Markets firm after upbeat Infosys Q3, Ignore IIP dip

BSE-IT lead gains on BSE after better-than-expected Infosys Q3 results

Indian shares traded firm in late morning deals this Friday as investors ignored the sudden contraction in November industrial output and remained bullish on riskier assets after upbeat Infosys' third quarter results.

At 11:30AM, the 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange gained 95 points and traded at 19,758.55 and the 50-share Nifty rose 18 points at 5,986.65 .

India's index of industrial production (IIP), measuring output at factories, mines and utilities, contracted by 0.1%  in November following a revised 8.3% rise in October.

Investor's however, traded bullish with significant buying witnessed in BSE-IT index.

Infosys, the bellwether stock of Information Technology index, posted bets gains in three years intra-day after  a better-than-expected third quarter performance today fueling  risk appetite.

India's second-biggest software maker expects its dollar revenue guidance at 7.45 billion compared to analyst's estimates of 7.34 billion.

Asian markets traded mixed as China’s inflation accelerated and Japan approved 10.3 trillion yen ($116 billion) of stimulus measures.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.31% to 23,281, Taiwan's Weighted index fell 0.1% to 7,805,  Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.4% to 3,213 . Also China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.86% to 2,263 while Japan's Nikkei rose 1.4% to 10,805.

Back home, barring IT, technology, consumer durables and metal indexes, all sectoral indices dropped with FMCG, power, auto, real-estate, banks sectors leading declines on BSE.

Among key Sensex stocks,  ONGC dropped 2%, ITC and HUL were down over 1.5% each, Bharti Airtel declined 1% , BHEL & L&T declined 0.5%, among banks, SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank dropped 1% each while Reliance Industries fell 0.4% on BSE.

Among gainers, Infosys gained 15%, Wipro and TCS rose 3.2% and 3.6% while Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries was up 1% and 0.4% on BSE.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies are in focus after Infosys has reported a better-than-expected net profit for the third quarter ended December 2012 (Q3) and upped its full year guidance.

Infosys has rallied 13% to Rs 2,628, its sharpest single day gain in past one decade on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Mahindra Satyam, Hexaware Technologies, CMC and Tech Mahindra are trading higher by 2-4%.

The other key notable movers are, Scooters India that has locked in lower circuit of 5% at Rs 40.25 on reports that the government deferred the revival plan of the company.

Parkeh Aluminex has tanked 10% to Rs 183, locked in maximum lower permissible limit for second day in a row after the company said Mr Amitabh Parekh, the founder chairman and managing director of the company expired on January 06, 2013
 
The broader markets declined with mid-caps and small-caps  falling 0.2-0.4% on BSE.

The market breadth was negative. Out of 2,446 stocks traded, 1,363 stocks declined compared to 973 advances on BSE.