Indian IT stocks rallied sharply on Friday, October 9, despite fresh US immigration restrictions. Business Standard reports that the Nifty IT index rose 3.13% to 28,604 in intraday trade, with all 10 constituents in the green. Strong results from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) were the main trigger.

What Triggered the Rally

  • TCS Q2 results: net profit rose 15% to ₹13,884 crore, according to Outlook Business, beating expectations. TCS shares gained about 4.6% to ₹2,171.7 intraday per Business Standard. The Week reported a high of ₹2,197.30, up 5.84%.
  • Index move: The Week reported Nifty IT climbing over 1,000 points to a high of 28,776.75 from a previous close of 27,736.60. Coforge and Persistent Systems rose around 3%.
  • Broader market: Outlook Business says Sensex rose 829 points and Nifty reclaimed 22,500 after two sessions of sharp losses, helped by easing crude prices.
  • OpenAI: The Week also cited reports that OpenAI missed revenue targets as a supportive factor for traditional IT services.

The US Immigration Curbs

On Thursday, the Trump administration suspended several firms from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) program, a key step in the employment-based green card process. Business Standard lists Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling said these companies had secured more than 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications.

Why Investors Looked Past It

  • Hiring already tightened: analysts say visa-based hiring has fallen sharply, which limits the impact of new guidelines.
  • NASSCOM: the industry body said companies had already reduced their H-1B hiring.
  • Earnings focus: investors put more weight on quarterly performance and hope that other firms report results like TCS.

Caveats

The rebound follows a period of sharp weakness, and it may not last. Outlook Business says it depends on corporate earnings, crude oil, global bond yields and further developments in US immigration policy. Compliance and hiring costs could still rise for firms affected by the suspension. This report does not say how long the suspension lasts or what companies need to do to be reinstated.

What to Watch Next

  • Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech results in the coming weeks.
  • Any clarification from the US Labour Department on the suspension.
  • The H-1B Visa Fraud Crackdown Act, proposed in the House earlier this week.

Key Takeaways

  • Nifty IT rose more than 3% on strong TCS Q2 results.
  • Investors looked past the US PERM suspension because visa hiring has already tightened.
  • The rally follows heavy losses, so follow-through is uncertain.