Domestic equity markets decline for fourth straight session amid H-1B visa concerns

Mumbai: Domestic equity indices extended losses for a fourth straight session on Wednesday as uncertainty over the US's economic actions against India kept investors on edge.

NSE Nifty fell 112 points, or 0.45%, to close at 25,056, while the BSE Sensex dropped 386 points, or 0.5%, to 81,715. Both benchmarks have lost 1.4% and 1.6%, respectively, over the past four sessions.

"In the last few days, we've seen the H-1B visa announcement dampen sentiment in the markets. While our estimate is that tier-1 companies will take only a 1-2% hit on their profits, the sentiment has soured due to which we are seeing some profit taking," said Pankaj Pandey, head of fundamental research at ICICI Direct.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump announced a levy of $100,000, or ₹88 lakh, on new H-1B visa applications, a move expected to impact Indian information technology companies.

Foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth ₹2,425.7 crore, while domestic institutions were buyers worth ₹1,211.7 crore.

"The Nifty rallied from 24,400 to 25,400 in just three weeks without a pullback, after the announcement of strong GDP numbers as well as a GST cut, pushing momentum indicators into overbought territory," said Ruchit Jain, vice-president at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "This has now triggered a short-term correction within the broader uptrend."

Jain said market dips offer buying opportunities for positional traders and investors.

He added that Nifty will see support at 24,500-24,800 levels and resistance near 25,500, with the index likely to remain range-bound in the near term.

Nifty's Volatility Index, or VIX, known as the market's fear gauge, fell 1% to 10.52 on Wednesday.

The broader market too extended declines, with the Nifty Midcap 150 down 0.9% and the Nifty Small-cap 250 lower by 0.6%. Out of 4,320 stocks traded on BSE, 1,540 advanced and 2,651 declined.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan rose 0.3%, China gained 0.8% and Hong Kong jumped 1.4%, while South Korea slipped 0.4% and Taiwan lost 0.2%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.3% at the time of going to print.