The benchmark Sensex surged over 193 points and the NSE Nifty went past the 7,900 mark in early trade after Infosys posted estimate-beating 16 per cent growth in March quarter net profit and forecast strong revenue growth for the current fiscal amid sustained foreign fund inflows.
Besides, optimistic buying by participants ahead of the release of macroeconomic data had a bearing on mood, traders said. Inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) for March 2016 is due today.
Rising for the fourth straight day, the 30-share index rose 193.97 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 25,820.72, with stocks of IT, technology, FMCG, pharma and consumer durables sectors staying in the lead.
The gauge had gained 952.91 points in the past three straight sessions. The NSE index Nifty-50 recaptured the crucial 7,900 level by soaring 62.20 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 7,912.65.
Stock markets were shut on Thursday and Friday on account of ‘Ambedkar Jayanti’ and ‘Ram Navami’, respectively.
Shares of the country’s second-largest software services company Infosys rallied by 7.24 per cent to trade at a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,256.85 in opening trade after it posted 16.2 per cent rise in its fourth quarter (January-March) net profit at Rs 3,597 crore.
Infosys had said it expected revenue for 2016-17 to grow in the range of 11.5-13.5 per cent in constant currency and 11.8-13.8 per cent in US dollar terms, in line with industry body Nasscom’s estimate of 10-12 per cent for the fiscal.
However, the stock of TCS felt the heat after a US grand jury awarded Epic Systems $940 million in damages against two companies of the Tata conglomerate — Tata Consultancy Services and Tata America International Corp — in a trade secret lawsuit.
Other Asian markets showed a weak trend after oil prices tumbled following collapse of talks among the world’s top oil producers to cap output and ease a global supply glut amid differences between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.32 per cent while Shanghai Composite index was down 1.26 per cent in early trade today. Japan’s Nikkei shed 2.99 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.16 per cent lower in Friday’s trade.
PTI