Indian shares hit 2-½ year high; Wipro gains

July 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 23 (Reuters) – Indian shares rose to their
highest level in two-and-a-half years on Friday, bouyed by a
rally in world equities and better-than-expected quarterly
earnings by outsourcer Wipro (WIPR.BO).

Export-driven software services companies were among the
gainers after Wipro posted a 31 percent rise in quarterly
profit said it was seeing strong business environment.
[ID:nSGE66K09K]

Wipro rose as much as 4.2 percent to 433 rupees. If it
rises past 451.80, it would be the highest level in a decade,
data from Thomson Reuters showed.

“For the IT sector, demand environment is good. Also,
pricing scene is stable and improving,” said Deven Choksey,
managing director and CEO of KR Choksey Shares.

He expects a 15-20 percent upside for tier-I IT stocks.

Bigger rivals Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO) rose as
much as 0.9 percent to a record high of 850 rupees, while
Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) was up 0.6 percent.

By 11:12 a.m. (0542 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN
was trading up 0.32 percent at 18,171 points — after hitting
18,237.56, its highest level since February 2008.

Eighteen of its components were trading in the green.

In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of
1.3:1 on volume of 139 million shares.

Foreign funds have poured $8.8 billion into Indian equities
this year, driving the benchmark index up more than 4 percent.
In 2009, they had bought a record $17.5 billion of stocks and
helped power an 81 percent rally.

Asian stocks rose as strong earnings from economic
bellwethers such as Caterpillar (CAT.N) tempered concerns about
a global slowdown. [MKTS/GLOB]

“Global cues will remain uncertain for a while. But a lot
of corrective measures which are taken, will prevent the
economies from going down under,” said Choksey.

The 50-share NSE index was up 0.3 percent at
5,459.35.

Brokerage Sharekhan said the hourly momentum indicator
showed an upside was gaining strength.

Top-listed biotechnology firm Biocon (BION.BO) slipped 1.3
percent after it reported a lower-than-expected 33 percent
rise
quarterly profit.

Energy giant Reliance Industries (RELI.BO), which has the
highest weight on the Sensex, climbed 0.3 percent to 1,062
rupees.

Cigarette-to-hotel group ITC (ITC.BO) added 0.7 percent
after rising 1.6 percent on Thursday following a 22 percent
rise in quarterly profit. [ID:nBMA008051]

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* Credit rating firm Crisil (CRSL.BO) was down 2.8 percent
at 5,700 rupees, after the unit of Standard & Poor’s Corp said
late on Thursday its net profit fell 13 percent. [ID:nWNBS0573]

* Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (REDY.BO) shed 1.3 percent to
1,363.10 rupees, extending losses after the drugmaker said on
Thursday consolidated quarterly profit fell a
more-than-expected 14.3 percent following a drop in sales in
its key U.S. market. [ID:nSGE66L0K3]

* JSW Steel (JSTL.BO) was up nearly 1 percent at 1,213
rupees, after a report said JFE Holdings Inc (5411.T), Japan’s
second-biggest steelmaker, plans to invest about $1 billion in
the Indian firm. [ID:nTOE66M038]

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* NHPC (NHPC.BO) on 4.7 million shares

* Shree Ashtavinayak (SACV.BO) on 4.7 million shares

* IFCI (IFCI.BO) on 3.3 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH
* For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net
* Indian rupee report
[INR/]
* Indian bond report
[IN/]
* Euro steadies vs dollar before stress test results
[FRX/]
* Oil slips from 11-week high on demand uncertainty
[O/R]
* Asia stocks up, euro firm, eyes stress tests
[MKTS/GLOB]
* Earnings lift Wall St, but Amazon.com plunges
[.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
INADR

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares near 2-½ yr high; HDFC up

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 14 (Reuters) – Indian shares rallied to their
highest in nearly two-and-a-half years on Wednesday, with
mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.BO)
leading the gains ahead of its quarterly result.

Earnings optimism after upbeat results from Intel Corp
(INTC.O) has underpinned world markets, but traders said
investors needed to be choosy after a sharp rally in the
domestic market.

“We have significantly outperformed the world markets so
far this year. It is time to be little cautious and more
disciplined in stock picking now,” said Rajen Shah, chief
investment officer of Angel Broking.

By 11:18 a.m. (0548 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN
was trading up 0.53 percent at 18,081.93.63, with 26 of its
components gaining. It had risen to 18,167.22 early, its
highest level since February 2008.

The benchmark is up 3.5 percent so far this year,
outperforming the broader MSCI’s measure of Asian markets other
than Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS which has dipped 5.3 percent.

Investors have gone significantly overweight Indian
equities for the first time in over a year as a shaky global
outlook lures cash to domestic demand plays, a BofA Merrill
Lynch survey showed on Tuesday. [ID:nLDE66C1KJ]

Foreign funds have pumped $8 billion into Indian stocks so
far in 2010, after a record $17.5 billion investment in 2009.

Lenders advanced ahead of June inflation data which was due
by 0630 GMT.

HDFC, the country’s biggest home loan financier, was
trading 2.2 percent higher at 3,130.90 rupees.

Top lender State Bank of India (SBI.BO) was up 1.7 percent
while leading private sector rivals ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) and
HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO) climbed 0.6 percent and 1.9 percent
respectively.

Export-focused outsourcers fell for a second day after
Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) posted disappointing results and
said a weak European economy could curb new orders.
[ID:nSGE6680B5]

Shares in Infosys, which had shed 3.4 percent in their
worst fall in more than a year on Tuesday, dropped 0.4 percent.

Wipro (WIPR.BO) was down 0.1 percent and the sector index
.BSEIT dropped 0.2 percent. Sector leader Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS.BO), which reports earnings on Thursday, bucked
the trend and rose 0.7 percent.

