Indian IT Stocks Plummet Amid Coforge Chairman Resignation and US Visa Fee Hike

The Indian IT sector took a hit on Wednesday as several major stocks plunged in value. Coforge led the decline, shedding 8.6% after its chairman and independent director O P Bhatt resigned with immediate effect due to concerns raised by an internal audit over the company's board evaluation process.

Several other major IT stocks followed suit, including Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, TCS, Persistent Systems, Wipro, OFSS, and LTM. These companies saw losses ranging from 2% to 4% as investors took advantage of the selloff.

The sector's woes were compounded by concerns over margin pressure and global uncertainties, including US visa fee hikes and escalating West Asia conflict. The newly proposed H-1B fee hike, which kicked in today, added to the anxiety among investors, with some analysts noting that it could become a running annual bill for firms built on onshore Indian engineers.

Choice Broking Technical Research Analyst Hitesh Tailor noted that the Nifty IT index is facing near-term pressure after being rejected from the 31,900-32,000 zone, which aligns with the 200-day EMA and a multi-month horizontal resistance level. He predicted that immediate support would be at 28,700, while the 28,000-28,150 zone remains crucial for stabilisation.

The BSE Sensex fell nearly 655 points to a low of 74,923.08 from its previous closing level, while the Nifty 50 declined 168 points to a low of 23,466.65 as Brent crude reached near $100 amid rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia.