Why did Wipro, TCS, Coforge and other tech stocks rally up to 4.6% despite stock market sell-off? Explained

Wipro, TCS, and LTI Mindtree were among the few Nifty IT constituents that traded with sharp gains in today’s session (February 1), defying the broader sell-off in the Indian stock market. Wipro shares surged 4.6% to hit the day’s high of ₹247.3 per share, followed by LTI Mindtree, TCS, Persistent Systems, Mphasis, and Coforge, which gained between 1.5% and 3%.

Tracking gains among heavyweights, the Nifty IT index jumped 2% to 38,833, and if the rally holds through the session, the index is set to snap its two-day losing streak.

What led to the rebound in tech stocks?

The rally in tech stocks came after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a major boost to data centre infrastructure.

In her Budget speech on February 1, Sitharaman proposed a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies providing cloud services globally using data centre infrastructure in India, while requiring such firms to serve Indian customers through an Indian reseller entity.

She also proposed providing a safe harbour of 15% on cost in cases where the company offering data centre services from India is a related entity.

India is rapidly building a robust AI computing and semiconductor infrastructure to support its expanding digital economy.

In March 2024, the Indian government approved the IndiaAI Mission with a budget outlay of ₹104 billion, aimed at creating a public artificial intelligence compute infrastructure of over 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) through the public–private partnership route.

Large tech companies to benefit from rising AI adoption, says expert

Sonam Srivastava, founder and fund manager at Wright Research PMS, says the focus on digital public infrastructure, data platforms, skilling, and compute access expands the addressable market for AI applications across government, BFSI, healthcare, and manufacturing.

According to Sonam Srivastava, large IT services companies such as TCS, Infosys, and HCLTech stand to benefit from rising enterprise AI adoption in automation, analytics, and cloud-led transformation, while mid-tier digital engineering firms gain from specialised AI deployment.

Sonam Srivastava further says the more important second-order effect is data creation. As capex, financial inclusion, and formalisation expand, Sonam Srivastava notes that data intensity across the economy rises, creating sustained demand for AI-driven optimisation. According to Sonam Srivastava, this positions India as an AI application and services hub rather than a frontier model developer.

In terms of market perspective, Srivastava says this translates into steady, compounding earnings opportunities rather than speculative spikes, aligning well with the risk profile of listed technology companies.

Disclaimer: We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.