The Nifty IT index ended lower, down 2% on Monday, for the fourth consecutive on the back of sharp appreciation in rupee. Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in stocks like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, Infibeam, HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra.

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Shares of TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra were leading the index’s fall declining in the range of 1.3 percent- 3.2 percent. On the flip side, Mindtree was up 2 percent in today's trade.

IT major Infosys fell over 2 percent as the company paid Rs 34.35 lakh to settle the case with the markets regulator, according to an order. The company settled with Sebi the case of alleged disclosure lapses regarding severance payment made to its former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal. The watchdog had issued a notice seeking to initiate adjudication proceedings against the company in November 2017.

However, according to CLSA, Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra are expected to see strong growth in 2019. 2019 is also expected to be better than 2018 for most Tier-1 IT firms. "Infosys and HCL Tech are our top buys," the brokerage adds.

Mindtree gained 2 percent after the Income Tax Department withdrew the provisional attachment for the transfer or charge of 22,20,000 and 52,70,000 equity shares of Mindtree by Coffee Day Enterprises and VG Siddhartha, held by them respectively.

Meanwhile, equity benchmark indices ended in red. The Sensex fell below 35,400, ending 145 points lower, while the Nifty was able to hold 10,600, but ended 36 points lower.

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First Published:Feb 19, 2019 11:04 AM IST