Sensex jumps 184pts, Infosys shares up 5 pc on robust earnings

Rising for the second session, the benchmark Sensex today jumped by about 184 points, driven by a sharp 5 per cent rally in Infosys shares after the IT major's December quarter earnings beat market expectations.
The NSE Nifty also rose 49.90 points to end at 8,284.50.
Infosys, India's second-largest IT firm, reported 13 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the third quarter and maintained revenue outlook for the entire fiscal ending March.
Gains in Infosys (5.02 pc) and TCS (2.80 pc) shares contributed to over 140-points to Sensex's 183.67 point rise.
The 30-share barometer resumed higher at 27,404.19 and shot up further to 27,507.67 on initial strong buying on the back of higher global cues. However, it declined to 27,119.63 during mid-day on profit-booking in select counters.

The Sensex, however, again picked up pace after Infosys earnings announcement and ended at 27,458.38, showing a gain of 183.67 points or 0.67 per cent.

In just two sessions, the Sensex has gained by 549.56 points or 2.04 per cent. It had lost 980 points in the receding three days.
"Market sentiments got a big boost with Infosys results. On top of all, IT major maintained its FY 2015 guidance of 7-9 per cent inspite of cross currency movements affecting it," said Bonanza Portfolio, Associate Fund Manager, Hiren Dhakan.
Besides Infosys and TCS, notable gainers in the Sensex figure Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors and ONGC. The state-run oil firm jumped nearly 3 per cent after a report that government is likely to exempt it and Oil India Ltd from payment of fuel subsidy during the rest of the fiscal due to steep decline in global oil rates.

Globally, Asian stock markets ended mixed after initial gains taking cues from a surge on Wall Street amid hopes for continued improvement in the US economy, while steady oil prices also provided support. European markets were also trading narrowly mixed after data showed Germany's economy recovery is slowing.