Money on the markets

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?

Wipro ends lower after results

Profit sales saw Wipro shares end 0.8 percent lower on Friday after the firm reported a forecast-beating, 31-percent rise in quarterly profit.

The firm said it was seeing strong business environment, which helped pull up sectoral stocks early in the day. The stock had risen as much as 4.2 percent in trade.

The stock is not far away from its highest level in a decade — 451.80 rupees, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

Wipro’s upbeat results also helped TCS rise to a record high of 850 rupees during trade.

Which is your favourite IT stock at this stage?

Tech firms gain

The BSE IT index ended 3.9 percent higher on Tuesday as the overall 30-share sensitive index ended 0.59 percent down.

Infosys Technologies raised its annual sales forecast as big financial services clients boost orders in an improving global economy, pointing to an industry recovery.

Shares in Infosys ended 3.9 percent higher at 2,587 rupees with a volume of 0.54 million shares.

Other players like TCS, Wipro surged over 4 percent. Stocks like Teledata Informatics slipped 3.5 percent while Moser Baer shed 2 percent.

Would you invest in the tech sector currently?

Infosys, HDFC Bank touch 52-week highs

The BSE Sensex closed 52 points lower on Wenesday, but many top counters touched their 52-week highs in trade, Thomson Reuters data shows.

Top IT stocks Infosys, Wipro and TCS touched their 1-year highs as the BSE IT index closed 0.7 percent higher.

Over 90 stocks on the benchmark index touched their 52-week highs during trade, including banking counters HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

With many stocks posting healthy gains in the recent past, do you think there is more steam left?

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.

IT stocks shine in a weak market

The BSE IT index gained 2.6 percent in choppy but dull trade on Monday.

Top IT companies posted smart gains with Patni Computer leading the sectoral index with a 7 percent rise. Shares of Wipro, TCS and Infosys touched their 52-week highs.

Many of these firms reported better-than-expected Q1 numbers last month.

The rupee movement versus the dollar has also been supportive for this industry, which receives significant revenue in foreign currency. The rupee has strengthened to below 48/dollar from near 52/dollar levels in March this year.

According to a report on global outsourcing and offshoring activity by the Everest Research Institute, India continues to capture a large share of new offshore centres being established in Asia.

Investors seem to have been rewarded well with the IT index showing a year-to-date surge of over 80 percent. Do you think there is still more steam left in this sector?

Market choppy on profit booking

The Sensex closed marginally lower after a choppy session on Tuesday, as investors booked profits after the market rose over 10 percent in the previous two sessions.

The benchmark closed 3.6 points down at 12,131.08, while the Nifty ended 0.2 percent higher at 3,661.90.

Wipro, India’s No. 3 software services exporter, said it had won an outsourcing contract from telecoms firm Unitech Wireless. Shares in Wipro ended 1 percent higher at 368.40 rupees.

The Sensex fall was led by HDFC, Infosys, ITC and Reliance Industries.

Share in Larsen & Toubro closed 2.7 percent higher. L&T and the defence and security division of EADS are in talks to form a joint venture to make defence electronics in India.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Realty Index gained nearly 8.6 percent. This was followed by the Metal Index which ended up 3.5 percent. However, the IT index closed the day in the red, dropping 2.1 percent.

In today’s trade, FIIs bought net $295.60 million in India shares and sold $70.20 million in debt.

Sensex choppy on mixed bag of results

The BSE Sensex closed 0.74 percent lower on Wednesday as weak Asian markets dampened sentiments and investors booked profits for a third session.

The benchmark erased early gains and closed 80.57 points down at 10,817.54, while the Nifty ended 1.04 percent down at 3330.3.

The fall in the Sensex was led by L&T, ONGC, BHEL and SBI.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Realty Index lost nearly 4.6 percent. This was followed by the BSE Consumer Durable Index which was down 3.9 percent. However, the BSE FMCG Index bucked the trend and gained 0.18 percent.

Cement maker ACC posted better-than-expected 23 percent rise in quarterly profit on strong sales volumes. The stock ended 5.2 pct higher at 645.75 rupees.

Outsourcer Wipro beat expectations with a 4 percent rise in profit, although it forecast a fall in June quarter revenue. Shares in Wipro ended 2.7 percent higher at 281.65 rupees.

Globally, there was an air of caution amongst investors despite U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner saying most U.S. banks had adequate capital to keep lending.

Obama magic fails to fire up markets

Bad day for the equity markets as the Sensex plunged 3.5 percent to close at 8779.

The Obama magic failed to enthuse investors which was evident from the 4 percent fall in Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) after his inaugural speech.

And, as if on cue, Asia trailed the US markets down and the Sensex slid as foreign investors remain worried about a fragile world economy and gloomy earnings outlook.

Even IT major Wipro, which met expectations with an 8.7 percent rise in quarterly profit, slipped 3.5 pct as India’s third largest IT outsourcer gave a downbeat outlook.

Index heavyweights like Reliance Industries (down 5.3 percent) and ICICI (down 7.1 percent) added to Wednesday’s woes.

But shares in Satyam gained 3.3 percent, remaining the top traded stock on both the BSE and NSE.

With a gloomy outlook from the companies, have investors started looking for cues from the RBI?