Energy major Reliance Industries (RELI.BO), which has the
highest weight on the Sensex, climbed 0.4 percent to 1,078.50
rupees on newspaper reports it was close to acquiring a stake
in a shale gas asset in North America. [ID:nSGE66D02Y]

In the broader market, gainers led losers in the ratio of
1.6:1 on volume of 204 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was up 0.5 percent at
5,427.40.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* Exide Industries (EXID.BO) was up 4.3 percent at 141.55
rupees, as the industrial and automotive batteries maker
reported a 35 percent rise in April-June net profit on Tuesday
helped by higher sales and better margins, and bea analysts
expectations. [ID:nSGE66C0FY]

* Oil explorer Cairn India (CAIL.BO) was up 1.4 percent at
320.80 rupees as crude oil prices steadied near two-week high.

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* IFCI (IFCI.BO) on 3.1 million shares

* Unitech (UNTE.BO) on 2.2 million shares

* Suzlon Energy (SUZL.BO) on 1.9 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH
* For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net
* Indian rupee report [INR/]
* Indian bond report [IN/]
* Euro hovers near 2-mth high; Aussie holds firm [FRX/]
* Oil steadies near two-week high on earnings optimism [O/R]
* Asia stocks powered by Intel; euro steady [MKTS/GLOB]
* Wall St rallies on profits; Intel gains late [.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR
(Reporting by Ami Shah; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares drag as Infosys disappoints

July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 13 (Reuters) – Indian shares were trading 0.1 percent lower on Tuesday, led by technology stocks, as investors ignored a guidance upgrade by Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) and concentrated on a rare drop in its June quarter earnings.

Weak Asian shares also added to the negative sentiment, led by Chinese stocks which fell 2 percent on reports Beijing will not ease tougher property measures any time soon. [MKTS/GLOB]

Shares in Infosys, which scaled new peaks in the last two sessions, were down 3.1 percent, after it said net profit in the June quarter fell to 14.9 billion rupees ($318 million) from 15.3 billion rupees a year ago. [ID:nSGE6680B5]

“People will now adjust their expectations for other IT majors like TCS and Wipro,” said Tejas Doshi, head of research at Sushil Finance.

“The share prices of IT companies had run up on a lot of expectations … probably more than what was warranted.”

By 11:14 a.m. (0544 GMT), the 30-share BSE Index .BSESN was trading down 0.12 percent at 17,915.33 points with 13 of its components declining.

The benchmark which had rallied 81 percent in 2009, is up 2.6 percent so far in 2010.

Investors will watch out corporate earnings for April-June for cues in the near term.

“We expect a 22 percent to 25 percent growth in earnings for Sensex companies for the June quarter,” said Deven Choksey, managing director and CEO of KR Choksey Shares.

“The direction for guidance is also likely to be positive.”

Foreign funds have invested $7.1 billion in Indian equities so far in 2010, after a record inflow of $17.5 billion in 2009.

Other software majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO) and Wipro (WIPR.BO) were down 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent respectively.

Leading mobile operators Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) and Reliance Communications dragged lower on continued concerns of margin erosion due to lower tariffs and growing competition.

The stocks were down 1.7 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Lenders continued to gain on expectations of better loan demand as the economy grows.

Late last week, Trade Minister Anand Sharma told Reuters India’s gross domestic product growth is expected to return to “9 percent plus” this year, led by strong corporate performance and rising savings levels. [ID:nSGE6680FV]

Top lender State Bank of India (SBI.BO) was up nearly 1 percent while private sector rivals ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) and HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO) rose 0.5 percent each.

Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.BO) climbed 1.7 percent.

In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers in a ratio of 1.4:1 in a volume of 130 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was down 0.1 percent at 5,377.20 points.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* CMC (CMC.BO), which offers customer services like IT solutions and system integration, was up 2.4 percent at 1,520.05 rupees as it reported late Monday its June-quarter consolidated net profit was 464.5 million rupees [ID:nSGE66B0H6].

* Unichem Laboratories (UNLB.BO) rose 2.3 percent to 480 rupees after the drugmaker said on Monday said it will consider a stock split at its board meeting scheduled on July 22. [ID:nWNBS0473]

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* Suzlon Energy (SUZL.BO) on nearly 5 million shares

* Idea Cellular (IDEA.BO) on 1.7 million shares

* IFCI (IFCI.BO) on 1.5 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH * For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net * Indian rupee report [INR/] * Indian bond report [IN/] * Euro steady after retreat, Greek auction eyed [FRX/] * Oil slides with equities;U.S. inventories seen mixed [O/R] * China stocks slide on property, weigh on Asia [MKTS/GLOB] * Wall St ekes out gain as caution rules before results [.N] * For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR (Reporting by Ami Shah; editing by Malini Menon)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

HIGHLIGHTS-Infosys executive on demand, Europe crisis

July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 13 (Reuters) – Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) raised its forecast on a revival in outsourcing demand from its mainstay financial clients, but its shares fell as markets worried a weak European economy could curb orders.

India’s No. 2 outsourcer reported a surprise 2.6 percent drop in April-June profit and its sales contribution from Europe fell to about 20 percent from nearly 25 percent a year ago and 23 percent in January-March.

For a story on the company’s results and outlook, see [ID:nSGE6680B5]

Following are comments from senior company officials after the result.

V. BALAKRISHNAN, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

—————————————-

ON DEMAND ENVIRONMENT:

“There are good times and bad times. Good times because there is a lot of spending happening from all customers. All the large economies are in distress; when the economies are in distress outsourcing increases. That is what we have seen in this quarter also. The bad thing is all the macro economic indicators are very bad so we have to closely watch them.”

ON EUROPE:

“We are not hearing anything from clients till now. We are not seeing any impact on the ground but that is something we have to watch out. If it becomes a larger issue then it could have an impact. Right now, it looks manageable.”

ON PRICING:

“When the economy stabilises, when all the clouds go away probably we will have pricing power.”

S.D. SHIBULAL, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

—————————————

ON DEMAND:

“Overall, we are cautiously optimistic. We see caution all around but mostly in Europe. The U.S. clients have started spending. We are seeing traction in multiple segments.”

