Markets pare gains as inflation, Infosys results dampen sentiments

By IANS,

Mumbai : Benchmark indices of the Indian equities markets gave up intra-week gains after IT bellwether Infosys disappointed with its quarterly results and latest data showed inflation on the rise again.


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The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), compared to its previous weekly close, slipped a tad to close Friday at 19,386.82 points, down 64.63 points or 0.33 percent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty also ended the week on a lacklustre note, closing almost unchanged at 5,842.55 points Friday.

Broader markets ended with moderate gains. The BSE midcap index closed 0.5 percent higher, while the BSE smallcap index moved up 0.41 percent.

The Infosys stock fell drastically Friday breaking its lower circuit barrier after the company reported a dip in earnings before interest, tax for the fourth quarter of 2010-11 on a sequential basis, and two of its senior executives — Mohandas Pai and K Dinesh — said they were quitting the firm amid rumours of dissent at the top.

Also inflation data released Friday showed a rise, with the index at 8.98 percent in March from 8.31 percent the month before, way above the target of 8 percent set by the Reserve Bank of India.

Major gainers on the Sensex for the week were: Hero Honda, up 8.6 percent at Rs.1,830.85; ITC, up 4.6 percent at Rs.191.40; Bharti Airtel, up 3.9 percent at Rs.372.15 and L&T, up 3.2 percent at Rs.1,727.70.

Major losers included DLF, down 9.4 percent at Rs.245.05; Infosys, down 7.9 percent at Rs.2,988.80; Jindal Steel, down 4.9 percent at Rs.672.95 and Wipro, down 4.9 percent at Rs.449.60.

Among other global bourses, Asian markets too ended the week in losses as fears of another rate hike by the Chinese central bank to contain inflation gained strength.

For the week, the Japanese Nikkei average closed 1.81 percent lower at 9,591.52 points, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.59 percent to 24,008.07 points.

However, China’s Shanghai Composite moved down 0.68 percent at 3,050.53 points Friday.

US markets, which were depressed earlier in the week because of lower than expected corporate earnings closed Friday on a high. But on a weekly basis they still ended marginally in the red.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week 0.31 percent lower at 12,341.83 points.

The S&P 500 closed 0.64 percent lower at 1,319.68 points, while the technology heavy Nasdaq ended 0.57 percent lower at 2,764.65 points.

Among the European markets, Britain’s FTSE rose fell 0.99 percent at 5,996.01 points and the German DAX closed 0.54 percent lower at 7,178.29 points Friday.

The French CAC 40 fell 2.15 percent to 3,974.48 points.

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