Markets Halt 9-Day Rally; Infosys Slumps 9%

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty buckled under selling pressure after nine-session rally on Monday, as massive sell-off in IT, tech and telecom counters unnerved investors. Intense selling in Infosys, which fell over 9 per cent after lower-than-expected revenue guidance for FY24, and HDFC twins also pulled the benchmarks down.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 520.25 points or 0.86 per cent to settle at 59,910.75. During the day, it plunged 988.53 points or 1.63 per cent to 59,442.47. The broader NSE Nifty fell 121.15 points or 0.68 per cent to finish at 17,706.85. "The market responded negatively to the weak start of the earnings season by IT bellwether and their cautious outlook. On the global front, the US 10-year bond yield rose as solid US job data raised concerns over further rate hikes by the Fed. 

"The earnings reports, primarily from the IT and banking sectors, will influence market trends in the coming days. We expect Nifty50 earnings to grow by 10 per cent in Q4 FY23, driven by banking and finance, auto, telecom, and FMCG," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Among the Sensex firms, Infosys emerged as the biggest laggard, falling over 9 per cent after the company reported lower-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter net profit and gave a weak 4-7 per cent revenue growth guidance for FY24 amid the tightening of IT budgets by clients following a turmoil in the US banking sector.

Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Wipro, HDFC, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC Bank were the other laggards from the 30-share pack. Nestle, Power Grid, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the winners.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green. Markets in Europe were also trading in the positive territory during the afternoon trade. The US markets had ended lower on Friday. Equity markets were closed on Friday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti. Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.31 per cent to $86.04 per barrel. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought equities worth Rs 221.85 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.