| Industry bellwether Infosys set the tone for an upswing on Friday after reporting a higher than expected 70 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,144 crore. The company's total income increased 44 per cent to Rs 3,772 crore. |
| "Infosys has not drawn a very bleak picture for earnings and the market is quite comfortable with the guidance as well," Deepak Jasani, research head at HDFC Securities, said. |
| The company said it expects earnings per share to grow 22 per cent in 2007-08. Technology shares led the rise on Friday on hopes of similar, if-not-better, performance from other IT majors as well. |
| The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex ended at 13384.08, up 270.27 points or 2.1 per cent, after touching a low of 13119.88 and a high of 13421.05 intraday. |
| The National Stock Exchange Nifty ended at 3917.35, up 87.50 points or 2.3 per cent. It moved between a low of 3828.45 and a high of 3924.55 in the session. The CNX Midcap Index ended up 1.5 per cent and the S&P CNX 500 Index was up 1.9 per cent. |
| The combined turnover on both exchanges was Rs 14,400 crore, up 38 per cent from Thursday. The BSE Infotech Index rose 4 per cent and the BSE TECk Index 3.2 per cent. |
| Inflation rate for the week to March 31 fell more than expected to 5.74 per cent from 6.39 per cent a week earlier. The inflation rate was 3.98 per cent a year ago. |
| The fall in inflation rate improved market sentiment and shares climbed another 1 per cent after the data was released around noon. |
| The biggest Nifty gainers were technology shares as investors bought these ahead of their earnings next week. |
| Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies and Wipro will detail earnings during next week. They are seen reporting a 25-40 per cent growth in their bottom line for January-March. Satyam Computer Services ended at Rs 481.40, up 8 per cent, HCL Technologies, at Rs 308, up 7.2 per cent, and TCS, at Rs 1,262, up 5.1 per cent. |
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