India's information technology (IT) sector will witness subdued hiring in 2023-24 as macro uncertainties impact demand environment, with clients either taking a pause on spend or stopping discretionary spend, say human resource experts. To begin with, unlike earlier years, the three large IT players TCS, HCLTech, and Wipro have not provided any new hiring targets for the financial year. And Wipro has said that its hiring target will depend on the demand environment.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty declined nearly 1 per cent on Friday, in tandem with a weak trend in overseas markets amid hawkish tone of global central banks. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 461.22 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at 61,337.81. During the day, it tumbled 506.5 points or 0.81 per cent to 61,292.53.
A slowdown in hiring by India's top IT companies has resulted in a sharp increase in the industry's profit per employee in Q3FY23. The top four IT companies earned a net profit of 1.7 lakh per employee during October-December 2022, up 8.6 per cent from Rs 1.57 lakh in Q2FY23 and 16.3 per cent from a record low of Rs 1.47 lakh in Q1FY23. Earnings per employee in the third quarter were, however, still down 0.9 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.
Investors' wealth climbed Rs 3.20 lakh crore as markets staged a smart comeback on Wednesday after falling in the last eight trading sessions. The BSE Sensex rallied 448.96 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 59,411.08. During the day, it jumped 513.33 points or 0.87 per cent to 59,475.45.
The government is set to earn an equity dividend of nearly Rs 13,800 crore from the listed public-sector banks (PSBs), all 12 of them, for FY23, up 50 per cent from Rs 9,210 crore in FY22. This will be the highest ever dividend for the government from PSBs. The 12 PSBs in our sample are paying an equity dividend of nearly Rs 21,000 crore for FY23, up 53 per cent from Rs 13,710 crore for FY22.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty buckled under selling pressure after a nine-session rally on Monday, as massive sell-off in IT, tech and telecom counters unnerved investors.
Benchmark equity index Sensex and Nifty gave up early gains and ended lower on Monday as investor sentiment was hit due to unabated foreign fund outflows and losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 168.21 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 60,092.97 as 15 of its constituents dropped. The barometer opened higher and touched a high of 60,586.77 in morning session. Later in the day, it fell 297.35 points or 0.49 per cent to 59,963.83.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Friday after two days of fall, helped by buying in metal, telecom and auto stocks amid a firm trend in global markets. Automakers led by Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra reporting robust wholesales of passenger vehicles and GST collections crossing Rs 1.50 lakh crore for the third straight month in May also added to the optimism. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 118.57 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 62,547.11.
'We have not seen too many large deals compared to last quarter.'
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ticked higher for the ninth straight session on Thursday, buoyed by fag-end buying in banking, financial and realty stocks amid encouraging domestic retail inflation data. Weak trends in IT counters and fall in the overnight US equity markets triggered by fresh concerns over recession, however, put a check on market's uptrend. In a largely subdued session, the 30-share BSE Sensex went up marginally by 38.23 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 60,431.
Benchmark indices ended on a firm note on Friday, extending their previous day's gain, amid continuous foreign fund inflows and a positive trend in the global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 104.92 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 59,793.14. During the day, it jumped 431.58 points or 0.72 per cent to 60,119.80.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty faced heavy drubbing on Thursday, falling over 1 per cent each, in tandem with weak global markets following the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike and its hawkish stance. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 878.88 points or 1.40 per cent to settle at 61,799.03. During the day, it tumbled 962.3 points or 1.53 per cent to 61,715.61.
Thanks to a big payout by the group's cash cow, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Sons is set to earn a record-high equity dividend worth nearly Rs 33,350 crore from the group's listed companies for FY23, up 130 per cent from Rs 14,529 crore in FY22. Nearly 90 per cent of this, or around Rs 30,500 crore, is estimated to accrue to Tata Sons while the rest will show up in its profit & loss account for FY24. This is because nearly 80 per cent of the dividend payout by TCS for FY23 was done before the end of the financial year through three quarterly interim instalments and a special one in January this year.
'The impact of CEO transition is fairly even for stocks, with about half (53 per cent) of the events not producing any change in the relative performance of the stock.'
Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies fell the most by 2.4 per cent. IndusInd Bank (2.35 per cent), Infosys (2.28 per cent), Wipro (1.8 per cent), NTPC (1.71 per cent), Asian Paints (1.7 per cent), Tata Consultancy Services (1.36 per cent),Tech Mahindra (1.03 per cent) and SBI (1 per cent) were among the major laggards.
Krithi Krithivasan is the kind of person one might look to when the need is to calm things down and put things back on track.
For IT services companies, ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) metrics are becoming a crucial component in winning deals as clients are considering sustainability a top priority and are keen to work with partners who are on the same page. "Sustainability is becoming an important part of the client's evaluation. "There is a tremendous focus across the world on sustainability, and it is becoming one of the top five business priorities.
