Market drifts higher in early trade; TCS, Infosys in limelight

The headline equity indices continued to trade with decent gains in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. The Nifty traded above 21,700 level. IT, realty and media stocks advanced while auto, pharma and healthcare shares declined.

At 09:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 303.70 points or 0.42% to 72,024.88. The Nifty 50 index added 84.60 points or 0.39% to 21,731.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.11% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.45%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,997 shares rose and 901 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 865 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,607.08 crore in the Indian equity market on 11 January, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

TCS rallied 3.50% after the IT giant`s consolidated net profit declined 2.5% to Rs 11,058 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 11,342 crore reported in Q2 FY24. Revenue from operations rose 1.49% to Rs 60,583 crore during the quarter from Rs 59,692 crore posted in Q2 FY24. The company`s order book total contract value (TCV) stood at $8.1 billion as on 31 December 2023 and the book to bill ratio was at 1.1. The board has declared a second interim dividend of Rs 9 and a special dividend of Rs 18 per equity share. The record date for the same is 19 January 2024 and the payment date is 5 February 2024.

Infosys jumped 6.46% the IT major`s consolidated net profit fell 1.6% to Rs 6,113 crore in Q3 FY24 from Rs 6215 crore in Q2 FY24. Revenues fell marginally to Rs 38,821 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 38,994 crore in Q2 FY24. Year on year basis, the company�s net profit declined 7.2% while revenues increase 1.3% as compared with Q3 FY24. In terms of guidance, the company has revised it FY24 revenue guidance to 1.5%-2.0% and operating margin guidance at 20%-22%.

Tata Power rose 0.43%. Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), a subsidiary of the company, has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat (GoG) to develop 10,000 MW of Renewable Energy Power projects across multiple sites in Gujarat.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.01% to 7.163 as compared with previous close 7.165.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.0850, compared with its close of 83.0100 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2024 settlement added 0.65% to Rs 62,190.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.9% to 102.22.

The United States 10-year bond yield was flat at 3.975.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2024 settlement advanced $1.45 or 1.87% to $78.86 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Friday, while Japan continued its record-breaking rally, as investors awaited a slew of economic data out of China, including inflation and trade numbers for December.

US stocks ended close to the flat line on Thursday even as U.S. inflation for December came in higher than expected. The consumer price index increased by 0.3% last month from November. Year over year, CPI was up 3.4%.

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