IT stocks continued their downward trend for the fourth day, negatively impacted by the significant increase in US H-1B visa fees, which has dampened investor sentiment. Infobeans Technologies saw a decrease of 2.64 percent, while Tata Consultancy Services fell by 2.50 percent. Hexaware Technologies dropped 1.91 percent, HCL Technologies declined by 1.31 percent, Wipro decreased by 1.06 percent, and Infosys and Tech Mahindra saw reductions of 0.64 percent and 0.61 percent, respectively. The BSE IT index fell by 1.10 percent, closing at 34,149.55.
Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, mentioned, “The Nifty 50 has extended its losing streak to five sessions amid significant selling pressure in IT stocks following the imposition of a USD 100,000 fee for H-1B visas.” Since last Friday, among major stocks, Tech Mahindra has plummeted 7 percent, TCS has lost 6.60 percent, Wipro has declined by 5.52 percent, Infosys has dropped 3.61 percent, and HCL Tech has seen a decrease of 2.99 percent. In terms of market capitalization, TCS has lost Rs 75,798.93 crore, Infosys Rs 23,119.19 crore, Wipro Rs 14,799.36 crore, HCL Tech Rs 11,940.12 crore, and Tech Mahindra Rs 10,729.9 crore, totaling a loss of Rs 1,36,387.5 crore across these five companies in just four days.
Hariprasad K, a research analyst and founder of Livelong Wealth, noted that IT stocks were heavily affected by the sell-off, with the Nifty IT index dropping over 6 percent this week due to visa-related concerns. The front-line IT stocks such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and HCL Tech were notably in the red on Thursday. Last week, the Trump administration announced a one-time USD 100,000 fee for H-1B visas, which primarily affects Indian tech professionals, who make up over 70 percent of H-1B visa holders. Additionally, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 555.95 points or 0.68 percent to close at 81,159.68, while the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 166.05 points or 0.66 percent to 24,890.85.