Tech stocks jump after upbeat Cognizant 2015 revenue guidance

Top IT stocks today saw heavy buying interest with HCL Tech surging up to 4 per cent after Cognizant said it expects to see its 2015 revenues grow by at least 19 per cent.
Performance and outlook of the US headquartered IT firm is considered important by investors of India-listed tech firms. Cognizant reported 12 per cent growth in December quarter net profit.
Shares of HCL Tech rose by 3.76 per cent to Rs 1,972.20, the most among the IT scrips on the BSE. Wipro gained 3.18 per cent, Infosys rose by 2.41 per cent, TCS jumped 1.51 per cent and Tech Mahindra edged up 0.78 per cent.

Led by gains in these scrips, the BSE IT index rose by 2.09 per cent, the best gain among the sectoral indices.
IT services major Cognizant saw its net profit growing 12 per cent to USD 362.89 million for the December quarter, buoyed by increased spending by healthcare clients and strong revenue growth in North America.
The US-based firm had posted net profit of USD 324.33 million in the October-December 2013.
Revenues rose by 16 per cent to USD 2.74 billion in the October-December quarter of 2014, as against USD 2.36 billion in the year-ago period, exceeding its guidance of USD 2.64 billion for the said quarter.

For 2015, Cognizant expects to see its revenues grow 19 per cent to at least USD 12.21 billion despite a negative currency impact of about two per cent with client spending increasing, especially in areas like digital and automation. The company follows January-December as its fiscal year.