Sensex sinks as Infosys, inflation disappoint

The BSE Sensex ended at 19,386 sliding 310 points. While, NSE Nifty fell by 96 points to close at 5,814.

The Indian market ended near day's low on Friday after IT bellwether Infosys' quarterly results came in below expectations. The stock plunged ~10% post its results. The BSE IT index was down over 6% as other software stocks also fell sharply. Realty was the other big loser.



As if the disappointment from Infosys was not enough; the market received another blow in the form of higher-than-expected inflation numbers for March. This further dampened the sentiment on Dalal-Street. India's inflation rose in March to 8.98% as against February’s 8.13%.

Select Telecom and Banking stocks were also among the major laggards today. On the other hand, the Mid-Cap and the Small-Cap stocks fared a tad better than their Large-Cap peers. Select Auto, Capital Goods and Consumer Durables stocks saw some buying.

"Infosys and IT were the main culprits today apart from inflation data. Overall, the market has turned a little volatile after the late March rally, which was sparked by robust FII inflows. The overseas inflows have slowed lately even as concerns prevail over earnings prospects amid high inflation. Globally too, a few problems persist. As a result, one should tread cautiously in the near term and wait for further clarity, "says Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

The BSE Sensex ended at 19,386 sliding 310 points. It had earlier touched a day's high of 19,700 and a day's low of 19,337. It opened at 19,670. While, the NSE Nifty fell by 96 points to close at 5,814.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the BSE IT index was the top loser, the index lost 6.4% followed by BSE Teck index slipped 4.8%, while, BSE Realty index lost 1.2%. BSE Mid-Cap index and BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.2% each.

The European markets were trading mixed, the FTSE index was up 0.4%, CAC index was flat and DAX index was up 0.4%.

Outside the index, the major losers were Core Projects, DB Realty, Marico and LITL. Among the major gainers were HMT, Jubilant Foods, Havells India and UCO Bank.