Infy instills confidence, IT stocks harden

Mumbai, July 12: The market surged in early afternoon led by rally in IT stocks following strong results from IT bellwether, Infosys, brokers said here.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) firmed up, aiding the surge.

At 1315 hrs, the Sensex was up 149 points, on 10,764. It had hit a high of 10,769.93 at 1156 hrs.

Cement shares recovered from a lower level. Engineering&construction major L&T and copper and aluminium major Hindalco edged higher. Auto shares recovered from their lower level.

But the market-breadth remained weak. For 1,177 shares that declined on BSE, 789 rose. A total of 70 shares were unchanged.

Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei was down 1.4 per cent.

Infosys surged seven per cent to Rs 3,373 as the company revised upwards both its earnings and revenue guidance. Infosys has a huge 11 per cent weightage in the Sensex. The second largest software exporter in the country has forecast between 38.3-39.6 per cent growth in FY-07. Infosys had predicted 40.2-40.7 per cent consolidated growth in FY-07 and revenue between Rs 13,350 crore - Rs 13,400 crore.

A host of IT stocks firmed up, taking cue from Infosys' Q1 results and guidance for FY-07. TCS jumped 5 per cent to Rs 1,865, HCL Tech rose 6.6 per cent to Rs 543, Wipro gained 3.5 per cent to Rs 513, I-flex gained 3.6 per cent to Rs 1,277 and Satyam Computer advanced 3 per cent to Rs 741.90.

Among second line IT shares, Sonata Software jumped 9.5 per cent to Rs 23.50, Zensar Technologies rose 8 per cent to Rs 214, Kale Consultants advanced 5 per cent to Rs 105.45, PSI Data Systems rose 5 per cent to Rs 145.50, Infotech Enterprises gained 4.5 per cent to Rs 530, RS Software advanced 4.5 per cent to Rs 56.50, Nucleus Software rose 5.9 per cent to Rs 336, Geodesic Information rose 3.5 per cent to Rs 146, Tulip IT Services gained 3.9 per cent to Rs 251, Orient Info rose 2.3 per cent to Rs 15.35, Sasken Communication gained 3 per cent to Rs 298 and Polaris Software rose 3.3 per cent to Rs 73.70.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) gained 2.5 per cent to Rs 1,075. As many as 15.2 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE. RIL has a huge 11.9 per cent weightage in the Sensex.

Engineering&construction major L&T rose 2.4 per cent to Rs 2,223. The company has a strong order-book of Rs 24,000 crore.

Firm copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) lifted Hindalco. The stock rose 2.4 per cent to Rs 172. On Tuesday, copper closed up USD 170 or 2.2 per cent at USD 7,900 on LME.

Cement shares recovered from their lower level on expectations of strong Q1 numbers. Gujarat Ambuja Cements (GACL) gained 2.3 per cent to Rs 108, ACC rose 0.6per cent to Rs 824, and Grasim gained 0.3 per cent to Rs 1,965.

Hero Honda was down 0.5 per cent, to Rs 716.30. The stock came off a session's low of Rs 701.25. The scrip had plunged yesterday after it reporting disappointing Q1 results during trading hours, brokers added.

UNI