ON EUROPE:

“Europe, there are still concerns, local concerns as well as tail effects of the previous recession. Of course, Europe entered the recession late and we believe it will also come out late. “We believe that Europe will lag behind the U.S. for may be another quarter or two.

“Aspirationally, Europe is very important for us. We expect that Europe will be eventually about one-third of business in the long run. At the same time, we expect some challenges in the medium term.”

ON PRICING:

“Our pricing is stable at this point. We are seeing occasional renegotiations actually both upwards and downwards. It’s part of our regular business. We are not seeing any unusual activity.” (Reporting by Bharghavi Nagaraju; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Infosys Technologies (Nasdaq: INFY) Announces Results for the Quarter Ended June 30, 2010

July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

BANGALORE, India, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ –

Highlights

Consolidated results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010

Revenues were $ 1,358 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2010; QoQ growth was 4.8%; YoY growth was 21.0%

* Net income after tax* was $ 326 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2010; QoQ decline was 6.6%; YoY growth was 4.2%
* Earnings per American Depositary Share (ADS)** was 0.57 for the quarter ended June 30, 2010; QoQ decline was 6.6%; YoY growth of 3.6%
* 38 clients were added during the quarter by Infosys and its subsidiaries
* Gross addition of 8,859 employees (net addition of 1,026) for the quarter by Infosys and its subsidiaries
* 1,14,822 employees as on June 30, 2010 for Infosys and its subsidiaries

* Excluding the income from sale of our investment in OnMobile Systems, Inc. of US $ 11 mn in Q4 FY10, QoQ decline was 3.6%

** Excluding the income from sale of our investment in OnMobile Systems, Inc. of US $ 11 mn in Q4 FY10, QoQ decline was 3.4%

“While the global economic environment remains uncertain, we continue to see greater demand for services from our clients,” said S. Gopalakrishnan, CEO and Managing Director. “The challenge for the industry is to enhance the investment to grow the business, given the uncertainty in the environment.”

Business outlook

The company’s outlook (consolidated) for the quarter ending September 30, 2010 and for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), is as follows:

Outlook under IFRS#

Quarter ending September 30, 2010

* Consolidated revenues are expected to be in the range of $ 1,413 million to $ 1,427 million; YoY growth of 22.4% to 23.7%
* Consolidated earnings per American Depositary Share are expected to be in the range of $ 0.59 to $ 0.60; YoY growth of 5.4% to 7.1%

Fiscal year ending March 31, 2011##

* Consolidated revenues are expected to be in the range of $ 5.72 billion to $ 5.81 billion; YoY growth of 19.0% to 21.0%
* Consolidated earnings per American Depositary Share are expected to be in the range of $ 2.42 to $ 2.52; YoY growth of 5.2% to 9.6%

# Exchange rates considered for major global currencies: AUD / USD – 0.86; GBP / USD – 1.50; Euro / USD – 1.23

## Excluding the income from sale of our investment in OnMobile Systems, Inc. of US $ 11 mn in fiscal 2010, the EPS growth is expected to be in the range of 6.1% to 10.5%

Expansion of services and significant projects

With insight and experience of three decades, and improved and enhanced portfolio of services and products, we offer greater value to our clients and stakeholders.

Transformation

We continue to drive transformation for our existing clients; a number of new clients have solicited our help to make their businesses more dynamic and profitable.

A leading aero structures manufacturer engaged our aerospace engineering team to design and develop components for their commercial airplane program. For a global consumer electronics leader, we are re-engineering their global service exchange platform to help meet their growing service needs. A major transformation project we won this quarter was from a large manufacturer of computer systems and provider of related services, in which we are providing business, functional and consulting expertise. A provider of secure electronic payments and credit/debit card processing services engaged us to improve their reporting, monitoring, business intelligence and service. It is also consulting us to analyze and recommend process improvements. A leading global chemical company engaged us to define sales requirements and implement a sales force automation package for their North American sales force. A producer of specialist aluminium products sought our services for globally harmonizing business processes and implementing next generation enterprise resource planning software. For a global specialty retailer, we conceptualized and launched a platform that provides a comprehensive view of their competitors’ pricing and assortment. We helped a large UK-based retailer revamp its promotions and improve its marketing effectiveness. A European retailer of office automation services consulted us to harmonize their processes and consolidate applications across Europe. A major transformational project won this quarter was from a leading European pipeline engineering company for whom we have implemented an enterprise resource planning system across 32 countries.

Operations

Leading global companies continue to engage us to manage their operations and ensure larger returns to scale for them.

Our expertise in manufacturing and operations helped us win a deal with a global telecom company. We will run the client’s quality and business compliance operations, helping it to offer competitive new products in emerging markets. A European telecom major chose us to design, develop, deploy and maintain an agent desktop application. Among the clients who opted for our product lifecycle management services are a leading oilfield service company and an agri-business major. For a global internet services company, we will develop and maintain a new content management product. A global financial services company selected us to develop a platform for merchants worldwide to deliver card members offers through multiple channels. An investment management company partnered us to implement a new commission system for its wholesale brokers to develop scale and reduce time to market. We managed the North American customer relationship management applications for a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. Another automobile manufacturer selected us as a key partner for development projects in their strategic order management and distribution portfolio. We are implementing a centralized loyalty management system with real time access for a leading retail company. We were instrumental in implementing a single multi-channel order management platform for a reputed British retailer. Our retail solutions team was selected as the single strategic vendor for application services for a North American apparel retailer. We also developed a web property for the B2C online sales for another specialty retailer.

Innovation

We have won major strategic projects this quarter on our strength and ability to innovate products and processes.

A European telecom giant chose us to develop their next generation set top box platform to offer consumers high-definition content and a host of other services. For a large global retailer, we are creating rich mobile applications, with an aim to enhance the shopping experience for their customers. An aircraft manufacturer chose us as their partner to design a new aircraft development program.

“The volatile currency environment is a concern for the industry,” said V. Balakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer. “Our flexible financial and operating model enables us to prioritize our investments and focus on high quality growth even in this tough environment.”

About Infosys Technologies Ltd.

