The Indian IT sector faced intense selling pressure on Monday, September 22, as investors reacted to growing concerns about a steep hike in US H-1B visa fees — a move that could significantly impact the cost structure of Indian IT service providers. At the opening bell, the Nifty IT index plunged nearly 4 percent to emerge as the day’s worst-performing sectoral index on the NSE.

Tech Mahindra led the rout, tumbling over 6 percent in early trade. LTIMindtree and Persistent Systems followed closely, shedding more than 5 percent each. HCL Technologies was down about 4 percent, while sector bellwethers Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys also witnessed sharp declines in the range of 2–4 percent. By noon, the index had recovered slightly but was still quoting at 25,525 — down by over 1,000 points or 2.88 percent from the previous close.

Of the Nifty IT index’s 10 constituents, nine were trading in the red, underscoring the breadth of the weakness. Oracle Financial Services Software was the sole gainer in the pack, managing to buck the trend.