Stock markets fall dragged by IT firms on US H-1B visa fee hike concerns
Mumbai, Sep 22 (PTI): Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday, dragged by IT stocks amid concerns over the US President Donald Trump's decision to raise H-1B visa fees to USD 1,00,000 per worker.
Also, selling in blue-chip Reliance Industries took the markets lower.
Falling for the second day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 466.26 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 82,159.97. During the day, it tanked 628.94 points or 0.76 per cent to 81,997.29.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 124.70 points or 0.49 per cent to 25,202.35.
From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Service, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, Trent, Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro were among the major laggards.
However, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
President Trump on Friday signed a proclamation raising the fee on the visas used by companies to hire workers, including from India, to live and work in the US.
The H-1B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, a White House official clarified on Saturday.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index settled in positive territory while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading lower.
US markets ended higher on Friday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.10 per cent to USD 66.61 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 390.74 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
On Friday, the Sensex tanked 387.73 points or 0.47 per cent to settle at 82,626.23. The Nifty declined 96.55 points or 0.38 per cent to 25,327.05.
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Delhi's maximum temperature settles at 41.9 deg C
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi on Sunday recorded a maximum temperature of 41.9 degree Celsius, 1.5 notches above the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The minimum temperature settled at 25.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning, 0.6 notches below the seasonal average, the IMD stated.
The weather department predicted strong surface wind during the Monday morning, with the maximum and minimum temperature expected to hover around 44 degrees Celsius and 26 degree Celsius, respectively.
Relative humidity was recorded at 28 per cent at 5.30 pm.
The air quality was recorded in the 'moderate' category at 4 pm, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 174, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.
According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
