Proposed H‑1B $100K Fee Hits Indian Markets

On September 24, Indian benchmarks fell for a fourth straight session, with the Sensex down about 386 points to roughly 81,715 and the Nifty near 25,056–25,060, extending a recent losing streak. Selling was broad-based—banking, auto, capital goods and IT led declines while FMCG held up and mid- and small-caps underperformed. IT stocks were hit after the U.S. proposed major H‑1B rule changes, including reports of a one-time $100,000 fee for new applications and a shift to a wage-based selection process that would favor higher‑paid workers, weighing on Coforge, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and the Nifty IT index. Analysts cited heavy foreign institutional outflows (reported FII selling of ₹3,551.19 crore), stretched U.S. equity valuations, trade‑talk uncertainty and visa‑related headwinds as the main drivers, and the market saw only a limited intraday recovery. Stock-specific moves included losses in Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and TCS while HUL, NTPC and Power Grid outperformed, and corporate developments such as Glenmark’s deal with Hengrui, AESL’s zero-waste certification and Poly Medicure’s Italy acquisition kept select names in focus.