Sensex resumes firm at 13,163.02, up by 50 pts on Infosys guides

Mumbai, Apr 13 (UNI) The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex today opened positive at 13,163.02 points, with a major gain of around 50 points, from the previous day's close of 13,113.80 points due to IT bellwether Infosys Tech, which unveiled its Q4 March Quarterly results today, brokers said.

They said ''The Sensex had a strong opening, led by IT sector, mainly on Infosys Technologies strong result, which helped the Sensex cross the 13,200-level again.

Later, the Sensex was up 89.15 points at 13,202.96. It opened higher at 13,163.02 and surged to 13,220.60 points. Its low for the day was 13,119.88 points during the mid-morning session.

Meanwhile, the S&P CNX Nifty index of NSE also opened higher at 3,830.35 points. Later, it recorded a high of 3,895.20 points and a low of 3,828.45 points during the same period. The index, at present, is quoted high at 3,894.75 points with a major gain of around 65 points from its the previous day's close of 3829.85 points.

Private sector steel major Tata Steel was the top-gainer, up by 2.37 per cent (pc) to Rs 507.70, on a volume of 3.54 lakh shares at BSE.

Infosys Technologies advanced by 1.63 pc to Rs 2076.90 on a volume of 2.91 lakh shares. Infosys has hit a high of Rs 2100 and a low of Rs 2027.10 in the day so far. The company reported a net profit of Rs 1144 crore in the fourth quarter as compared to Rs 983 crore during the corresponding period the previous year, a growth of 16.38 pc.

The net profit included Rs 124 crore of reversal of tax provision. Its revenue increased by 3.2 pc to Rs 3772 crore from Rs 3655 crore, quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). It has also declared a final dividend of Rs 6.50 per share. The company has added 34 new clients and 5992 employees. Its Q4 OPM stood at 31.73 pc versus 32.72 pc QoQ.

Infosys offered a guidance in which FY 2008 revenue is seen in the range of Rs 17,038-17,308 crore, while FY 2008 EPS growth is seen at 22.6%, to Rs 80.29 - 81.58. Q1 revenue is seen at Rs 3896 - Rs 3913 crore and EPS at Rs 17.84 per share.

Regarding Q4 results of the IT bellwether, eight brokerages have forecast 3.1-6.9 pc sequential growth in March Q4 this year. The company has consolidated net profit between Rs 1013.60 crore and Rs 1050.80 crore as compared to a net profit of Rs 983 crore during December Q3 last year.

They have forecast 4.8-7.2 pc sequential growth in revenue, between Rs 3830.60 crore and Rs 3917.30 crore, as compared to Rs 3655 crore during December Q3 last year.

IT shares rallied on the back of a steady set of results from Infosys today. Satyam Computers (up by 2.19 pc), TCS (up by 1.42 pc) and Wipro (up by 1.25 pc) had advanced.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was down by 0.14 pc to Rs 1385.75 on a volume of 62,446 scrips.

HDFC was the top-loser, down by 0.63 pc, to Rs 1527.50 on a volume of 79,100 shares. A block deal of 75,204 scrips was executed in the counter on BSE at Rs 1532.90 in the opening trade.

Other losesers included HLL (down by 0.39 pc) and Grasim (down by 0.30 pc).

Credit rating agency ICRA was trading at Rs 623 on NSE in early trade, a huge premium of 88.7 pc over the IPO price of Rs 330. The stock opened at Rs 540, its lowest so far. The debuting stock also shot up to a high of Rs 639. As many as 10.9 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on NSE.

The ICRA's initial public offer (IPO) had received an overwhelming response from investors. It was subscribed 75 times.

The IPO met with strong response from a cross-section of market participants, institutional investors, retail investors and high networth individuals.

The current price of Rs 623 discounts its April-December (9-month) 2006 annualised EPS of Rs 15.90, by a PE multiple of 39.1 as compared to a PE multiple of 20.75 at the IPO price of Rs 330.

The Asian markets were mixed in the morning session. Key benchmark indices such as China, Hong Kong and Japan were up between 0.06-0.14 pc, while the benchmark indices in Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were down between 0.1-0.4 pc.

US stocks rose yesterday after biotechnology company MedImmune Inc announced that it was seeking a buyer, fanning speculation of more deals in the sector. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 21.01 points, or 0.85 pc, to close at 2,480.32, with biotechnology shares rising strongly. The Dow Jones Industrial closed up 68.34 points or 0.55 pc, at 12,552.96, and the S&P 500 Index finished up 8.93 points or 0.62 pc at 1,447.80 last night, brokers added.

UNI