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Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were trading higher in early trade on Wednesday (February 4), building on previous day's sharp rally, amid fresh foreign fund inflows and positive sentiment following the India-US trade deal.

A sharp decline in IT stocks, however, restricted the rally in the markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 68.49 points to 83,816.96 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 51.90 points to 25,779.45.

From the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, NTPC, ICICI Bank and ITC were among the biggest gainers.

Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were the biggest laggards, declining as much as 5 per cent. The BSE IT index tumbled 4.95 per cent to 35,311.34 in early trade.

Foreign institutional investors turned buyers on Tuesday (February 3) as they bought equities worth Rs 5,236.28 crore, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 1,014.24 crore.

The rupee depreciated 22 paise to 90.54 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday (February 4), following a sharp rally after India and the US agreed to a trade deal on suspected dollar buying by corporates and importers.

Forex traders said despite the positive sentiment post the India-US trade deal, caution still remains as there is no signed or officially released trade agreement yet — no framework text or final documentation.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.35 against the US dollar, then lost ground and fell to 90.54, registering a loss of 22 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the Indian rupee emerged as the best-performing Asian currency, registering a record gain of 117 paise or 1.28 per cent in a single trading session to settle at 90.32 against the US dollar, after India and the US agreed to a trade deal.

Newly elected NDA legislature party leader in Manipur, Y Khemchand Singh, said he was committed to fostering empathy, compassion and harmony among all communities in the state.

Singh said he would respect the state's diversity and focus on strengthening unity among communities.

Singh's election as the leader of the NDA legislature party paved the way for the formation of a new government in the north-eastern state with him as chief minister. The Singjamei MLA also said he accepted the responsibility with "humility and a deep sense of commitment".

"I shall work with utmost sincerity to honour the trust placed in me and strive towards realising the vision of Viksit Bharat and Viksit Manipur, ensuring peace, dignity, and inclusive development. At the same time, I remain dedicated to fostering empathy, compassion, and harmony among all communities, respecting our diversity while strengthening unity," he said.

IT stocks tumble in Wednesday (February 4) morning trade after Anthropic launches a new AI automation tool that has set off what analysts are calling a "SaaSpocalypse". The new tool has rattled global technology markets and putting Indian IT stocks such as Infosys, Wipro and TCS in sharp focus.

Anthropic has recently rolled out 11 new plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent, an agentic, no-code AI assistant built for enterprise use. The move expands automation across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis, heightening concerns about disruption in the software ecosystem.

Beyond legal workflows, Claude agents can now directly perform tasks that previously required interfaces from platforms such as Salesforce or ServiceNow.

Experts are concerned that artificial intelligence could replace core software and outsourcing business models. This triggered a steep overnight sell-off in US software shares, with ripple effects across Europe and Asia.