IT stocks buck weak market trend, gain over 3%

IT stocks on Wednesday rose as much as 3 per cent in an otherwise weak stock market after sentiments turned buoyant amid the rupee sinking to an all-time low of 60.35 against the dollar, as the stronger US currency boosts the sales of software firms in rupee terms.

Shares of IT giant TCS rose by 2.84 per cent to Rs 1,433.65, Wipro gained 0.97 per cent to Rs 347.55 and Infosys was up 0.82 per cent to Rs 2,397.55 on the BSE.

Among others, Hexaware Tech surged 3.18 per cent and HCL Tech 2.15 per cent.

Led by the gains in these stocks, the BSE IT index ended the day 1.69 per cent higher at 6,019.03 and was the top gainer among the 13 sectoral indices.

Fall in the rupee versus the US currency is broadly seen as positive for export-focussed sectors like the Indian IT space.

Analysts said large IT companies benefit from a weaker rupee, as it positively impacts their profit margins.

Big IT companies earn a major chunk of their revenues in dollar from their US clients.

After a lower start, the rupee plunged by 69 paise to 60.35 a dollar at 1535 hrs on the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange market today due to increased buying by banks and oil importers, forex dealers said.

Persistent foreign capital outflows from weak local equities also affected the rupee value against the dollar, they said.

In the stock market, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended the day at 18,552.12, down 77.03 points.