Sensex dips 100 pts, Nifty below 9,200 as Infosys' Q4 guidance disappoints

The benchmark indices on Thursday were trading lower after index heavyweight Infosys' revenue guidance and plan to distribute cash to shareholders fell short of expectations, raising concerns at the start of the March quarter earnings.

At 01:30 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 29,504, down 139 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,168, down 35 points. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap outperformed the frontline indices to add 0.1 and 0.4%, respectively. 

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,452 shares rose and 1,262 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.

The market sentiment was subdued after domestic data showed that industrial production contracted in February and consumer price inflation edged up in March. Weak global cues also contributed to the losses.

Infosys was the top loser and shed over 4% to Rs 927 on the BSE after India’s second largest software services firm saw 2.8% decline in net profits to Rs 3603 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2017. 

The Bengaluru-based bellwether forecast revenue guidance of 6.5% to 8.5% for fiscal year 2018, indicating that the woes for IT services firms continue.

TCS also fell over 2% to Rs 2,339 ahead of its March quarter numbers on April 18. 

Financial stocks continued to rise with the Nifty PSU Bank index gaining over 1%. Up to Wednesday's close, the index has risen nearly 18.4 percent.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), meanwhile, entered into the elite league of corporate entities with a market value of over Rs 2 lakh crore after the stock price of the company hit new high on the BSE.

IOCL, the oil marketing giant, with the m-cap of Rs 203,171 crore came in at number ninth position in overall m-cap ranking, the BSE data showed. The company surpassed the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Hindustan Unilever (HUL), which held m-cap of Rs 200,202 crore at 10:36 am.

Overseas, European stocks edged lower as investors digested US President Donald Trump's comments that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low and suggested the dollar is too strong. Asian markets were trading mixed.