Infosys' weak guidance spooks market, Nifty slips 32 points

The Infosys stock got a hammering, plunging more than 5 per cent before recouping most of early losses to close at Rs 2,395.35. The sectoral CNX-IT index lost a whopping 163 points under the impact of sell-off. Financial, bank, infra and auto counters were the other major losers.

The second-largest software service exporter reported a 24 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 2,369 crore and sales of Rs 9,858 for the second quarter. But the Bangalore-based firm issued a much lower-than-expected revenue guidance in rupee terms for the year ending March 31, 2013.

Better-than-anticipated industrial output data, which grew by 2.7 per cent in August and a marginal fall in retail inflation diminished hopes of a near-term rate cut. The RBI meets on October 30 to review its monetary stance.

Trading began on a sluggish note, reacting to Infosys result and cautiousness ahead of IIP and inflation numbers.

Overcoming the initial negative sentiment, the market staged a brief recovery in mid-afternoon, but failed to maintain the momentum and ended with losses.

Market players are cautious ahead of Monday's core inflation number and pessimism over Q2 earnings, traders said.

Asian stocks ended mixed as ongoing concerns over the outlook for global economic growth overshadowed Thursday's upbeat US jobless data.

The 50-share Nifty swung between a high of 5,725 and a low of 5,659.35 before concluding at 5,676.05, posting a fall 32 points, or 0.56 per cent, over its last close.

BHEL, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, IDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and DLF were the top Nifty losers. Gainers included ACC, Lupin, Ambuja Cement, Grasim, JP Associates, Gail, Ranbaxy, Cipla, Tata Power and Power Grid.

The turnover in cash segment declined to Rs 12,527.28 crore from Rs 12,677.27 crore yesterday. Overall, 8,097.56 lakh ares changed hands in 60,46,419 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 64,45,825 crore.