INDIA STOCKS-IT firms drag India's stock benchmarks on new US visa fee structure

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Indian equity benchmarks fell on Monday, dented by information technology stocks after the U.S. introduced a new fee structure for fresh H-1B visa applications, raising concerns about the potential impact on outsourcing and on-site project deployments.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI was down 0.05% at 25,316 and the BSE Sensex .BSESN slid 0.11% to 82,534.77, as of 9:50 a.m. IST.

Twelve of the 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 traded flat.

The IT sub-index .NIFTYIT, the second-heaviest sector in the Nifty and Sensex benchmarks, tumbled 3%, with all 10 of its constituents posting losses.

Shares of Infosys INFY.NS, TCS TCS.NS, HCLTech HCLT.NS and Wipro WIPR.NS slid 2% each, topping the list of Nifty 50 losers.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on Friday a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications. Last year, 71% of the approved H-1B beneficiaries were Indians.

India's $283 billion IT sector, which generates about 57% of its total revenue from the United States, has long gained from American work visa programmes and outsourcing of software and business services.

"U.S. moves against India going beyond goods exports are really a major concern for equity markets," said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.

"Indian IT sector has been already growing its revenue in single digits. The latest move on H-1B visa fees will lead to possible deceleration in profits for Indian IT companies."

Among individual stocks, Shipping Corporation of India SCI.NS jumped 6% after signing a deal with BPCL BPCL.NS, HPCL HPCL.NS and IOC IOC.NS to jointly acquire, own, operate and manage vessels.

Ceigall India CEIG.NS rose 2% after becoming the lowest bidder for a 17-billion-rupee ($192.76 million) solar photovoltaic project with BESS in Madhya Pradesh.

PNC Infratech PNCI.NS gained 2% after receiving an order worth 4.96 billion rupees for bridge and road construction in Bihar.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders GRSE.NS climbed 4.3% after signing five deals with strategic partners in shipbuilding, port and infrastructure sectors.

($1 = 88.1940 Indian rupees)