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Mkts extend winning run on Infy earnings; Nifty up 64 pts

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Press Trust of India Mumbai
The benchmark Nifty reclaimed the psychological 7,900 barrier, surging by a heafty 64 points as investors cheered software major Infosys' upbeat earnings outcome and revenue forecast.

Growing optimism over improving domestic macro factors and expectations of better Q4 results from corporate India, helped too.

Sentiment has improved in the past few days following easing inflationary pressure as well as better monsoon rains forecast this year, rekindling hopes of more rate cut decisions by the apex bank.

Despite a modest profit-taking in mid-morning trade, bourses staged a smart rebound as investors sentiment weighed on the heels of upbeat quarterly earnings from the technology majors Infosys, stretching the rally for the fourth straight session.
 

The IT giant posted a 16.2 per cent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,597 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 while revenue grew 23.4 per cent to Rs 16,550 crore in the March quarter.

Shares of bellwether Infosys jumped nearly 8 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,267.90 before settling at Rs 1,238.70.

Meanwhile, financial markets worldwide took another battering following a sharp slide in in oil prices after the much awaited Doha oil-freeze talks over the weekend failed to agree on a plan to curb global supply.

The Japan Nikkei 225 index slumped over 3 per cent while the Shanghai Composite was down 1.3 per cent alongwith other key indices.

Crude oil fell as much as 7 per cent in early trading before recovering slightly.

The 50-share index resumed firmly higher at 7,908.15 and swung between a high of 7,920.60 and a low of 7,842.75 before ending at 7,914.70, showing a healthy jump of 64.25 points, or 0.82 per cent.

In sectoral indices, Nifty Realty shot-up 4.77 per cent. It was followed by Tech (2.16 per cent), Infra (1.39 per cent), FMCG (1.04 per cent), Metal (0.98 per cent), Pharma (0.82 per cent) and Energy (0.19 per cent).

Outperforming the benchmarks, the Mid and Small-cap indices rallied by 1.09 and 1.22 per cent, respectively.

However, PSU Bank tumbled (2.40 per cent), Nifty Bani (0.34 per cent) and Auto (0.16 per cent).

Infosys was the top gainer in the Nifty index on the back of strong Q4 earnings outcome. The other gainers were HDFC, ITC, Idea, Bharti Infratel, L&T, Ultratech, HDFC Bank, BPCL, Eicher, Yes Bank, Bharti Artel, HCL-Tech and Axis Bank.

The losers were led by ICICI Bank, SBI, ONGC, Kotak Bank, Heromotoco, Bajaj Auto, Adani Port and Tata motors.

Turnover in cash segment slipped to Rs 18,723.74 crore compared to Rs 19,278.89 crore last Wednesday.

A total of 8,336.66 lakh shares changed hands in 82,36,525 trades. The market capitalisation of the NSE stood at Rs 95,86,748 crore.

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First Published: Apr 18 2016 | 6:42 PM IST

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