When US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling announced on Thursday that Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe were being suspended from the PERM programme, many traders in India braced for an ugly Friday. It did not happen. Nifty IT jumped over 3 percent, the Nifty 50 bounced 1.37 percent to close at 22,535.65, and TCS rallied more than 5 percent in morning trade on its Q2 numbers. So what has actually been suspended, should anyone holding Infosys, Wipro or HCLTech worry, and with HCLTech and Wipro reporting next week, what does the F&O setup look like? Let us take it one piece at a time.

What the PERM Suspension Actually Means

PERM is the labour certification step a US employer must clear before sponsoring a foreign employee for an employment-based green card. Under the order announced on October 8, the Labour Department will neither accept new PERM applications from these eight companies nor process the pending ones. Sonderling's argument was that these firms alone have sought almost three million foreign workers since 2009.

Now the part the headlines skip. This is not a ban on doing business in America, and it does not cancel anyone's existing H-1B visa. The pain lands on employees waiting for a green card and on how companies plan to retain them. TCS replied that its PERM applications were in single digits over the last two years, and that it plans to hire 15,000 people in the US over the next five years. For background on how this sector has been handling American visa policy, our earlier piece on the H-1B fee and its impact on Infosys, TCS and Wipro is worth a read.

Why IT Stocks Rallied Instead of Falling

A few things worked together. TCS posted Q2 net profit up 15 percent to Rs. 13,884 crore, with deal wins of $9.6 billion and annualised AI revenue of $3.1 billion, although its EBITDA margin slipped 162 basis points to 25.7 percent. Our full analysis of TCS's Q2 FY27 numbers covers both sides of that story. On the day, the market chose to focus on the deal momentum.

The second factor is plain oversold positioning. Nifty IT closed at 27,736.60 on October 8, roughly 20 to 25 percent below its levels at the start of the year, so news that turns out less bad than feared can trigger a sharp relief rally. A softer rupee also helps, as we explained in why IT stocks often rise even when the broader market falls. It was not a case of everyone ignoring the news either, since the Infosys and Wipro ADRs had slipped about 3 percent in New York on Thursday. Dalal Street simply looked past it for one session.

Here is how the big names moved by 11:30 in the morning.

The Risk That Is Real and the One That Is Overblown

The overblown fear is that these companies cannot operate in the US now. They can. The real risk is slower and less dramatic. If employees cannot move toward a green card, some will leave for firms that can sponsor them, and replacing them with local hires costs more, which shows up in wage bills and margins over a few quarters, not in a day. Reuters quoted analysts who saw the near-term impact as limited, and since Microsoft and Adobe are on the same list, this looks like a wider crackdown rather than something aimed only at Indian firms. Still, with India's External Affairs Ministry hitting back on Friday at US Vice President JD Vance's "indentured servants" remark about H-1B holders, further moves cannot be ruled out.

The bigger drag is the one that was already there. Kotak estimates that AI-led efficiency gains will shave 3.0 to 3.5 percent a year off revenue from existing contracts through FY27 and FY28. Brokerages such as CLSA had already turned cautious on TCS and Infosys before this week. PERM is one more overhang on a sector that was short of growth anyway.

Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech: Where Each One Stands

All three are about to report, and the Street's expectations are quite different for each. Here is a quick side by side.

Stock	Approx. Price (Oct 9)	Q2 Result Date	What Brokerages Expect	F&O Lot Size
Infosys	Rs. 1,030	Oct 23	Organic growth near 1.1% QoQ, FY27 guidance cut to 1.5-2.5%	400
Wipro	Rs. 164	Oct 15 (after market hours)	Organic revenue down about 1.8% QoQ, Q3 guidance of -2% to 0%	3,000
HCLTech	Rs. 1,210	Oct 12	Organic growth near 2% QoQ, guidance likely raised to 3-4%	400

Infosys has the longest wait. Its Q1 showed 2.4 percent year-on-year growth in constant currency and a trimmed FY27 guidance of 1.5 to 3.0 percent, and the stock slid nearly 3 percent the morning after. The company also named Ashiss Kumar Dash as CEO-designate, taking over from Salil Parekh on April 1, 2027, and we broke down the Q1 guidance cut and the leadership change when it happened. For Q2 on October 23, Kotak expects another cut to 1.5 to 2.5 percent and Citi sees 1 to 2 percent, so a good part of the disappointment is already in the price.

Wipro is where expectations are weakest. Kotak expects revenue to fall about 1 percent sequentially, and about 1.8 percent on an organic basis, blaming weak macro, pricing pressure and share loss, with guidance for the December quarter in the range of minus 2 to 0 percent. Results come on Thursday after market hours, so the stock's reaction will only show up on Friday.

HCLTech is the relative bright spot. It reports first, on Monday, October 12, and Kotak expects around 2 percent organic sequential growth helped by the Guardian Life deal ramp-up, with guidance likely raised to 3 to 4 percent from 1 to 4 percent. Roughly 100 basis points of that comes from acquisitions (Jaspersoft and HPE's telco solutions business), and organic guidance is seen staying near 2 to 3 percent. The board will also consider a third interim dividend that day.

