Money on the markets

TCS shares touch record high

Shares in TCS gained nearly 5.5 percent on Tuesday after the firm had reported a good set of quarterly numbers on Monday evening after market hours.

TCS led the gains in the benchmark Sensex and rose to a record high after it beat street estimates and said it expected strong demand for outsourcing.

Do you think it is worth investing in TCS at this stage?

Good day for technology counters

Technology shares rose on Wednesday as Indian firms cheered robust results and guidance from U.S. peer Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Cognizant on Tuesday reported a profit that topped market estimates for the sixth straight quarter, helped by a surge in discretionary projects, and also raised its 2010 revenue outlook.

Shares in TCS rose as much as 4.5 percent to a record high of 871 rupees in trade. Infosys gained 3 percent while Wipro rose 4 percent.

The BSE IT Index, which saw all stocks closing in the green, ended with gains of 3.2 percent as the top sectoral gainer.

The index has gained 6 percent since July. Are you optimistic about the future of these stocks?

Outsourcers slide on rising rupee

Shares in top IT firms plunged on concerns the rising rupee would squeeze margins in the export-driven sector.

IT bellwether Infosys dropped 2.5 percent, while Wipro and TCS fell 4.2 and 3.3 percent respectively.

TCS, which contributes 2.3 percent in the 30-Share Sensitive index, led the pack in terms of turnover, ending with volumes of nearly 14 million shares.

The BSE IT Index, which has gained nearly 100 percent so far this year, ended 2.7 percent lower in a broader market that closed 0.9 percent down at 16,806.

An increase in foreign inflows helped the partially convertible rupee gain 11.9 percent from its record low of 52.2 in early March.

The combined traded volumes on two exchanges (National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX) stood at about $2.7 billion.

TCS gains 3.9 percent

Shares in India’s top IT services firm by sales gained nearly 4 percent in a broader market that ended 0.96 percent up at 16,853.

The stock which carries over 2 percent weightage in the main index, closed at 610 rupees with volumes of 0.58 million.

The BSE IT Index ended 2.2 percent higher, led by gains in TCS, Infosys and Oracle Finance.

TCS chief executive S. Ramadorai said in an interview on Tuesday the company was seeing signs of recovery in demand for outsourcing, especially from the banking, financial services and insurance sectors, which together account for 43 percent of its business.

TCS has gained over 150 percent in the current year.

The company is also looking at hiring 18,000 workers in the financial year ending March 2010.

According to NASSCOM, signs of recovery in the U.S. are yet to translate into real business for India’s outsourcing firms, but business is likely to pickup from the second half of the year.

Solid earnings for IT companies

The infotech index rallied 2.8 percent on Thursday with stocks such as Patni Computer, TCS, Wipro and Infosys posting decent gains.

Patni Computer, the top gainer in the index, rose over 12 percent after the company announced a 14 percent rise in Q1 profits. A company official said it will seek acquisitions in Europe and the Asia-Pacific to help lower its dependence on the United States.

The results season has been good for this sector, with top firms like Infosys and TCS beating forecasts. Earlier in the month, Infosys beat estimates with a 17 percent rise in quarterly profit, whereas TCS posted a 22 percent rise.

Infosys stock has rallied over 25 percent since June and is currently at 2010 rupees. The stock crossed the 2,000 rupee mark a few days ago, a level it had not seen for over 15 months.

Do you think it is a good time to invest in this sector?

ICICI Bank leads Sensex decline

The BSE Sensex ended 0.85 percent down on Tuesday, as investors saw an opportunity to book profits after the market rallied 13.4 percent over the past five sessions.

The 30-share sensitive index swung from an intra-day high of 15,234 to an intra-day low of 14,955 and closed 128 points lower at 15,062.

The fifty-share Nifty ended 0.74 percent down to 4,469.

The fall in the Sensex was led by ICICI Bank, ITC and Infosys.

IT stocks felt some heat after a sharp rally triggered by better-than-expected Q1 June 2009 results by TCS, India’s top software services firm by sales.

The decline in IT stocks was led by TCS which fell 4.5 percent after surging over 15 percent on Monday. Infosys dropped 1.5 percent and Wipro was down 0.46 percent.

