After witnessing its worst weekly fall in 11 months, Indian IT stocks staged a sharp recovery on February 17. The NIFTY IT index, which had dropped 8.2% last week, rebounded nearly 2% in early trade, signaling renewed investor confidence in the sector.

At 10:22 am, the NIFTY 50 was marginally down 0.04% at 25,674.6, while the S&P BSE Sensex edged up 0.08% to 83,339.7. Though Dalal Street opened weak, gains in IT heavyweights helped the broader market recover from early losses. Weakness in Reliance Industries and financial stocks capped overall gains.

Why IT Stocks Are Rising

The primary trigger for the rebound was Infosys announcing a strategic AI partnership with Anthropic. The collaboration aims to build advanced enterprise AI solutions for highly regulated industries such as banking, healthcare, and public services.

Following the announcement, Infosys shares jumped nearly 3% to around Rs 1,407. Investors reacted positively, viewing the partnership as a strong growth catalyst. Anthropic recently opened its first India office in Bengaluru, further strengthening its presence in the Indian market.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei highlighted the importance of domain expertise in deploying AI in regulated sectors, reinforcing investor confidence that Infosys’ industry knowledge combined with advanced AI tools could unlock new business opportunities.

Broad-Based Buying Across IT Stocks

The rally extended beyond Infosys.

• Tata Consultancy Services gained 1.22%.

• HCL Technologies rose 1.81%.

• Wipro added 1.73%.

• LTIMindtree climbed 1.18%.

• Tech Mahindra advanced 1.14%.

Mid- and small-cap IT stocks also saw strong momentum, reflecting broader sector participation.

Stocks That Declined

Despite the sectoral rebound, a few counters traded lower, including Birlasoft and L&T Technology Services.

While nine of the 16 major sectoral indices were in the red, the broader market showed resilience. The small-cap index gained 0.5%, and the mid-cap index rose 0.1%, indicating selective buying interest.

Overall, the rebound in IT stocks appears driven by positive AI-related developments and value buying after last week’s steep correction. The recovery has helped stabilise headline indices even as other sectors remain under pressure.