The expected growth gap shows up clearly when you put it in one picture.

So, Should You Sell?

Honestly, nobody can answer that for you without knowing your buying price, your holding period and what you wanted from the stock in the first place. What can be said is that the PERM suspension, taken on its own, is a thin reason to sell. TCS's disclosure suggests small direct exposure, and it will be worth listening for similar numbers from Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech on their earnings calls.

The reasons that could justify trimming are the older ones: barely positive organic growth, AI-led deflation and, in Wipro's case, estimated share loss. On the other side, these stocks have already fallen a long way. Infosys was around Rs. 1,650 in late January and is near Rs. 1,030 now, while HCLTech has slipped from about Rs. 1,720 to around Rs. 1,210. If you bought for a long-term compounding story, check whether that story still holds. If you are holding for a two to three year recovery, a week of policy headlines matters far less than the next two quarters of guidance.

Three things would change the picture quickly: clarity from the Labour Department on how long the suspension lasts, any sign on earnings calls of higher attrition or local hiring costs, and further visa measures beyond PERM. If none of those show up, the case for selling rests on growth and AI, not on PERM.

F&O Setup for Next Week

Next week is an event week for this pack. HCLTech reports on Monday, October 12. Wipro and Tech Mahindra both report on Thursday, October 15, with Wipro's numbers due after market hours. Infosys comes later, on October 23, but option premiums usually start building well before that, and the monthly stock derivatives expiry is October 27. Lot sizes are 400 for Infosys, 400 for HCLTech and 3,000 for Wipro, which works out to roughly Rs. 4.1 lakh, Rs. 4.8 lakh and Rs. 4.9 lakh of exposure per lot at current prices. For Wipro, every Rs. 1 move is Rs. 3,000 per lot, so small moves add up faster than they appear.

The first thing to understand in results week is implied volatility. Option premiums get expensive before the numbers and collapse once they are out, so a buyer can be right on direction and still lose money. This is the classic IV crush, and it hurts most when you buy options a day or two before results.

On Infosys, early October option chain snapshots showed the heaviest call open interest at Rs. 1,040 and the heaviest put open interest at Rs. 1,000, with max pain near Rs. 1,020. The put-call ratio was around 0.8, which usually reads as call-heavy, and here it mostly reflects writers capping rallies near Rs. 1,040. With the stock around Rs. 1,030, it sits inside that range, and a move beyond it needs fresh build-up to be trusted. If max pain is new to you, a quick read is worth it before you lean on the Rs. 1,020 number.

Wipro's chain was similar in tone, with a put-call ratio near 0.89 and call open interest a little higher than put open interest. The stock has been hovering around Rs. 160 to Rs. 165, and since results arrive after the close on Thursday, anyone holding positions overnight is exposed to a Friday morning gap. HCLTech traded between about Rs. 1,221 and Rs. 1,250 on October 1, was near Rs. 1,350 in early August and is around Rs. 1,210 now. Rs. 1,200 is the obvious psychological floor and Rs. 1,250 the recent ceiling, but please check the live chain before acting on any of these levels, because open interest shifts every day.

For positioning, the sensible approach in a week like this is defined risk. Selling naked options through a results announcement is how accounts get hurt by a single gap. Spreads, smaller position size, or simply waiting until the numbers are out and premiums have cooled are all more forgiving, and we have listed options strategies built for high-volatility weeks if you want a starting point. The broader market adds its own gap risk too, with the Nifty trading around 22,500 after Thursday's 371-point drop, a slide we looked at in Nifty at 52-week lows and what is breaking.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Prices, option chain data and brokerage estimates are indicative, based on publicly available information as of October 9, 2026, and change quickly. Futures and options carry substantial risk, and SEBI studies show that most individual F&O traders end up with net losses. Please verify live data and consult a SEBI-registered investment advisor before trading.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is the PERM suspension for Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech?

The US Labour Department will not accept new or process pending PERM labour certification applications from eight named companies, which is the first step in the employment-based green card process.

2. Does the PERM suspension stop these companies from operating in the US?

No. It does not ban their US business and does not cancel existing H-1B visas, but it delays green card sponsorship for their employees.

3. Why did Indian IT stocks rise despite the PERM suspension?

Strong TCS Q2 numbers, heavily oversold levels and a weaker rupee outweighed the news, and TCS said its own PERM exposure was in single digits.

4. When will HCLTech, Wipro and Infosys announce Q2 FY27 results?

HCLTech reports on October 12, Wipro on October 15 after market hours, and Infosys on October 23.

5. What are the F&O lot sizes for Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech?

Infosys and HCLTech trade in lots of 400 shares each, while Wipro trades in lots of 3,000 shares.

6. Is it safe to hold option positions through results?

It carries gap risk and IV crush risk, so many traders prefer defined-risk strategies, smaller position sizes, or waiting until after the results.