Shares of HCL Technologies surged more than 7 percent on Friday, extending early morning gains and emerging as the top gainer on the Nifty 50, after the IT services company announced a $1.14 billion strategic deal with a Europe-headquartered Fortune Global 50 company. The deal is to build and manage an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven operating model for its digital workplace and enterprise network services.
HCL Technologies' stock rose as much as 7.2 percent to Rs 1,155.7 in early afternoon trade. Despite Friday's rally, the stock remains down about 29.4 percent so far in 2026, underperforming the Nifty 50, which has declined around 6.9 percent over the same period. The company commands a market capitalisation of about Rs 3.13 lakh crore.
In an exchange filing, HCLTech said it had signed a significant strategic partnership with the unnamed Europe-headquartered Fortune Global 50 firm to establish an AI-driven operating model aimed at transforming and managing the client's global digital workplace and enterprise networks.
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The initial term of the agreement runs from July 2026 to December 2031, with an option to extend it by another five years. HCLTech said the estimated value of the contract during the initial term is about $1.14 billion and described it as an entirely new business win for the company.
The announcement comes as investors closely track large deal wins across the IT services sector for signs of improving technology spending, particularly in AI-led transformation programmes, which have emerged as a key growth driver for major Indian software exporters.
The broader market also traded higher. At around 12.30 pm, the Sensex was up 549 points, or 0.7 percent, at 78,051, while the Nifty 50 gained 178 points to 24,354. The Nifty IT index outperformed other sectoral gauges, rising about 2.8 percent, while India VIX fell 3.7 percent, indicating easing market volatility.