Infosys falls over 1% ahead of Q3 results

Shares of software major Infosys today lost over 1% on the bourses, as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the company's third quarter financial results tomorrow.

The bellwether stock, which carries the maximum weight on the market barometer Sensex, settled 1.29% lower at Rs 2,826 on the BSE in a flat market.

At the NSE, the stock ended at Rs 2,818, down 1.59% from its previous close.

Market analysts said that the dip was largely due to profit booking ahead of the quarterly results.  Moreover, a slight recovery in the rupee also contributed to the fall, as a stronger Indian currency adversely impacts the exporters.

"The entire IT pack witnessed selling pressure as strong rupee negated the sentiments for these stocks. Rupee continued to gain in forex market," Shanu Goel Research Analyst Bonanza Portfolio said.

The Indian rupee rose marginally by 3 paise to Rs 51.67 per US dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange today.

Infosys carries 10.30% weight in the Sensex, followed by RIL which has a 10.06% weight.

"IT companies are expected to reap the benefits of the depreciating rupee against the dollar. While tier-I IT companies are expected to register strong earnings growth, earnings for mid-tier IT companies are likely to be a mixed bag," Angel Broking said in a report.

On the back of the sharp fall in the rupee against the dollar, the profitability of companies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro is expected to rebound by a healthy 25.1%, 23.4% and 12.8% year-on-year, respectively, it said.

Country's biggest software exporter TCS, too, ended 2.54% lower, while third rank Wipro lost 0.47%.

The BSE barometer Sensex ended with a marginal gain of 10.77 points