Indian stocks muted as US visa worries offset consumption optimism

MUMBAI: India’s equity benchmarks ended little changed on Tuesday as concerns over the impact of steep new H1-B visa fee offset gains from auto and finance stocks on festive demand optimism and improved earnings outlook.

The Nifty 50 fell 0.13 percent to close at 25,169.5 points, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.07 percent to 82,102.1.

The rupee slid to an all-time low on the back of steep US tariffs and the H-1B visa fee hike.

Nine of the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps and mid-caps traded 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent lower, respectively.

Stocks in the information technology sector, the second-heaviest on the benchmarks, slid 0.7 percent, extending Monday’s 3 percent sell-off.

IT companies, which earn a bulk of their revenue from the US, remained under pressure due to concerns that their operating costs may rise as a result of US imposing USD100,000 fees on new H-1B visas.