Sensex, Nifty End Lower As IT Stocks Plunge After Trump's H-1B Visa Fee Hike
(RTTNews) - Indian shares fell on Monday, with IT stocks pacing the declines after the Trump administration announced sweeping changes to the H-1B visa regime, including a steep $100,000 fee for new applications.
It is feared that the steep hike in H-1B visa fees will raise offshore deployment costs and could squeeze profit margins on existing contracts, particularly in cost-sensitive areas like application development and consulting.
That said, overall losses in the market remained capped as lower GST rates took effect and a Japanese credit rating agency namely 'Rating and Investment Information (R&I)' upgraded India's sovereign rating to BBB+ with a stable outlook.
The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session down 466.26 points, or 0.56 percent, at 82,159.97.
The broader NSE Nifty index closed at 25,202.35, down 124.70 points, or 0.49 percent, from its previous close.
The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes fell 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,497 shares declining while 1,789 shares rose and 169 shares closed unchanged.
IT stocks were among the worst hit, with HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and TCS falling 2-3 percent.
Among the top gainers, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance and Eternal rose 1-2 percent.
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