Stock markets decline on US H-1B visa fees concern

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell in early trade on Wednesday as foreign fund outflows and concerns over the steep hike in US H-1B visa fees continue to dent investors’ sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 380.48 points to 81,721.62 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 106.45 points to 25,063.05.

From the Sensex firms, Tech



Mahindra, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Titan and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the major laggards.

However, Trent, NTPC, State Bank of India and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,551.19 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.