (up ~0.02%), showing that the carnage was primarily concentrated in large-cap IT.

Watch Out Today: The earnings season is in its final leg, and today is a “Super Thursday” for results. Key companies reporting today include:

• Energy & Metals: ONGC, Coal India, Hindalco, HAL.

• FMCG & Pharma: HUL, Abbott India, Biocon, Lupin.

• Finance: Muthoot Finance.

Market Summary at a Glance

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