Sensex ends 270 points lower, Nifty below 9,850 as Infosys cracks 9%

All that happened in Friday's trade

10:45 AM

Hits and misses of Sikka's 3-year journey

 

When Sikka had taken over as the CEO & MD of Infosys three years ago, Sikka was prescient in forecasting that automation would take away jobs and clients would shift their investment dollars to newer digital technologies.

 

He had set a goal of more than doubling Infosys' revenues to $20 billion, with margins of 30 per cent and employee productivity of $80,000.

 

This lofty goal broke a cardinal rule – under promise, over deliver – set by Infosys and its founding team led by N R Narayana Murthy over the past three decades.

Click here for detailed report

10:17 AM

Srei Equipment Finance to raise Rs 2,000 cr through IPO

Srei Equipment Finance (SEF), wholly-owned subsidiary of Srei Infrastructure Finance, plans an initial public offer (IPO) of equity, to result in dilution of up to 25 per cent of the post-issue paid-up equity capital share.

 

The company expects to raise Rs 1,800-2,200 crore through the IPO, expected to hit the market in the last quarter of this financial year. The proceeds would be used to fund growth. The company is looking at 20-30 per cent annual growth over the next few years, said Hemant Kanoria, chairman and managing director.

Click here for full report

10:10 AM

Nifty PSU Banks, Nifty Pharma were also trading lower in the morning trade, down 1.2% and 0.9% respectively. 

9:57 AM

Sikka resigns

Sikka cited a continuous stream of distractions and disruptions over the recent months and quarters and  increasingly personal and negative attacks among his reasons for leaving. He said that it prevented management's ability to accelerate the Company's transformation.

Click here for the BSE filing

Vishal Sikka (Photographer: Saggere Radhakrishna)

9:53 AM

R Seshasayee, Chairman of the Board on Sikka's resignation

Vishal has made a seminal contribution to the transformation of Infosys, and he will be remembered for infusing a refreshed sense of direction, purpose and energy in the organization. His vision for the future of the industry and the Company will remain a strong reference point as we chart the future course for Infosys in this new era in our rapidly evolving industry.

9:50 AM

While Infosys tanked 7%, its peer TCS gained over 2% in the early-morning deals.

9:44 AM

All sectoral indices except Nifty FMCG were trading in red on NSE

Source: NSE

9:32 AM

Nifty IT falls 1.5% 

Nifty IT index fell over 1% as Infosys cracked post Vishal Sikka's resignation

Source: NSE

9:27 AM

Top Sensex gainers and loser

Source: BSE

9:23 AM

Infosys cracks

Infosys cracked over 5% after Vishal Sikka resigned as MD & CEO for the company. He will be the Executive Vice Chairman for the IT major.

Vishal Sikka

9:21 AM

Broader Markets

Broader markets were in line with the benchmark indices with NSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap down 0.6% and 0.7% respectively

9:20 AM

Markets open lower

At 9:17 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was trading at 31,591, down 203 points while the Nifty50 was ruling at 9,841, down 62 points

9:13 AM

How liquidity has distorted the reality of Indian market (Source: Ambit Capital report)

 

The Sensex’s headline forward P/E of 20.5x (relative to a 10-year average of 16.4x) does not fully capture the extent to which abundant domestic liquidity has pushed valuations of prominent stocks to hitherto unseen levels. More importantly, these valuations seem to be unjustified unless there is a massive pick-up in earnings growth after six consecutive years of weak earnings growth. 

 

Banking and consumer staples sectors are the most at risk of a substantial de-rating in light of their extreme valuations vis-à-vis lacklustre earnings growth. Specifically we highlight HDFC Bank, Indusind Bank, Nestle, Marico and GCPL as the stocks most at risk

9:13 AM

Vishal Sikka resigns as Infosys MD and CEO

According to a BSE filing, Vishal Sikka resigned as the MD and CEO of Infosys immediate effect. He has now been appointed as the Executive Vice-Chairman.

UB Pravin Rao has been appointed as the Interim-Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

9:08 AM

Edelweiss Research on draft pharma policy

 

Recently, a new draft pharma policy note has been released where the focus seems to be on self reliance and ‘Make in India’ versus earlier focus solely on affordability of drugs. Formulations produced with indigenously produced API and its intermediates will be out of price control for 5 years. 

 

The proposed policy does not emphasise on doctors to prescribe the salt name, except for government procurement and dispensing. Other important highlights are the principle of ‘one–company, one–drug,  one-brand name and one-price’ and restrictions on ‘loan licensing’. This is likely to usher rationalisation and much needed consolidation in the industry. Moreover, the policy proposes to fix trade margins to create a level playing field and also make marketing code mandatory