Markets Witness Heavy Selling Across IT Stocks, Sensex Crashes Nearly 500 Points
The sentiment remained subdued today as indices bore the brunt of the sharp hike in the H1-B visa fees announced by US President Donald Trump over the weekend.
Indian markets witnessed a muted end to the trading session on Monday. The BSE Sensex settled the day at 82,160, crashing close to 500 points, while the NSE Nifty50 closed just above 25,200, taking a hit of more than 100 points.
On the 30-share Sensex, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports, HUL, and UltraTech Cement settled among the gainers. On the other hand, the laggards were dominated by IT players with Tech M bleeding over 3 per cent. Other stocks in red included TCS, Infosys, Tata Motors, and Trent.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap50 bled 1.27 per cent. Sectorally, the IT index crashed 2.95 per cent, followed by the Midsmall IT & Telecom index which registered a hit of 2.47 per cent.
The sentiment remained subdued today as indices bore the brunt of the sharp hike in the H1-B visa fees announced by US President Donald Trump over the weekend. While the US government clarified that the new $100,000 application fees will only be valid for new applicants and won't impact current visa holders, markets didn't take too well to this development. IT stocks continued to bleed throughout the session.
"The day began on a weak footing, as negative global cues and concerns over the $100,000 H-1B visa fee for new applicants dampened sentiment. Benchmark indices opened with a gap-down start, mirroring the cautious mood in global markets. Despite the weak opening, the market quickly filled the gap and attempted a recovery. However, selling pressure resurfaced, dragging the Nifty to its intraday low as profit-booking dominated the latter half of the session," Ashika Institutional Equities said in its note.
During opening bell, the Sensex traded lower and dropped 475.16 points to 82,151.07, while the NSE Nifty fell 88.95 points to 25,238.10. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Friday, picking up shares worth Rs 390.74 crore, according to exchange data.
In the previous session, the Sensex shed 387.73 points, or 0.47 per cent, to close at 82,626.23, while the Nifty dropped 96.55 points, or 0.38 per cent, to end at 25,327.05.
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