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Informist, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Mkts set to extend losses; IT cos seen dn after sell-off in US

 

MUMBAI--0835 IST-- Benchmark equity indices are expected to extend losses Friday, tracking an overnight fall on Wall Street. Shares of information technology companies are likely to fall again after several US companies whose business models are susceptible to disruption by artificial intelligence declined sharply Wednesday. Analysts have flagged concerns that the recent launches of AI tools may hit profit margins of companies across sectors.

 

Overnight, the American depository receipts of domestic IT majors Infosys and Wipro declined nearly 10% and 5%, respectively. Investors in the US sold stocks across sectors such as financial services, real estate, and software providers. Shares of Morgan Stanley were under selling pressure amid fears that AI would disrupt the company's wealth management businesses and shares of real estate company CBRE fell on worries about higher unemployment hitting demand for office space, according to a CNBC report. The AI shockwave also reached Asian equity indices, most of which were down in early trading Friday, barring South Korea's KOSPI, which held on to thin gains. Japan's Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix index were down 1?ch. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also fell 1% and in China, the blue-chip CSI 300 shed 0.4%.

 

However, analysts have suggested that some investors may buy on dips in software stocks as the valuations of these companies get more comfortable. "I would suggest investors purchase equities in domestic IT companies because, overall, domestic information technology companies stand to gain from participating in the AI-trade," Rishubh Vasa, a research analyst from Indsec Securities and Finance, said. The analyst expects that Indian IT services are likely to benefit in the long term from AI tools, as they enhance their own service offerings tailored to the needs of companies using these tools.

 

The GIFT Nifty 50 indicates a negative start for the Nifty 50, with the February contract of the GIFT Nifty being nearly 100 points lower that the Nifty 50's previous close. On Thursday, the Nifty 50 index closed 0.6% lower at 25807.20 points. The BSE Sensex closed at 83674.92 points, down 0.7%. 

 

Shares of Bharat Forge will be in focus after Emkay Global Financial Services upgraded its recommendation on the stock to 'buy' from 'add' and raised its target price on the stock by 38% to INR 2,000. Shares of Whirlpool of India will also be watched after Nuvama Institutional Equities upgraded the stock to 'buy', but cut its target price on the stock over 12%.  (Eshitva Prakash)

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Equity Alert: Most Asian indices down tracking losses on Wall Street

 

MUMBAI--0816 IST--Barring South Korea's Kospi, all Asian equity indices fell, tracking losses on Wall Street due to a decline in technology stocks. This vould be attributed to continued worries that artificial intelligence tools will pose a threat to the operations of software companies and may lead to unemployment. 

 

Investors in Asia were looking out for any spillover effects, even as Taiwan, the most prominent market in the AI space, was closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8% and Topix First Section declined nearly 1%. FTSE Singapore Strait Times fell over 1%. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi hit a new historical high of 5558.82 points Friday. 

 

The Kospi index was supported by buying interest from foreigners and the National Pension Fund early in the session, Chosun Biz reported. Shares of Samsung Electronics rose nearly 1% and shares of SK Hynix rose 0.3%. Investors in Asia are now shifting their focus to US inflation data, due Friday. Economists forecast a 0.3% increase in core inflation in January, which is enough to see the annual rate slow to 2.5% from 2.7%, Reuters reported.   

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0816 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4699.13	(-)0.4
Hang Seng Index	26635.14	(-)1.47
KOSPI	5547.49	0.46
Nikkei 225 Day	57183.37	(-)0.79
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3844.59	(-)0.97
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4960.21	(-)1.13
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8915.7	(-)1.41

 

(Adhithya Aji)

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Equity Alert: AI fears hit US indices again; tech-heavy Nasdaq ends 2% lower 

 

MUMBAI--0740 IST--US equity indices ended lower on Thursday due to continued fears that artificial intelligence could disrupt the business models of whole industries and raise unemployment. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended 2% lower due to a sell-off in technology and transport stocks. The S&P 500 ended nearly 1.6% lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended over 1% lower.

 

AI fears were coupled with less than impressive quarterly results of technology company Cisco Systems. The stock fell over 12%. This added to the negative sentiment in the technology stocks broadly, Reuters reported. Transportation companies were also caught up in worries about AI disruption. 

 

"The broader narrative within the market is what sectors and industries can increase productivity from AI investments, and on the flip side, what industries are going to be disrupted by AI," Reuters quoted Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at GuideStone Funds, as saying. Herr said that he sees this as a "prove it" year for AI, and it is time to start seeing some return on investments. 

 

Financial stocks such as Morgan Stanley came under pressure due to worries that AI would disrupt wealth management businesses, CNBC reported. Shares of the company ended nearly 5% lower. Trucking and logistics company CH Robinson plummeted nearly 15% due to fears that AI would streamline freight operations, weighing on certain revenue lines, as per the CNBC report. Even real estate stocks were not spared from the AI worries. Shares of CBRE and SL Green Realty fell nearly 9% and nearly 5%, respectively, on the notion that unemployment would hit demand for office space, the CNBC report said. Technology stock Palantir Technolgies ended nearly 5% lower and shares of Autodesk ended nearly 4% lower.

 

Investors now await a key inflation report due Friday. Economists expect the January CPI print to show a 0.3% increase for both headline and core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, CNBC reported, citing a poll by Dow Jones. 

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Thursday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6832.76	(-) 1.57
NASDAQ Composite	22597.15	(-)2.03
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49451.98	(-)1.34

 

(Adhithya Aji)

 

US$1 = INR 90.59

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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