TCS leads Sensex over 15,000

The BSE Sensex extended gains on Monday to cross the 15,000 mark as hopes of recovery in corporate earnings boosted confidence worldwide.

The 30-share sensitive index swung from an intra-day low of 14,854 to an intra-day high of 15,209 and closed  446 points higher at 15,191. The fifty-share Nifty ended 2.91 percent higher at 4502.

IT stocks rose on better-than-expected Q1 results by TCS, India’s largest IT exporter by sales, announced after trading hours on Friday. Shares in TCS ended 15.34 percent higher at 500.10 rupees.

On the sectoral front, the BSE IT Index rose 7.2 percent, followed by the Realty Index which ended 4.91 percent higher. However, the BSE FMCG Index closed 0.49 percent lower.

Shares in Reliance Industries, which challenged a lower court ruling to supply gas to Reliance Natural at below-market price, ended 5.03 percent higher, while Reliance Natural shares were down 2.6 percent.

Do you see the market uptrend continuing this week?

Sensex gains in choppy trade; stress test results eyed

The BSE Sensex closed 1.37 percent higher on Thursday, tracking a rally in global markets on ebbing concerns about the health of the financial sector and the global economy.

Trade was volatile and the benchmark closed 164.19 points higher at 12,116.94, while the Nifty ended 1.62 percent higher at 3,683.90.

The rise in the Sensex was led by Reliance Industries, Sterlite Industries and HDFC.

IT stocks fell for the second straight day on the U.S. government’s tax plans but managed to close 0.06 pct higher, but analysts believe that the outsourcing benefit may be more than the tax paid by U.S. companies. TCS was down 0.4 percent and Infosy shed 0.8 percent.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Metal Index gained nearly 8.2 percent. This was followed by the Realty Index which ended up 1.9 percent. However, the BSE FMCG Index ended lower at 0.71 percent.

Sensex snaps 3-day rise, ends 0.9 pct lower

The Sensex seesawed and ended down 0.9 percent on Tuesday, snapping a three-day rising streak as investors booked profits and weak European markets dampened sentiments.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries ended nealry 2 percent lower and SBI slipped 3.8 percent.

The banking index shed 2 percent, followed closely by the IT index which ended 1.7 percent down.

TCS slipped 4.8 percent and Infosys lost 1.8 percent in the session. However, Rolta India bucked the trend and rose over 17 percent. It was the top traded counter on the BSE.

Satyam shares slipped 3.7 percent to close at 43.55 rupees. The Economic Times reported today that L&T was talking to private equity firms to jointly bid for the outsourcer.

Overall, the market traded weak and was unable to sustain the gains of the past few sessions. Do you think today’s fall is an aberration and the benchmark will bounce back tomorrow?

Duty cuts limit Sensex losses

The benchmark index started off on a shaky note and ended Tuesday’s session with losses of 0.24 percent after briefly hitting positive territory on the finance minister’s comments to reduce factory gate duties and service tax.

The sectoral picture looked weak with all sectors closing in the negative. The BSE Metal Index lead the pack with losses of 2.3 percent and was closely followed by the Banking Index which ended down 1.3 percent.

Shares in Satyam ended 3.4 percent lower with volumes of 8.2 million shares on the BSE. The board of Satyam hopes to invite expression of interest from potential bidders by the end of this week.

The market which was choppy throughout the day, gained momentum and briefly turned positive after acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said factory gate duties were being cut further and service tax rates lowered by 2 percent to boost economic activity.

The global financial system and economy is showing signs of weakening and this is hurting investor sentiments. On Tuesday Europe and Asia joined Wall Street’s sell off, sending world stocks to their lowest since April 2003.

It seems like investors are loosing confidence in the U.S. plan to tackle the growing financial crisis as credit losses and fears of recession grow. The Indian banking system too is under the scanner with banking stocks continuing their slide.

We have seen in the past that the RBI has reduced the key banking rate from 9 percent to 5.5 percent, but till today full benefit has not passed on to consumers as banks remain risk averse and enforce stricter lending norms.