TCS slipped to 6th place in market cap rankings after a 5% intraday plunge
ICICI Bank and SBI overtook TCS, reflecting a shift from IT to banking
The Nifty IT index hit a four-month low, erasing ₹1.3 lakh crore in value
Saaspocalypse: ICICI, SBI Surge Past TCS in Market Cap as IT Giant Hits 52-Week Low
TCS hit a 52-week low as AI disruption fears triggered an IT sector rout; SBI and ICICI Bank have now overtaken TCS in market cap, ranking it 6th as the Nifty IT index erases ₹1.3 lakh crore in value
TCS
Summary
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Shares of Indian IT companies plunged on Thursday as fears of AI-led disruption triggered heavy selling across the sector. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which was the country’s fourth-largest company by market capitalisation until earlier this week, fell about 5% to hit a fresh 52-week low of ₹2,763 on the BSE.
TCS’s market capitalisation declined to ₹10.02 lakh crore, causing it to slip to the sixth spot among India’s most valuable companies.
ICICI Bank, whose shares rose nearly 2% during the day, saw its market cap climb to around ₹10.22 lakh crore, overtaking TCS to become the fifth-largest company. This came a day after State Bank of India (SBI) had already pushed TCS out of the fourth position.
The broader sell-off was reflected in the Nifty IT index, which dropped more than 4% to a four-month low. The decline wiped out roughly ₹1.3 lakh crore in combined market value, bringing the total market capitalisation of Nifty IT constituents down to ₹27.6 lakh crore.
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Besides TCS, shares of Infosys and Wipro also fell over 4% as investors exited technology stocks.
SaaSpocalypse in IT
The sharp fall follows what some traders have dubbed a “SaaSpocalypse.”
While global and domestic IT stocks had already been under pressure, the recent sell-off intensified after Anthropic expanded the capabilities of its AI agent, Claude Cowork. On January 30, 2026, the company introduced 11 new plugins that allow users to bundle skills, connectors, slash commands and sub-agents, effectively turning Claude into a specialised assistant tailored to specific roles, teams or organisations.
Anthropic said the plugins are particularly suited for role-specific workflows in areas such as sales, legal services and financial analysis. Soon after the launch, shares of legal software and publishing firms declined sharply, reflecting concerns over potential disruption.
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The impact soon spilled over into Indian markets, causing shares of major IT companies including Infosys, TCS, HCLTech and Wipro to fall amid heavy selling pressure.
Analysts attributed the steep correction to renewed concerns about competitive disruption, pricing pressure and long-term growth prospects in the software and IT services sector following the AI tool’s launch.