Investors brushed aside the US government's announcement that it would suspend many domestic IT firms from the PERM program, and turned their focus to Tata Consultancy Services' quarterly results on October 9. Nifty IT index reallied 3% on October 9.
India's top IT services firm by revenue on Thursday reported an acceleration in AI-related revenue and growth in international business.
Its shares jumped 5.4%, with Devarsh Vakil, head of prime research at HDFC Securities, saying the results signalled a "gradual improvement in growth momentum" despite an unchanged macro sentiment and muted discretionary spending.
As this development was known to be in the works, players in the sector have already taken measures to navigate the new regulatory stipulation by increasing their hiring locally. Further, given that the order pertains more to applications for permanent residence, it is not seen as majorly impacting talent-focused hiring plans by IT companies through the H-1B visa route, sector analysts told Informist.
"Following the visa fee hike earlier this year, Indian IT companies have already reduced their dependence on H-1B visas and expanded local hiring," said SBI Securities.