Infosys (Nasdaq: INFY) defines, designs and delivers IT-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000 companies win in a Flat World. These solutions focus on providing strategic differentiation and operational superiority to clients. With Infosys, clients are assured of a transparent business partner, world-class processes, speed of execution and the power to stretch their IT budget by leveraging the Global Delivery Model that Infosys pioneered. Infosys has over 114,000 employees in over 50 offices worldwide. Infosys is part of the NASDAQ-100 Index and The Global Dow. For more information, visit www.infosys.com.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 and on Form 6-K for the quarters ended June 30, 2009, September 30, 2009 and December 31,2009. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Infosys Q1 disappoints and Europe woes dampen outlook

July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) edged up its forecast on a revival in outsourcing demand from its mainstay financial clients, but its shares fell as markets worried a weak European economy could curb orders.

India’s No. 2 outsourcer reported a surprise 2.6 percent drop in April-June profit and its sales contribution from Europe fell to about 20 percent from nearly 25 percent a year ago and 23 percent in January-March.

The company, a trendsetter in the country’s showpiece IT services sector, added 1,026 staff in April-June, its slowest pace of addition in four quarters.

The lower-than-expected profit and hiring triggered concerns of a slowdown in growth, sending its shares 2.8 percent lower in a flat market .BSESN. The stock hit a record high on Monday.

“There are still concerns lingering over Europe’s debts and if the economy there is weak, consumption should be weak too,” said Huey Yang, a fund manager with HSBC in Taipei.

Infosys and local rivals Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO) and Wipro (WIPR.BO) have raised salaries by 10 to 20 percent on average to keep staff from being poached by global rivals in a strong market.

India’s export-driven software services firms, however, face uncertainty on orders from Europe, the second-biggest market for the industry after the United States.

Infosys, which counts Goldman Sachs (GS.N), BT Group (BT.L) and BP (BP.L) among its more than 550 customers, forecast its 2010/11 dollar revenue to rise 19 percent to 21 percent, higher than 16-18 percent projected in April.

UNCERTAIN ENVIRONMENT

“While the global economic environment remains uncertain, we continue to see greater demand for services from our clients,” said Infosys chief executive S. Gopalakrishnan.

“The challenge for the industry is to enhance the investment to grow the business, given the uncertainty in the environment.”

In a report this month research firm Forrester said Europe’s volatile economic situation and uncertainty about corporate IT budgets would result in possible delays or cancellations of some outsourcing projects.

Growing competition from IBM (IBM.N), Accenture (ACN.N) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N) also pose a risk to the sector, which manages complex computer networks and maintains technology operations for Fortune 500 customers.

“The numbers are really bad at operating levels, they are 40-50 bps down than what we had expected,” said Shradha Agarwal, analyst at Batlivala & Karnani Securities in Mumbai.”The numbers would not see a significant upgrade from these levels.”

Infosys, known for its conservative outlook, has raised its full-year revenue growth forecast in dollar terms in the last three consecutive quarters.

The company expects earnings per American depositary share to rise 5.2 percent to 9.6 percent for the year, up from its previous forecast of 4.3 percent to 8.6 percent.

Nasdaq-listed Infosys (INFY.O) said net profit in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30 fell to 14.9 billion rupees ($318 million) from 15.3 billion rupees a year ago.

A Reuters poll of brokerages had forecast a profit of 15.56 billion rupees.

Infosys reported under the International Financial Reporting Standards for the second successive quarter.

(Writing by Sumeet Chatterjee; additional reporting b Baker Li in Taipei, Reuters India company news team; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan and Anshuman Daga)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares up 0.9 pct; Infosys hits all-time high

July 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 12 (Reuters) – Indian shares climbed to their
highest in more than three months on Monday, with Infosys
Technologies (INFY.BO) racing to an all-time high for the
second session ahead of its earnings.

Firmer Asian markets, expectations for robust factory
output growth due around 11 a.m. (0530 GMT) and hopes for
upbeat quarterly earnings bolstered investor confidence.

“There is good momentum with earnings season round the
corner. People are optimistic about June quarter results,” said
Kunal Sukhani, manager of institutional equities at Asian
Markets Securities.

Infosys, the second-largest software exporter, rose as much
as 1.4 percent to 2,911.55 rupees, its highest, on expectations
it would raise its dollar revenue forecast for the full year
when it unveils results on Tuesday. [ID:nSGE668050]

Rivals Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO) and Wipro
(WIPR.BO) rose 1.3 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.

By 10:51 a.m. (0521 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN
was trading up 0.87 percent at 17,998.47, with 25 of its
components gaining. It rose to 18,010.07 early, its highest is
more than three months.

The benchmark is up 2.9 percent so far in 2010, with
foreign funds investing a net of $6.8 billion in Indian
equities. In 2009, foreigners had bought a record $17.5 billion
of stocks and powered the index up 81 percent.

Factory output in May probably rose 16 percent from a year
earlier, lower than an annual growth of 17.6 percent in April,
a Reuters poll showed. [ID:nSGE66707T]

Trade Minister Anand Sharma said on Friday India’s gross
domestic product growth is expected to return to “9 percent
plus” this year, led by strong corporate performance and rising
savings levels, is also expected to support sentiment.
[ID:nSGE6680FV]

Financials led the gainers on expectations of a pick up in
loan demand. Top lender State Bank of India (SBI.BO) rose 0.5
percent while rivals ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) and HDFC Bank
(HDBK.BO) were up 1.2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.

Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.BO)
climbed 1.5 percent.

In the broader market, gainers were thrice the number of
losers with 123 million shares changing hands on the BSE.

The 50-share NSE index was up 0.8 percent at
5,392.55.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) was up 0.2 percent at 208.95
rupees, after the top mobile operator said it would invest $150
million in Kenya to help boost network and capacity
distribution. [ID:nLDE6680W3]

* Vehicle maker Ashok Leyland (ASOK.BO) rose 0.9 percent to
70.10 rupees as Goldman Sachs started coverage on the stock
with a “buy” rating.

* Wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy (SUZL.BO) gained 0.9
percent to 59.20 rupees after it said it had received an order
from India’s Malpani Group to set up, operate and maintain two
wind power projects of 19.8 megawatt capacity. [ID:nSGE66B03T]

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* Shree Ashtavinayak (SACV.BO) on 2.8 million shares

* Idea Cellular IDEA on 2.1 million shares

* IPCA (IPCA.BO) on 1.9 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH
* For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net
* Indian rupee report [INR/]
* Indian bond report [IN/]
* Yen dips, longs shed on Japan ruling party woes [FRX/]
* Oil hovers at $76 after China trade data [O/R]
* Japan’s Nikkei rises, brushes aside election [MKTS/GLOB]
* Wall St marks best week in a year; earnings on tap [.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR

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Indian shares rise as telcos soar on stocks upgrade

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 9 (Reuters) – Indian shares rose 1.1 percent on Friday, with telecom stocks cheering an upgrade by Credit Suisse, and Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) testing new high on better earnings expectations ahead of its quarterly results next week.

Top mobile operator Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) soared as much as 10.4 percent, while rivals Reliance Communications (RLCM.BO) and Idea Cellular (IDEA.BO) climbed as much as 3.9 percent and 14.7 percent respectively.

Credit Suisse upgraded Bharti to “outperform” from “neutral”, Reliance Communications to “neutral” from “underperform”, and Idea Cellular (IDEA.BO) to “outperform” from “underperform”.

“We believe that concerns on competition, regulation, 3G auction fee and RIL’s entry have been overstated,” Credit Suisse said in a note on Thursday.

By 11:59 a.m. (0629 GMT), the 30-share BSE Index .BSESN was trading up 1.05 percent at 17,836.50 points, with 25 of its components in the green.

“There are expectations built that IT and telecom stocks may surprise market on the positive side at June-quarter results,” said Deven Choksey, managing director and CEO of KR Choksey Shares.

“As far as telecom stocks are concerned, the valuations are cheap. All negatives are priced in, and prices cannot dip from here.”

The benchmark is up 2.2 percent so far this week. It has gained 0.8 percent this month on the back of around 107 million inflows from foreign funds.

IT bellwether Infosys, which unveils its quarterly earnings on June 13, rose as much as 1.9 percent to a record high of 2,879.90 rupees. Its earnings are often dubbed as a trendsetter for the sectoral peers.

“We expect robust results from Tier 1 IT vendors to demonstrate the underlying demand strength,” Macquarie said in a note. It expects Infosys to raise fiscal year 2011 U.S. dollar revenue growth guidance to 17-19 percent from 16-18 percent.

Its peers Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO) and Wipro (WIPR.BO) rose 0.1 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Lenders continued to rise on expectations that credit demand would pick up on the back of robust economic growth.

The country’s top lender State Bank of India (SBI.BO) was up 0.8 percent while leading private-sector rivals ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) and HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO) gained 0.8 percent and 1.6 percent respectively.

Bajaj Auto (BAJA.BO) rose 0.5 percent after the auto player signed an agreement with Renault-Nissan alliance (RENA.PA) (7201.T) to manufacture an ultra low-cost car to be sold in India and other emerging markets, which would be a rival to Tata Motors’ (TAMO.BO) Nano. [ID:nSGE6670H5]

In the broader market, gainers were nearly double the losers in a volume of 191 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was up 1 percent at 5,351.95 points.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* Pratibha Industries (PRTI.BO) was up 1.1 percent at 415 rupees as the construction firm said it has won a project from National Highways Authority of India for two-laning of a section of NH-86. [ID:nWNBS0455]

* KPIT Cummins Infosystems (KPIT.BO) rose after the software firm said on Thursday it is considering buying a German automotive product company with revenue earnings below $5 million at its board meeting scheduled on July 13. [ID:nWNBS0452]

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* Idea Cellular on 8.5 million shares

* Bharti Airtel on 5.7 million shares

* Shree Ashtavinayak (SACV.BO) on 2.3 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH * For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net * Indian rupee report [INR/] * Indian bond report [IN/] * Euro holds near 2-mth highs, high-yielders firm [FRX/] * Oil set for 5 pct weekly gain on U.S. demand [O/R] * Asian stocks lifted by US data; euro holds gains[MKTS/GLOB] * Wall St up for 3rd day on data, retail sales [.N] * For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR (Reporting by Ami Shah; editing by Malini Menon)

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UPDATE 1-Infosys shares hit record high ahead of earnings

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

BANGALORE, July 9 (Reuters) – Shares in Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO), India’s second-largest outsourcer, rose almost 2 percent on Friday to a record high on optimism about quarterly earnings next week.

“Infosys is expected to outperform its forecast and upgrade its full-year outlook; plus it is good fundamentally,” said Harit Shah, IT analyst with domestic brokerage Karvy Stock Broking.

By 10:41 a.m. (0511 GMT), Infosys was up 1.5 percent at 2,869.40 after hitting 2,879.90, outpacing a 1 percent rise in the main stock index .BSESN.

Most analysts expect Infosys, which reports June quarter results on Tuesday, to raise its revenue growth guidance in dollar terms for 2010/11 to 17-19 percent from 16-18 percent given in April.

“We expect robust results from Tier 1 IT vendors to demonstrate the underlying demand strength,” Macquarie said in a note.

Analysts expect the rupee’s 3.3 percent fall against the U.S. dollar in the June quarter to partially offset the impact of salary hikes and euro volatility for exporters such as Infosys, which generates more than half its sales from the United States.

Shares in Infosys, which has a market value of about $35 billion, currently trade at a price to earnings multiple of 25-27, according to calculation by Reuters.

“The valuation is expensive,” said Shah, who has a ‘market performer’ rating on the stock with a 12-month target of 3,025 rupees. (Additional reporting by Ami Shah in MUMBAI; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharanan)

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Infosys shares hit record high ahead of earnings

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Shares in India’s Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) rose 1.8 percent to a record high of 2,876 rupees on Friday morning, ahead of its quarterly earnings on July 13.

