Tech rally: Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra shares jump as Donald Trump backs foreign talent; easing H-1B visa concerns

IT stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday, buoyed by investor optimism after US President Donald Trump said the United States “needed skilled workers from abroad,” a comment seen as a potential softening of his administration’s hardline immigration tone.The upbeat sentiment lifted Tech Mahindra, which surged 3.24%, followed by Mphasis (up 2.83%), LTIMindtree (up 2.63%), TCS (up 2.26%), and Infosys (up 1.25%), according to an ET report. The Nifty IT index rose 1.83%, outperforming all other sectoral indices for the day.In a Fox News interview aired Tuesday, Trump responded to questions from host Laura Ingraham about whether H-1B visas for skilled foreign professionals would be deprioritised.

“You also do have to bring in talent,” he said, countering Ingraham’s claim that the US already had enough skilled workers. “You don’t have certain talents. You can’t take people off, like an unemployment line, and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory.

We’re going to make missiles.’” Bloomberg reported the exchange.The remarks were welcomed by markets, given that major Indian IT exporters such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and HCL Technologies rely heavily on the H-1B visa programme to deploy engineers for client projects in the US — their most important revenue market.

Supportive rhetoric on high-skilled immigration has historically fuelled stock gains in the sector.IT stocks had already seen modest gains earlier in the week as optimism grew over the US government’s reopening and improved global risk appetite. Traders expect that a political resolution in Washington could also help shape the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook, creating a more favourable environment for tech exporters.Trump’s comments arrive amid heightened immigration tensions. His administration this year introduced a $100,000 H-1B application fee, sparking a lawsuit from the US Chamber of Commerce and drawing criticism from businesses over rising costs and labour constraints.Now in his second term, Trump has also intensified deportation efforts and deployed troops to assist immigration authorities, prompting concerns among employers about workforce shortages.

Corporates have grown cautious about sponsoring international graduates for work visas, narrowing the traditional talent pool for US industries.Despite the restrictive backdrop, Trump’s latest acknowledgment of the US need for skilled foreign workers has been read by markets as a signal of possible policy pragmatism. Investors are watching closely for follow-up measures that could confirm a softer stance on high-skilled immigration, a development that would provide long-term relief to India’s IT sector.