Anthropic’s Cowork Rollout Sparks AI Panic – Asian Software Stocks Tumble

With input from Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and CNBC.

Asian software shares took another hit Wednesday as a fresh wave of AI fear rolled out of the US and into markets across the region – and this time investors pointed a finger at Anthropic’s new Cowork tools.

What happened: Wall Street jitters over AI disrupting software business models spilled into Asia after Anthropic launched legal and workflow plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent. Traders dumped anything that looks vulnerable to automation, sending big software names sharply lower.

The damage:

• Japan led the slump – TIS plunged ~16%, Trend Micro fell ~7%, and NS Solutions slid ~7%.
• In India the pain was broad: the Nifty IT index dropped about 6.7%. Heavyweights Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys slid roughly 6–8% while HCL fell about 5%.
• China’s software players weren’t spared either: Kingdee tumbled 12%+, Tencent slipped ~3%, Alibaba eased off, and Baidu lost ground.

US and Europe set the tone: ServiceNow and Salesforce each plunged nearly 7% stateside, Intuit fell close to 11%, and Europe’s Stoxx software index dropped more than 5% with RELX and Capgemini taking big hits – moves that fed the rout in Asia.

Why it matters: Investors are fretting that AI tools like Claude Cowork – which automate legal work, sales tasks, data analysis and more – could shrink demand for traditional software services and the human-heavy business models that countries like India rely on.

“AI has turned technology into an even more competitive sport,” said Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research, blaming Anthropic’s rollout for the sudden multiple compression in software stocks.

Analysts’ take: Some firms see this as a market re-rating rather than a death knell. UBP’s Vey-Sern Ling says companies must prove AI is a growth booster, not just a threat – and bets his money on infrastructure software and cybersecurity, where disruption looks less likely. In India, Systematix’s Ambrish Shah warned that integrating Claude into coding workflows could cut billable hours and margins for big IT vendors.

Bottom line: This latest swoon isn’t just a one-day freakout – it’s the latest chapter in months of pressure on global IT stocks as investors wrestle with how AI will reshape pricing, margins and staffing. Expect more volatility as traders parse every new AI product launch for who’s next on the chopping block.