“We expect robust results from Tier 1 IT vendors to demonstrate the underlying demand strength,” Macquarie said in a note.

It expects Infosys to raise fiscal year 2011 U.S. dollar revenue growth guidance to 17-19 percent from 16-18 percent.

At 9:29 a.m. (11:59 a.m. ET), Infosys was up 1.7 percent, outpacing 0.9 percent rise in the main stock index .BSESN.

(Reporting by Ami Shah)

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Indian shares up 0.5 pct; IT companies lead

July 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 6 (Reuters) – Indian shares were trading 0.5 percent higher on Tuesday, with software outsourcing firms leading the gains, as Asian markets bounced back from early losses and as the revival of monsoon boosted sentiment.

Software majors rose on expectations of good volume growth at its June quarter results, to be unveiled later this month.

“We expect the big three to report strong 5.1 percent to 6.5 percent surge in volumes quarter-on-quarter,” brokerage Edelweiss said in a note, referring to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO), Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) and Wipro (WIPR.BO).

By 11:10 a.m. (0540 GMT), the 30-share BSE Index .BSESN was trading up 0.52 percent at 17,532.65 points, with 25 of its components gaining.

A revival of June-September monsoon rains, the main source of water for India’s summer-sown crops, also boosted sentiment.

Monsoon rains advanced into its key grain-producing states of Punjab and Haryana, narrowing the shortfall since June 1 to 13 percent from 16 percent earlier. [ID:nSGE6640CS]

“Recovery in rainfall is a key positive. Monsoon and June quarter earnings will be closely watched for further cues,” said Neeraj Dewan, director of Quantum Securities.

Edelweiss expects June-quarter earnings growth for Sensex to come at 6.1 percent on a year-on-year basis.

Foreign funds have poured in $6.8 billion so far this year after pumping in a record $17.5 billion in 2009, which had fuelled a rally of 81 percent.

Top IT firm TCS was up 1.9 percent while rivals Infosys and Wipro rose 0.9 percent and 1.4 percent respectively.

Energy giant Reliance Industries (RELI.BO), which has the highest weight on the main index, climbed 0.5 percent to 1,073.60 rupees.

Lenders shrugged off a hawkish interest-rate outlook and advanced on hopes that a strong economic growth would boost demand for loans.

A Reuters poll forecast the central bank is likely to raise interest rates again in its quarterly review on July 27, topping up its last Friday’s quarter-point rate hike. [ID:nBMA007957]

Top lender State Bank of India (SBI.BO) was up 0.8 percent while leading private-sector rivals ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) and HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO) climbed 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.

In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.7:1 in a volume of 147 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was up 0.5 percent at 5,263.90 points.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* Eicher Motors (EICH.BO) was up 2.5 percent at 954.20 rupees, after VE Commercial Vehicles, the joint venture between the company and Sweden’s Volvo (VOLVb.ST) said its trucks and buses sales jumped 43 percent in June. [ID:nBMB010925]

* Network18 (NEFI.BO) rose 3.1 percent to 161.35 rupees, after it said late Monday it will consider selling its stake in London-listed Indian Film Company Ltd (JS6.L) to Viacom 18, a joint venture between its unit IBN18 Broadcast (IBN.BO) and U.S.-based Viacom Inc (VIA.N). [ID:nSGE6640ER]

TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* Spicejet (SPJT.BO) on 29.7 million shares

* Jindal Cotex (JICL.BO) on 2.8 million shares

* IFCI (IFCI.BO) on 2.7 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH * For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net * Indian rupee report [INR/] * Indian bond report [IN/] * Dollar and yen gain on renewed caution, Aussie down [FRX/] * Oil extends drop to 4-week low on economic pessimism [O/R] * Asia stocks fall on growth worry; yen climbs [MKTS/GLOB] * Wall St dips on jobs data, worst week in 2 mths [.N] * For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR (Reporting by Ami Shah; editing by Malini Menon)

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Infosys BPO unit sees FY11 revenue up 15-20 pct

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 10 (Reuters) – The back-office outsourcing arm of Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO), India’s No. 2 software exporter, expects revenue to rise 15-20 percent in this fiscal year to March 2011, a top company official said on Thursday.

Technology

The company sees net profit margins at 20-22 percent in 2010/11, D. Swaminathan, chief executive of Infosys BPO told reporters.

Infosys BPO, which was set up as a separate unit of Infosys in 2002 and employs about 16,400 people, posted an 11 percent rise in revenue in the last fiscal year on net margins of 22 percent.

The unit offers finance and accounting, human resource and legal services outsourcing. (Reporting by Bharghavi Nagaraju; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)

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Need ID card info, pay: Nandan’s revenue model

November 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

You can count on Nandan Nilekani’s entrepreneurial spirit to build a revenue model in a project that was originally believed would only add to the government’s budget.

The co-founder of Infosys Technologies has weaved in annual revenues of Rs 288 crore in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), of which he is chairman – money that will part-offset project costs estimated at Rs 3,000 crore, and make it self-sustainable.

The unique identification number will authenticate an individual to private companies and public sector entities for a small transaction fee. The UIDAI proposes to charge user companies Rs 5 to verify each address, and Rs 10 for every biometrics confirmation, once the system is fully in place.

The UIDAI may also explore the option of charging beneficiaries of the cards to offset enrolment costs. The Authority estimates it may cost Rs 20-25 to enroll each resident, adding up to Rs 3,000 crore.

Nilekani told The Indian Express that “by providing identity authentication, the UIDAI will be taking on a process that costs agencies and service providers hundreds of crores every year”.

“The Authority will charge a fee for its authentication services, which will offset its long-term costs. Registrars and service providers will also be able to charge for the cards they issue residents with the UID number,” Nilekani said.

A physical verification of an address and other information about an individual generally costs a company between Rs 100 and Rs 500. The basic identity confirmation will be provided free to firms, which would merely generate a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response to confirm the identity based on the UID number, name and an additional parameter. This service could potentially be of use to airlines to check in passengers.

