Sensex falls 216 points dragged by losses in IT stocks amid reports of changes in US visa requirements; Infosys, TCS among top losers

Equity benchmark indices drifted lower by half percent on Friday, dragged by IT and banking stocks amid continuing global concerns over the US-China trade deal.

IT stocks fell up to 3 percent on Friday amid reports of changes in the US work visa requirements aimed at protecting American workers.

#MarketAtClose | Midcap index gains more than 100 points from lows to close in the green pic.twitter.com/PHEeXauDZd

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) November 22, 2019

Market benchmark Sensex dropped 216 points while the broader Nifty fell by 54 points.

After trading on a weak note through the day, the 30-share index ended 215.76 points, or 0.53 percent, lower at 40,359.41. It hit an intra-day low of 40,276.83 and a high of 40,653.17.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty settled 54 points, or 0.45 percent, down at 11,914.40.

Infosys was the top loser in the Sensex pack, dropping 2.89 percent, followed by TCS, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and HCL Tech.

On the other hand, Tata Steel gained 3.74 percent, NTPC 2.35 percent, Vedanta 2.27 percent and ONGC 2.18 percent.

IT stocks led the fall in the market amid reports of changes in US work visa requirements aimed at protecting American workers, traders said.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty IT dropping by 1.9 percent and bank by 0.7 percent.

Among stocks, Infosys lost by 2.8 percent to close at Rs 692.95 per share. Tata Consultancy Services ticked down by 2.4 percent, Wipro by 1.8 percent, HCL Technologies by 1.6 percent and Tech Mahindra by 1.5 percent.

Bharti Infratel lost by over 4 percent while Bharti Airtel showed a loss of 1.8 percent. Even Kotak Mahindra Bank closed 1.6 percent lower.

However, metal majors showed handsome gains with Tata Steel moving up by 4.2 percent, JSW Steel by 2.4 percent and Vedanta by 2.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Asian equities posted mild gains amid persistent worries over the status of trade negotiations between China and the United States.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul settled in the green, while Shanghai finished on a negative note.

European equities were also trading on a positive note in their respective early deals.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee depreciated marginally to 71.79 against the US dollar in intra-day trade.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.03 percent to $63.95 per barrel.

— With inputs from  agencies