Indian IT stocks witnessed sharp volatility on Friday, September 5, after unconfirmed reports suggested that US President Donald Trump was planning to impose tariffs on India’s IT sector. The rumour, which spread rapidly, cited a supposed Bloomberg flash update.
Bloomberg denial
CNBC-TV18 reached out to Bloomberg for confirmation, and the agency categorically denied the claim. “We have not reported anything related to Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Indian IT,” Bloomberg clarified.
The confusion began after Redbox Global cited the news, claiming it was based on a Reuters story. However, the platform later issued a clarification, admitting the reports were not from Reuters but instead stemmed from opinions and discussions aired on a local news channel.
IT index under pressure
The Nifty IT index dropped as much as 2.5% from the day’s high before recovering partially, still trading with losses of 1.4%. Midcap IT names such as Persistent Systems, Mphasis and Coforge fell between 2% and 3%, while largecaps like Infosys, TCS, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra slipped 1% to 2%.
Global trigger
Adding to the pressure, global IT peer Endava posted a weak fourth quarter and guided for negative growth in constant currency terms for Q1. Endava said rapid changes in AI were leading clients to delay large spending decisions, slowing down deal conversions. Its US-listed shares crashed 30% overnight, adding further stress to the sector.