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Infosys Technologies – Infosys Results – infosys news – Infosys Technologies Q1 2010 Results – Infosys Q1 Results – Infosys Technologies Q1 Results

July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Infosys Technologies – Infosys Results – infosys news – Infosys Technologies Q1 2010 Results – Infosys Q1 Results – Infosys Technologies Q1 Results

Infosys Technologies has announced its first quarter numbers of FY10 that were better-than-street-expectations. Its Q1 profit after tax (PAT) went down by 5% at Rs 1527 crore as against Rs 1613 crore, on quarter-on-quarter basis but that was better than the CNBC-TV18′s estimate of Rs 1399.2 crore.

Its revenues declined 3% to Rs 5,472 crore as against Rs 5,635 crore (QoQ), which was above the expectations of Rs 5,344.1 crore.

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Sensex falls below 14,000 level

July 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi July 8 (ANI): The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark index dipped below 14,000 point mark during early trade on Wednesday, due to the heavy selling by funds in heavy-weight stocks, and also weak global markets.

The Sensex, which had gained over 127 points on Tuesday, dipped by 309.93 points, or 2.18 per cent, to 13,860.52 in opening session, a level last seen on May 22.

According to experts, these sentiments were mainly dampened on weak trends on the global markets on concerns that the world economic recovery may not be near as anticipated.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) index Nifty also declined by 94.60 points, or 2.25 per cent, to 4,107.55.

Reliance Industries which fell by 1.81 per cent to Rs 1,821.75, Reliance communication which fell by 2.64 per cent to Rs 257.75 and Reliance Infrastructure which fell by 2.68 percent to Rs 1,125.20, Infosys Technologies by 0.59 per cent to Rs 1,728.90, ICICI Bank by 2.78 per cent at Rs 675.65 and Tata Steel by 4.81 per cent to Rs 378.95, were among the major losers of early trade. (ANI)

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Barack Hussein Obama says No to Outsourcing

May 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Barack Hussein Obama says NO to OutsourcingBangalore: It’s time to say bye-bye to Bangalore! Moving ahead with his policies US President Barack Hussain Obama has dumped Bangalore and trying to establish Buffalo in a new manner.

Now, following the new policies, US firms won’t be shipping their jobs to overseas and in coming future at least 60 per cent IT people will lose their jobs in India.

More Job Cuts

Though, Indian IT specialists say that it would hurt more U.S.-based companies that have significant operations overseas, including in India. At the same time, it’s being said that the latest move would would force companies for more job cuts.

The proposal, if implemented, will hurt more U.S.-based companies that have significant operations overseas, including in India, they said on Tuesday.

Most large American companies have more than 50 percent of their revenues coming from markets outside the U.S. and (they) would be affected by the proposed tax reforms, if implemented.

It should be noted that Indian outsource companies such as Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies get half their revenue from the United States by providing a range of IT services to various banks and firms.

Global Meltdown

Due to global meltdown, the Indian IT sector is already facing huge pressure. Obama’s latest move was expected, but unwelcome at a time when Bangalore’s IT and BPO sectors are already reeling under the global economic meltdown.

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BSE Sensex starts new fiscal year with 2 pct rise

April 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI (Reuters) The BSE Sensex erased early losses and climbed 2 percent on Wednesday, to start the new financial year on a positive note, but political and economic uncertainties could weigh on investor confidence in the coming weeks.

Leading energy company Reliance Industries, top mortgage firm Housing Development Finance Corp and outsourcer Infosys Technologies led the the rise, while No.1 telecoms firm Bharti Airtel and Bharat Heavy Electricals were laggards.

Trading is expected to be choppy ahead of month-long general elections that begin in mid-April amid worries about the slowing economy.

Indian manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in March and exports fell in February as the global economic downturn depressed demand and the outlook remains clouded by uncertainties.

The 30-share BSE index closed up 1.99 percent, or 193.49 points, at 9,901.99, after falling as much as 1.7 percent at one stage.

The benchmark had risen 9.2 percent in March, its best performance since last April, helping it post a quarterly gain for the first time since the last quarter of 2007. It fell 26 percent in 2008/09 fiscal year.

Twenty of its components advanced, while in the broader section gainers outstripped losers in the ratio of more than 3:1 on moderate volume of 344.5 million shares.

“Investors are unwilling to go short, but are not taking too many long positions either,” R. Sriram, a technical analyst at ICICI Securities, said.

He said the coming elections would keep investors wary.

India will only see piecemeal pro-market reforms after the general election, a Reuters poll of 14 leading analysts has predicted. An alliance led by the ruling Congress party has lost ground over the last week amid coalition squabbles and may need leftist support to win office, the analysts added.

“We see some profit booking in some stocks, but it’s not like before where investors were completely exiting their holdings,” Sriram said.

However, economic worries remain.

India’s current account deficit leapt to its highest in 18 years in the December quarter as the global crisis choked inflows, while the fiscal deficit for the first 11 months of 2008/09 reached 94 percent of an upwardly revised full-year forecast after the government went on a spending spree to stimulate a slowing economy.

The government plans to sell 2.41 trillion rupees ($47.5 billion) of bonds, two-thirds of its annual target, in the first half of 2009/10, raising fears in an already nervous market that funding needs may be bigger than expected.

Reliance Industries, which has the biggest weight in the main index, rose 3.7 percent to 1,579.45 rupees, while HDFC gained 6.7 percent to 1,505.80 rupees. No. 2 software-services exporter Infosys Technologies firmed 3.9 percent to 1,375.50 rupees.

Automaker Mahindra and Mahindra climbed almost 3 percent to 394.60 rupees, after the company said its March sales rose 6 percent.

Bharti dropped 1.7 percent to 615.05 rupees, while state-run power equipment firm BHEL slid 2.2 percent to 1,472.05 rupees.

The 50-share NSE index rose 1.3 percent to 3,060.65.

Japan’s Nikkei surged 3 percent but other Asian stocks started the quarter more cautiously as reports of an orderly bankruptcy for General Motors supported sentiment.

MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME

* Unitech on 17.6 million shares

* Suzlon Energy on 16.6 million shares

* Reliance Natural Resources on 12.6 million shares

STOCKS THAT MOVED

* TVS Motors Ltd rose 2.2 percent to 23.15 rupees after the company said its two-wheeler sales in March increased 4.2 percent.

* Drug maker Wockhardt Ltd fell 11.1 percent to 76 rupees after the company said it would seek to restructure its debt due to liquidity constraints.

* BGR Energy gained 7.6 percent to 153.60 rupees after the company said it entered into a 20-year licensing pact with Foster Wheeler to make sub-critical and super-critical boilers.

* Max India rose 3.7 percent to 100.25 rupees after 5.73 million shares, or 2.58 percent of its equity, changed hands in a block deal on the NSE at 98.1 rupees.

(For Quotes and Interactive Charts of BSE Sensex click http://in.reuters.com/money/quotes/chart?symbol=.BSESN)

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Sensex slips below 10k in opening trade

March 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Mar. 30 (ANI): The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex has plunged below 10,000 points by losing 250.43 points in opening trade due to profit-selling by funds amid weak trends on the global markets.

The 30-share Sensex, which had gained nearly 1,070 points, or 12.06 per cent in last week, slipped by 251.43 points, or 2.45 per cent in opening trade as funds and retail investors preferred to book profits at prevailing attractive levels.

All the sectoral indices were trading in negative zone with losses up to 3.48 percent.

Subsequently, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty fell by 70.20 points, or 2.02 per cent to 3,038.45 points.

Apart from profit taking, weakness on the other Asian equity markets also triggered selling on the domestic bourses, stockbrokers said.

Approaching financial year-end is also considered to be a cause of increasing selling activity.

Banking index suffered the most among sectoral indices with a fall of 3.48 per cent to 4,661.11.

Among the Sensex scrips, ICICI Bank is the biggest loser. It has plunged 4.8 per cent in early trade. Sterlite, Tata Steel, JP Associates and Infosys are the other main losers in the pack, down more than 3.8 per cent each.

Other losers are Infosys Technologies by 3.81 per cent to Rs 1295.50, Reliance Industries by 2.18 per cent to Rs 1,514.30, Reliance Infra by 4.43 per cent to Rs 542.15, Sterlite Industries by 4.69 per cent to Rs 356.40 and Tata Steel by 4.61 per cent to Rs 213.20.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Japan’s Nikkei were down up to 3 per cent in early trade on Monday. (ANI)

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IT industry hails BJP’s tech vision

March 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

IT industry hails BJP’s tech vision Indian IT firms termed BJP’s tech vision as a good opportunity for IT firms, facing the heat of global slowdown and tight financial conditions.

Bharatiya Janata Party recently announced its IT vision document, after consultation with heads of leading IT firms, in which the party committed to create 12 million IT-enabled jobs for rural Indian segment by increasing the use of technology in different economic domains.

The party announced to offer laptops to 10 million students at Rs 10,000 besides giving immediate approval to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), aimed to lower the long distance calls.

Executive director of MAIT, Vinnie Mehta, said, “We are glad that somebody has defined their IT agenda very clearly. It’s more gladdening to see that they have touched on the hardware sector, which has untapped potential to create lot more job opportunities.”

Nasscom Chairman, Ganesh Natarajan also hailed IT policy and said that it would help to mitigate the impact of slowdown in the IT industry, the worst hit sector due to global financial crisis.

Mohandas Pai, Head of Administration and HR, Infosys Technologies, said,”A great degree of these are achievable, provided they implement this in the first year of the new government, if they come to power.”

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Any Positive Event Will Boost Stock Mkt Outlook, Says Vishwas Agarwal

January 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Indian equities opened the day sluggishly following negative global signals.

Among the prominent losers this morning, realty, banking, metal and oil & gas stocks topped the list with sharp losses.

Auto, power, PSU, information technology, telecom, pharma and FMCG stocks were also down.

Mirroring heavy selling action, all the sectoral indices were trading in the red zone with heavy losses.

Asian stocks also declined, led by commodity producers and banks, after Royal Bank of Scotland Group’s prediction of the biggest loss in UK business history increased fear that the worldwide recession is intensifying.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap index lost 1.31% and 0.56% respectively.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex, today (Tuesday, January 20), opened at 9,159 after making a loss of 169.81 points, as against its last closure in which it closed with a gain of 5.98 points.

At 10:15 a.m., Sensex lost 219.46 points at 9,110.11 after hitting a high of 9,159.76 and a low of 9,075.68. In the meantime, the broad based Nifty stood at 2,775.05, down 71.15 points.

Overall market breadth was sharply negative. On BSE, 617 stocks posted sharp losses, 161 advanced while 13 stocks remained unchanged.

There were no gainers at the BSE Sensex.

The major losers in the Sensex were Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, HDFC, DLF, Reliance Communications, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Sterlite Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Infrastructure, Tata Power, Hindalco, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Jaiprakash Associates, Grasim Industries, Ambuja Cements, Zee Entertainment, SAIL, Cairn India, Power Grid Corporation, Idea Cellular, Nalco, ABB, GAIL India, Reliance Capital, Tata Communications, HCL Technologies, Reliance, BPCL, Hero Honda, Ranbaxy, Infosys Technologies, Reliance Power and Grasim Industries.

Stock market analyst, Vishwas Agarwal stated that BSE 9,350 and Nifty 2,826 levels are very important to carry on comfy trading market.

He said that in intraday, these levels may breach in today’s trading session, but the stock market above these levels will provide chance in index based frontline stocks with nominal stop loss.

Mr. Agarwal said, “As there is restricted downside, upside chances are higher due to price erosion in same settlement sharply.”

As per Agarwal, any positive event will boost market sentiments.

Barrack Obama will take oath in as the new President of the United States of America today and may perhaps bring some positive sentiment to global equities. Obama takes charge when the world is in a huge economic crisis and addressing this financial crisis will be his top priority.

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