Three days of euphoria. That's all the market gave before pulling the rug. On Thursday, the BSE Sensex tumbled 503.76 points — or 0.6% — to close at 83,313.93, while the Nifty 50 shed 133.20 points to settle at 25,642.80. A three-day winning streak that had delivered a staggering 3,096-point rally came to an abrupt and decisive end.

The Tech Wreck That Crossed Oceans

The carnage began in the United States, where a wave of anxiety over AI automation's impact on traditional outsourcing billable hours triggered the worst tech sell-off in months. By the time Asian markets opened, the contagion had spread. The Nifty IT index, already down nearly 6% on Wednesday, continued to hemorrhage. Infosys slid 6.1%, TCS shed 5.2%, HCL Tech dropped 4.6%, and Tech Mahindra lost 4.2%.

For India's IT sector — which earns roughly 60% of its revenue from American clients — the concern isn't abstract. If AI tools replace even a fraction of the manual testing, data migration, and support work that Indian tech firms specialize in, the revenue impact could be structural, not cyclical.

Metals Join the Rout

It wasn't just tech. Metal stocks crumbled as falling commodity prices globally weighed on sentiment. Hindalco, Vedanta, and Hindustan Zinc dropped between 3% and 5%. Multi Commodity Exchange sank 5.2%. Silver crashed a staggering 9.3% on international markets, dragging mining stocks with it.

Even Reliance Industries — the market's traditional anchor — dipped 0.9%, while Bharti Airtel shed 1.61%.

The Unlikely Winners

In a sea of red, quick-service restaurant stocks wrote their own story. Devyani International surged nearly 10% and Westlife Foodworld rallied 13% intraday on blockbuster quarterly earnings. Consumer durables and oil & gas stocks also posted gains of 2–2.7%, offering pockets of green in an otherwise bloody session.

What Comes Next

All eyes now turn to the Reserve Bank of India, which announces its monetary policy decision on Friday. With inflation near target but growth below 6.5% for two consecutive quarters, the consensus is a hold at 5.25%. But in a market this jittery, even the tone of the RBI governor's press conference could move the needle.

The rupee, meanwhile, firmed slightly to 90.35 against the dollar — a small comfort in an otherwise uncomfortable day for Indian investors.