Sensex ends 190 points higher led by Infosys; Nifty reclaims 7,900

Infosys was the top Sensex gainer up nearly 6% along with FMCG major ITC

     '  Mumbai
 
Benchmark share indices ended higher on Monday amid a rally in IT shares led by Infosys after robust revenue growth guidance for the current fiscal.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended up 190 points at 25,816 and the Nifty50 ended up 64 points at 7,915. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended over 1% higher. Market breadth was strong with 1427 gainers and 1183 losers on the BSE.


"Infosys was the key driver of the markets on the back of robust revenue growth guidance. Markets will take direction depending on the earnings announcement. We expect TCS earnings to be more or less on expected lines. However, the street is more interested in the management commentary on Diligenta, Japan, Latin America, and revenues from the digital business," said Mayuresh Joshi, Fund Manager, Angel Broking

Oil prices eased on Monday after a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC members to freeze oil output remained inconclusive.

Wholesale prices in the country fell for the 17th straight month in March, dropping 0.85% compared to 0.91% in February. Government data released on Monday showed that total build up in inflation for the current financial year leading up to March was -0.85%, as compared to a -2.33% fall in the corresponding period of the previous year.

“Inflation at the wholesale level continued to remain in the red for the 17th month in a row showing that there was not too much pressure on prices from the commodities and manufactured products. Food prices declined on seasonal factors and inflation came off in key products such as pulses and important vegetables such as onions and potatoes. This is welcome news and something that the Reserve Bank would keep a keen eye as food inflation has been a major pain point for the economy. Inflation in manufactured products, which is crucially influenced by global commodity price movements printed in at a contraction of -0.1% signaling that it could move into positive in the coming months. Going ahead, wholesale price inflation is likely to remain muted given the global demand situation and possibility of normal rains.” said Richa Gupta, Senior Director, Deloitte India.

STOCKS IN FOCUS

Shares of information technology (IT) ended higher after strong revenue growth guidance of 11.5%-13.5% by Infosys in constant currency terms in the current fiscal (FY17). In dollar terms, the company expects revenue to grow between 11.8% and 13.8% for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, Infosys said in a statement. Infosys ended nearly 6% higher.

HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Mastek, NIIT, Geometric, R S Software, Hexaware Technologies and Mphasis ended up between 1% and 2% on the BSE.

ITC ended nearly 1% higher after the company decided to resume manufacturing of cigarettes at its factories soon following a favourable high court order has aided the sentiment.

Other Sensex gainers include, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Lupin among others.

Auto stocks witnessed profit taking after recent gains. Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors ended down 0.3%-2.6% each.

Shares of aviation and state-owned oil marketing companies have firmed after global crude oil prices eased after talks between the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers to freeze oil output remained inconclusive.

Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Interglobe Aviation which operates the Indigo airline ended up over 2% each. Oil marketing companies such as BPCL, IOC and HPCL ended up over 1% each.

Alkem Laboratories ended down 4.5% on the BSE amid media reports that the company has been accused by Germany’s health regulator of fudging data on clinical trials of an antibiotic and brain disorder drug.

Gulf Oil Lubricants India rallied 5.3% after the promoter Gulf Oil International Mauritius Inc acquired nearly two percentage points stake in the company through open market transaction.

Suprajit Engineering surged 7.5% after the company announced that its board approved the merger of Phoenix Lamps with the company in the ratio of 4:5.

DCB Bank ended up 5.6% after the private sector bank reported strong growth in net interest income and decline in gross and net non-performing assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.

Real estate shares surged in late trades. Oberoi Realty and Sobha surged over 15% each, while D S Kulkarni Developers, Kolte Patil Developers, Godrej Properties, Sunteck Realty, DB Realty, Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL) and Puravankara Projects gained between 5%-10% on the bourses.