Shares in India's information-technology sector moved higher on Friday, 9 October 2026, after quarterly earnings from TCS pointed to resilience in the business, though the potential suspension of the US PERM programme remained a factor weighing on the broader outlook.
Shares in TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, and Wipro moved higher as market participants assessed the outlook for earnings growth alongside demand tied to artificial intelligence and uncertainty surrounding immigration policy. Technology-focused shares on the Nifty index posted gains across the session, with TCS advancing by more than four percent and Wipro posting a move upward of close to three percent.
Shares in HCLTech and Tech Mahindra each climbed roughly three percentage points, with midcap names Coforge and Persistent Systems posting upward moves of their own. TCS earnings data, combined with early indications that PERM restrictions were producing little immediate disruption, drew a positive response from market participants.
For the July-to-September quarter, Tata Consultancy Services posted consolidated net earnings of Rs. 13,884 crore, a figure approximately 15 percent above the level recorded in the same period a year earlier. Quarterly revenue totalled Rs. 73,188 crore, climbing 11.2 percent against the figure posted in the same period a year earlier. A second interim dividend, set at Rs. 12 per share, was declared by the company for the 2026-27 financial year.
K. Krithivasan, who leads TCS as chief executive and managing director, drew attention to expansion across overseas markets and the bulk of industry verticals. Citing the Porsche and Best Buy arrangements as examples, he described both as partnerships oriented toward broadening how artificial intelligence gets deployed across operations.
Unofficial estimates placed TCS's annualised revenue from AI-related work at a run rate above USD 3.1 billion, a figure that, while unconfirmed, appeared to steady nerves among the company's investor base.
New PERM applications from a group of technology firms — among them TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant, and Capgemini — were put on hold by the US Department of Labor. Both Microsoft and Adobe were drawn into the matter as federal investigators pursued separate inquiries touching each company. The PERM process, which underpins employment-based permanent residency petitions, has drawn attention from companies weighing its implications for long-term staffing continuity.
TCS disclosed that the number of PERM applications it filed had stayed below ten throughout the preceding two-year stretch. Workforce plans and client relationships in the United States are not expected to face notable interference, according to the company's projections. A workforce expansion targeting 15,000 hires spread across 31 offices throughout the United States, to be carried out over a five-year window, would give the organisation a domestic staffing base that reduces its reliance on visa-based hiring channels.
The industry body added that technology firms based in India had been broadening their hiring footprint within the United States while pulling back on their reliance on H-1B visa pathways.
Data released separately put OpenAI's annualised revenue for September at around USD 50 billion, a figure that fell short of a previously cited USD 70 billion threshold and prompted fresh scrutiny of growth trajectories and competitive dynamics across the artificial intelligence industry.
Quarterly earnings releases, regional employment decisions, and the trajectory of client demand are among the factors market participants are expected to weigh in assessing the sector's rebound.
