Infosys spooks markets; Sensex ends 138 points lower

It was Infosys’ day as continuous weakness was seen in the technology shares after the IT bellwether announced weak guidance. The Sensex fell 138 points and the Nifty down 30 points

Headlines for the day

IIP turns positive in November

Food inflation at -2.9 vs -3.36%

Infosys cuts FY12 dollar revenue guidance; stock tumbles

HDFC Q3 net profit up by 10%

TTK Prestige plunges after Q3 results

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Indian indices

Infosys was a major culprit today and disappointed the Street as the company reduced its revenue guidance in dollar terms for FY12. Relentless profit booking was seen in the technology shares after Infosys Q3 results, which led the Indian markets to close in the negative zone.

Though industrial output improved significantly in November, it proved to be an non-event for the market.

Sensex Movement: The Sensex opened the trade 59 points lower at 16117 led by losses in Infosys. In the mid-morning session after the release of IIP data, the Sensex recovered and hit an intraday high at 16179. However, weakness in the technology pack pushed the index lower to hit an intraday low of 15963 in the late morning trade. The Sensex closed 138 points lower at 16038 and the Nifty stood at 4831, down by 30 points.

Market sentiment

The market breadth was in favour of advances. Of the 2875 stocks traded on the BSE, 1422 (49.46%) rose, 1310 (45.57%) fell and 143 (4.97%) were unchanged.

Viewing volumes

Integrated infrastructure development company — Lanco Infratech was traded the most, with over 0.69 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that, Wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.53 crore shares), India's second largest developer - Unitech (0.45 crore shares), industrial finance company – IFCI (0.43 crore shares) and India's largest real estate company - HDIL (0.41 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening

Among the 13 sectoral indices, four closed lower. Top Gainers - BSE Power up by 1.32%, while BSE Metal and BSE Bankex up by 1.08% each and BSE Auto up by 0.84%. Losers – BSE IT down by 5.96%, BSE TECk down by 4.41% and BSE Oil & Gas down by 0.81%.

Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers - United Breweries surged by 12.86%, Shree Renuka Sugars advanced by 7.48% and Manappuram Finance up by 7.32%. Top three losers - Infosys dropped by 8.40%, TTK Prestige declined by 7.58% and Coromandel International slipped by 4.54%.

Global Indices:

The European shares were flat on Thursday (January 12, 2012), pausing ahead of a Spanish debt auction that is the first test in the new year of demand for peripheral euro zone debt, the latest stage of a crisis that remains a key drag for equity market sentiment.

The Asian stock markets closed lower on Thursday, amid inflation data in China that failed to meet expectations and fears of a possible recession in Europe. Market participants fretted over key debt auctions in Europe and a European Central Bank meeting this week.

The US stock index futures pointed to a flat to slightly lower open on the Wall Street on Thursday.

Market Outlook

Data releases in the US on Thursday — Jobless Claims, Retail Sales, Business Inventories and Treasury Budget.