** India's IT index .NIFTYIT slides 3.97%, set for steepest daily pct drop since February 2026
** Index dragged down by HCLTech HCLT.NS, which fell 9.73% following y/y qtrly profit miss on Tuesday and forecast FY27 revenue growth below analyst expectations
** Brokerages BofA, Jefferies flag HCLTech CEO's comments that 40% of the industry likely to suffer revenue headwind of 3-5% annually due to AI
** Smaller peer Persistent PERS.NS, which reported y/y qtrly profit rise of 33.7% on Tuesday, trading 4.1% lower
** Tech Mahindra TEML.NS down 5.3% ahead of results later in the day
** Infosys INFY.NS down 3.76%, with results due Thursday
** YTD, Nifty IT down 19.4%
(Reporting by Abhirami G in Bengaluru)
((abhirami.g@thomsonreuters.com))