HCL Tech surprises street with strong revenue outlook, robust deal book

Demand to improve as IT spending is expected to increase across sectors

Led by HCL Technologies, the BSE Information Technology index was the biggest gainer among sectoral indices, ending 4.76 per cent higher on Monday. HCL Technologies was up over 10 per cent after it put out a positive mid-quarter update and this rubbed off on other large-cap stocks such as Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, which closed with gains of 5 per cent each. 

The rally was not limited to large caps. Persistent Systems, which gained 14 per cent, was the highest gainer in the mid- and small-cap space. In fact, stocks outside the Big 5 outperformed their larger peers both on upgrade