Infosys ADRs plunge over 7%, Wipro down 5% as tech turbulence deepens on Wall Street

Infosys and Wipro saw significant declines in their American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on Thursday, with Infosys falling over 7% to an intraday low of $14.59 and Wipro decreasing by 5.4% to $2.26. This downturn is part of a broader trend affecting Indian IT stocks, which experienced a sharp sell-off on domestic exchanges, leading to a combined market capital loss of Rs 1.3 lakh crore. The downturn was exacerbated by a wider tech sell-off on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite fell over 300 points. Analysts attribute the decline to stronger-than-expected US employment data, which diminished expectations of imminent interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Concerns over AI's disruptive impact on traditional IT services are also weighing heavily on investor sentiment, suggesting that layoffs may be necessary as automation reduces reliance on a headcount-based outsourcing model. The Nifty IT index is now the worst performer, down 21% over the past year, underscoring the increasing challenges the sector faces in adapting to a rapidly changing technological landscape.