New York, Feb 11, 2026, 05:44 EST — Premarket
- MSCI shares down about 7.8% in premarket trading, last at $515.66
- Data and analytics stocks remain under pressure as investors weigh AI-driven disruption risk
- MSCI’s February index review changes are set to take effect at the Feb. 27 close
MSCI Inc shares fell sharply in premarket trading on Wednesday, down $43.89, or about 7.8%, at $515.66.
The drop matters because investors are still taking a hard look at firms that sell market data, benchmarks and analytics — businesses built on recurring fees and pricing power — just as new artificial intelligence tools start to look like a cheaper substitute for parts of that work.
MSCI sits in the middle of that debate. Its indexes are used by many asset managers, including “passive” funds that track benchmarks and must buy and sell when index membership changes, and it also sells analytics used for portfolio construction and risk checks.
The jitters have been visible across the group since S&P Global rattled the space with a weaker-than-expected 2026 forecast and talk of AI disruption, pushing its own shares down 9.7% and knocking other information providers. Moody’s, Verisk and Nasdaq also fell in sympathy. (Reuters)
Some strategists have argued the market has gone too far, too fast. JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas said the market was pricing “worst-case” AI disruption scenarios, while Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty called the valuation gap in software “sentiment-driven, not fundamental.” (Reuters)
MSCI itself delivered fresh index news late Tuesday. It said 63 securities will be added to and 61 deleted from the MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) at the February review, with all changes implemented as of the close on Feb. 27. It also flagged that, due to market accessibility issues, it will continue to not implement index-review changes for securities classified in Bangladesh.
The company’s reshuffle is already rippling through local markets. In India, MSCI added Aditya Birla Capital and L&T Finance to its Global Standard Index and removed IRCTC, with Nuvama’s Abhilash Pagaria saying India’s overall weight stays at 14.1%; Nuvama estimated roughly $257 million and $238 million of passive inflows for the two additions and about $141.6 million of outflows tied to the deletion. (Reuters)
In emerging markets, MSCI’s country calls are also under a spotlight. FTSE Russell on Tuesday postponed an Indonesia review after raising concerns similar to MSCI’s on how freely stocks trade; “free float” is the portion of shares available for trading. Mohit Mirpuri, a fund manager at SGMC Capital, said the pause gives regulators time to fix free-float and data integrity issues. (Reuters)
MSCI competes with other index and data franchises such as S&P Dow Jones Indices and FTSE Russell. For traders, the question is less about any single reshuffle and more about whether these firms can defend proprietary data and benchmark licensing as AI tools creep into investment workflows.
The risk for bulls is straightforward: if clients decide they can get “good enough” analytics elsewhere, fee pressure follows, and high-multiple stocks can reprice fast. The counterpoint is that benchmark licensing and curated datasets are hard to replicate — and the selloff can reverse quickly if earnings and renewals hold up.
What investors are watching next is the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later Wednesday, which could reset rate expectations and risk appetite, and the Feb. 27 close when MSCI’s latest index changes take effect. (Reuters)
