Benchmark stock market indices in India extended their losing streak for a fifth consecutive session on Thursday, marking their longest run of declines in over six months, as IT stocks fell amid sustained foreign outflows and concerns over U.S. visa policies.
The Nifty 50 slipped 0.66% to 24,890.85, while the BSE Sensex eased 0.68% to 81,159.68, with both indexes recording their longest losing run since early March. Over the past five sessions, the Nifty and Sensex have declined 2.1% and 2.2%, respectively. Fifteen of the 16 major sectors were down, while small-cap and mid-cap indexes shed 0.6% each.
The IT index led sectoral losses, falling 1.3% on Thursday and 5.6% over the week, as investors reacted to the U.S. announcement of a $100,000 fee for fresh H1B visa applications earlier this month. This raised concerns over higher costs for Indian IT firms, which earn a significant portion of revenue from the U.S. market. Further pressure came from reports that U.S. lawmakers are scrutinising H1B visa usage at major tech firms such as Amazon and Apple.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, noted that broad-based selling prevailed across sectors, including auto, IT, pharma, and healthcare, while metals gained on China’s liquidity support and copper supply concerns. He said sentiment remained cautious ahead of India’s H2FY26 borrowing and upcoming U.S. macroeconomic data.
Among individual stocks, Tata Motors dropped 2.7% after reports indicated the company would bear the cost of a major cyberattack at Jaguar Land Rover, with losses potentially exceeding its fiscal 2025 profit.
