Infosys snaps 8-day rally; sheds 3% on BSE

IT bellwether Infosys Technologies today reversed its eight-day winning streak by plunging nearly 3 per cent on the BSE as the investors booked profits amid a volatile broader market.

Shares of Infosys, lost ground after rising for eight consecutive sessions and became the worst performer on the BSE-30 Sensex with a loss of 2.69 per cent at Rs 2,968 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The scrip had registered a gain of 10.88 per cent in the last eight trading sessions. Yesterday, the company was the top performer on the Sensex and ended at Rs 3,050.15, up 2.49 per cent.

On a similar note, the counter tanked 2.98 per cent to close at Rs 2,961.90 on the National Stock Exchange. In terms of volume, over 10 lakh shares of the company were traded on the bourses.

Marketmen said heavy selling dragged the shares of the company as the investors were nervous in the volatile market and preferred to book profits.

The BSE-Sensex ended 84.62 points lower at 19,417.49 after a choppy day of trade. Infosys, that carries the maximum weight on Sensex after Reliance Industries, was the biggest contributor in the fall of the broader gauge with a loss of 51.18 percentage points.

Shares of other IT majors also ended the day in the red after the Reserve Bank today raised its short-term lending rate by 25 basis points and short-term borrowing rate by 50 basis points to check rising prices.

"The Indian rupee may strengthen after the revision of key rates by the Reserve Bank due to which the IT stocks came under pressure," CNI Research CMD Kishore P Ostwal said.

Technology giants TCS finished the day with a loss of 1.92 per cent at Rs 896.10, while Wipro witnessed a fall of 0.78 per cent to close at Rs 423.50.

The BSE IT index was the biggest loser among the sectoral indices and lost 136.19 points at 5,813.27.

Among other IT losers were Patni Computer Systems down 2.45 per cent, HCL Technologies 1.46 per cent and Mahindra Satyam 1.36 per cent.