Trading sentiment in the equity market will largely be driven by domestic corporate quarterly earnings, any update related to US tariffs and foreign fund movements this week, analysts said. Investors would also focus on world market trends, movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude and the rupee-dollar trend for further cues, experts noted.
'Binary fission will happen -- startups will lead to more startups.'
Indian-origin tech companies cornered a fifth of all H-1B visas issued by the US with Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services leading the pack, an analysis of data from the US immigration department showed. According to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, in April-September 2024 period, out of the total 1.3 lakh H-1B visas issued to different employers, about 24,766 visas were issued to Indian-origin companies.
Leaders who built and manage these incredible global companies cannot be tyrants, slave-drivers, or idiots. Essentially what they are saying falls under the definition of rallying the troops, inspirational talk, like the usual coach-speak with the team before a match, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'Could the impending new crisis, vibe coding, similarly create not a disaster like what befell Indian handlooms during the Industrial Revolution but another opportunity like what the Y2K crisis created?' asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
IT company Infosys on Thursday posted a 7.3 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,106 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year. The company had posted a net profit (attributable to shareholders) of Rs 6,586 crore during the same period a year ago, Infosys said in a regulatory filing. Consolidated revenue from operations of the company increased marginally by 1.3 per cent to Rs 38,821 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 38,318 crore in the year-ago period.
Early-bird results for the January-March 2025 quarter (Q4FY25) suggest a slowdown in earning growth for India Inc, despite a benign cost environment that has led to an improvement in margins. The combined net profit (adjusted for exceptional gains and losses) of 175 early-reporting companies rose by 3.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in Q4FY25, marking the slowest growth in 17 quarters.
Uttam Ghosh gives us his unique take on the longer work hours debate.
'It won't be a V-shaped recovery. It'll be consolidation.' 'Investors might exit during that grind. It'll be painful.'
Markets investors became richer by Rs 27.10 lakh crore as the BSE benchmark Sensex continued to rally for the sixth trading day, surging nearly 6 per cent during this period. On Monday, the 30-share BSE bellwether gauge jumped 1,078.87 points or 1.40 per cent to settle at an over six-week high of 77,984.38. During the day, the benchmark zoomed 1,201.72 points or 1.56 per cent to 78,107.23.
Information technology (IT) stocks ended at their lowest in nearly nine months after a fresh bout of selling, triggered by concerns over a recession in the US, the key market for domestic software exporters. A report by Morgan Stanley citing risks to growth also weighed on sentiment.
Bengaluru-based Infosys has announced that 80 per cent of the variable pay will be distributed to eligible employees for the quarter ending June 30, according to media reports. This amount will be included with the August month's salary. In contrast, Infosys had paid out 60 per cent of the variable pay in the fourth quarter of financial year FY23.
Sudha and Akshata Murthy's candid confessions about each other.
State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Infosys, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and NTPC were among the biggest laggards among Sensex shares. Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and ITC were among the gainers.
Britain's Prince Edward and former prime minister Rishi Sunak were also at the game.
'When I told Mr Narayan Murthy, he said it was great that I was following my dream.'
Dalal Street investors were a poorer lot on Monday as their wealth eroded sharply by Rs 14 lakh crore following a sharp decline in benchmark indices amid a global market meltdown due to recession fears. The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 2,226.79 points or 2.95 per cent to settle at 73,137.90. Intra-day, the benchmark slumped 3,939.68 points or 5.22 per cent to 71,425.01.
IT attrition rate is expected to be around 12% to 13% this year.
Artificial Intelligence-first business strategy adopted by Infosys is working well for the company despite unresolved ethical and IPR issues around the technology, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani said on Wednesday. In his address at Infosys' 42nd Annual General Meeting, Nilekani said the company can be more efficient while nurturing readiness for growth, given its performance in challenging scenarios created by inflation, interest rates, geopolitics, demand volatility and supply chain dislocations. "Several practical, ethical and intellectual property-related issues, when it comes to AI remain unresolved.
Wipro on Wednesday reported a 25.9 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 3,569.6 crore, but warned of a weak quarter ahead with up to 3.5 per cent expected drop in IT services revenue for Q1FY26, amid global uncertainties. CEO and Managing Director Srini Pallia said clients remain cautious in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty.
