IT stocks gain on weak rupee

Key benchmark indices were off day's low in morning trade, with the Sensex regaining the positive zone while Nifty was slightly in the negative zone. At 10:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 31.72 points or 0.08% at 38,344.24. The Nifty 50 index was down 6.80 points or 0.06% at 11,575.55. IT stocks gained on weak rupee.

A bout of volatility was seen in early trade as the key benchmark indices reversed initial gains to sink in red on negative Asian stocks.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.79%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.47%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 791 shares rose and 1322 shares fell. A total of 96 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, most Asian stocks fell amid continuing concerns about stability in emerging markets and prospects for escalating US-China trade tensions. US markets were closed yesterday, 3 September 2018 for the Labor Day holiday.

Reportedly, US and Canadian officials are still due to resume talks Wednesday on a revised North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal, after they failed to reach an agreement last week. Mexico and the US have already struck a deal.

Back home, IT stocks gained as the rupee hit record low against the dollar. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports.

Infosys (up 4.13%), MindTree (up 3.29%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.58%), HCL Technologies (up 1.87%), TCS (up 1.52%), MphasiS (up 1.05%), Wipro (up 0.84%) and Hexaware Technologies (up 0.95%) edged higher. Oracle Financial Services Software was down 0.56%.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 71.21, compared with closing of 71.18 during the previous trading session. Rupee hit an all-time low of 71.37 in morning trade today, 4 September 2018.

Persistent Systems rose 1.57% after the company announced that its US subsidiary, Persistent Systems Inc., has acquired Herald Technologies Inc. (or Herald Health), a start-up in the US, created to transform the data overload swamping healthcare professionals into clear and actionable insights. Herald Health is focused on implementation of proprietary platforms and related IT services for the healthcare industry.

The acquired business will strengthen Persistent's IP led offerings in the healthcare domain and create a number of cross-sell opportunities. The enterprise value payable for the acquisition of 100% shares of Herald is $5.2 million, subject to customary adjustments for working capital. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 3 September 2018.

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