Market Update at 12:15 PM: Benchmark indices opened lower on Monday, pressured by weakness in information technology stocks. As of 12 PM, the BSE Sensex was at 82,458, down 172 points or 0.21 per cent, while the NSE Nifty50 stood at 25,296, lower by 31 points or 0.12 per cent.

IT stocks faced heavy selling pressure after US President Donald Trump announced a higher one-time fee of USD 100,000 for new H-1B visas. The Nifty IT index fell 4 per cent to day’s low of 35,145.10 in intraday trade on the NSE.

On the NSE, the biggest drags included Tech Mahindra, Infosys, TCS and HCL Technologies, while Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and HDFC Life were among the Top Gainers .

Broader markets also slipped into negative territory. The Nifty Small-Cap index was down 0.25 per cent, a

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