What do you think is the right way to go?
Joining the debate on working hours, IT services company Capgemini India's chief executive Ashwin Yardi on Tuesday advocated 47.5 hours work per week, and was against sending e-mails to employees on weekends. He was speaking at Nasscom Technology and Leadership Forum (NTLF) in Mumbai.
Indian IT services company Infosys on Thursday said all its employees in Israel are safe. Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Infosys CEO and MD Salil Parekh said its employees in Israel are primarily locals but declined to comment on the exact staff strength there. The company further said it is "saddened" by the situation unfolding in the region.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, ICICI Bank, and ITC were the biggest laggards. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,294.69 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday affirmed the ratings of two major Indian IT services companies, Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) and Infosys. In two separate statements, Moody's also retained stable outlook for both the companies. Moody's expects Infosys' revenues to climb by around 13 per cent for the financial year ending March 31, 2023, but moderate to around 8 per cent in the next 2024 fiscal.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Tata Motors, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle and Maruti were also among the major laggards. HDFC Bank emerged as the only gainer from the pack.
India's second largest IT services company Infosys on Thursday reported a 3.1 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 6,215 crore for the September 2023 quarter. The earnings (before minority interest) of the Bengaluru-based company stood at Rs 6,026 crore in the year-ago period. The company - which competes in the IT services market with TCS, Wipro, HCL Technologies and others - saw its revenue rising 6.7 per cent to Rs 38,994 crore for the just-ended September quarter.
Shares of Infosys hit a five-month low of Rs 1,419.60, down 1 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday's intra-day trade. The stock was quoting at its lowest level since October 10, 2022. In past two days, the stock of information technology (IT) bellwether was down 4 per cent after the company on Saturday informed to the stock exchanges that Mohit Joshi, president of the company has resigned effective March 11, 2023. Mohit Joshi will be on leave thereafter and his last date for the company would be June 9, 2023, Infosys said in an exchange filing.
Investors will take cues from the December quarter corporate earnings, with blue-chips like Infosys, Reliance Industries scheduled to report their results this week, in addition, inflation data and trading activity of foreign investors will also be crucial in dictating market trends, analysts said.
The share of companies where it would take over 100 years for a median employee to earn the equivalent of their top executive's annual salary rose to 65 per cent in FY24 from 61 per cent in FY19.
'If you really love your work and are good at it, it does not matter what is work and life.'
'A major IT services firm that previously had a demand of 1,000 to 2,000 employees now requires 7,000 to 8,000 -- a sizeable jump from the previous quarter.'
India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now. A drastic reduction in tariff protection, other elements of sarkari wet-nursing will force entrepreneurial India to become competitive again, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Investors' wealth tumbled by Rs 9 lakh crore on Friday, in tandem with a sharp decline in the domestic equity market, where the benchmark Sensex plunged 1,414 points following a bearish trend in global equities. Fresh tariff threats that ignited global trade war fears and relentless foreign fund outflows dented investor sentiment, analysts said.
From the 30 blue-chip pack, Tata Motors, Titan, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Maruti, HDFC Bank and Infosys were among the biggest laggards. Zomato, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.
Infosys was the only large-cap IT player to report sequential constant currency (cc) revenue growth for the June quarter (1 per cent ), which was ahead of analyst expectations, but the company's sharp downward revision in its growth guidance took most brokerages by surprise. In line with the cut in its FY24 revenue guidance (cc) to 1-3.5 per cent, brokerages have unanimously reduced FY24 EPS estimates for the company in the range of 2-4 per cent, though the Street is likely fearing even further downside, they say. Global brokerages Macquarie and Nomura downgraded Infosys to underperform and reduce ratings, respectively, with the latter cutting the target price to Rs 1210 from Rs 1260.
'The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there.'
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Adani Ports dropped over 4 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, NTPC and Tata Steel were also the among the laggards. Nestle, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
'We don't know which bus is coming next. I know for sure whatever bus comes next, it will miss that too.'
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro and Adani Ports were among the biggest gainers. In contrast, Zomato, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Infosys were among the losers.