Strong macroeconomic headwinds causing turbulence in the $245-billion Indian IT industry are yet to calm down. Top Indian IT services companies are likely to post a decline or just marginal growth in sequential revenue in Q1FY24 because of a soft discretionary spending environment. Though the first quarter is seasonally strong for IT firms, "June 2023 will be an exception", according to analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the group's biggest cash generator, overtook Vedanta to become the highest dividend payer in India in FY23. The IT services major paid Rs 42,090 crore for FY23, up 167.4 per cent from Rs 15,738 crore for FY22. The 10 biggest payers together shelled out Rs 2.06 trillion for FY23, more than double the Rs 98,371 crore for FY22.
Equity benchmarks ended lower on Thursday as a fag-end sell-off wiped out early gains, with IT and bank stocks playing spoilsport amid monthly derivatives expiry. After remaining in the positive territory for most part of the trade, the BSE Sensex suddenly came under selling pressure during the last half-hour of the session, declining 310.71 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 58,774.72. During the day, it hit a high of 59,484.35 and a low of 58,666.41.
'Companies are coming to the campuses, and we have companies booking their slots for the placement season, but the overall number of companies signing is low, and the hiring numbers are also lower.'
TCS became a slow-moving giant and lost some of its sheen to competitors -- both big and small. Even as TCS remains the primary cash cow of Tata Group, its revenue and profit growth have slowed considerably.
Benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Wednesday, dragged down by losses in banking stocks amid weak global market trends. The 30-share Sensex declined by 168.08 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 59,028.91. During the day, it fell 474.1 points or 0.80 per cent to 58,722.89. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 31.20 points or 0.18 per cent to 17,624.40.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty took a beating on Thursday and dropped over 1 per cent each, weighed by selling in index major Reliance Industries, IT and banking stocks amid weak global trends. The BSE Sensex fell 770.48 points or 1.29 per cent to settle at 58,766.59. During the day, it tanked 1,014.5 points or 1.70 per cent to 58,522.57. Similarly, the NSE Nifty declined 216.50 points or 1.22 per cent to close at 17,542.80.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed marginally down in a volatile trade on Friday following profit booking in financials and IT shares amid a weak trend in global equity markets. Snapping its two-day gaining streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 30.81 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 58,191.29. During the day, it fell 370.95 points or 0.63 per cent to 57,851.15.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty bounced back on Tuesday to close over 2 per cent higher amid positive trends in global equity markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex spurted 1,276.66 points or 2.25 per cent to settle at 58,065.47. During the day, it zoomed 1,311.13 points or 2.30 per cent to 58,099.94. The broader NSE Nifty rallied 386.95 points or 2.29 per cent to end at 17,274.30.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended with gains on Wednesday, extending the previous day rally amid lower level of inflation on domestic front and better-than-expected inflation readings from the US. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 144.61 points or 0.23 per cent to settle at 62,677.91. During the day, it jumped 301.81 points or 0.48 per cent to 62,835.11.
Five of the 10 most valued firms added Rs 62,508.32 crore to their total market valuation last week, with Reliance Industries emerging as the biggest gainer. Hindustan Unilever Limited, HDFC, State Bank of India and Bharti Airtel were the other gainers while Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance took a hit in their market valuation. The market capitalisation (mcap) of Reliance Industries jumped Rs 23,582.73 crore to reach Rs 15,37,600.23 crore at close on Thursday, becoming the biggest gainer among the top-10 firms.
Among the Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Steel, ITC, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra and State Bank of India were the biggest winners. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Wipro and Tata Motors were the biggest laggards.
India's largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is mandating its employees to be back in office for three days a week. Teams will have to work with their team leaders, and the human resources team which three day's best suits them. In an email that went out to employees over the past two days, which Business Standard has seen, said: "As part of our return to office initiative, all TCSers are expected to work from office at least three days in a week."
From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Infosys and IndusInd Bank were the major laggards. NTPC, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, HDFC and HDFC Bank were the major winners.
Benchmark indices finished on a weak note on Thursday, extending their previous day's decline amid a negative trend in global equity markets after the US Fed hiked interest rates by 75 basis points. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 69.68 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 60,836.41. During the day, it tanked 420.95 points or 0.69 per cent to 60,485.14.
The domestic benchmark indices - the S&P BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty50 - had lost close to 1.5 per cent in three days recently before gaining slightly. Notwithstanding weakness and volatility, the Nifty50 has managed to hold on to the 18,000 mark, while the Sensex has managed to stay above the 61,000 level. The performance of the stocks that comprise these front-line indices remains polarised.
From the Sensex pack, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel and Tata Motors were the major gainers. Power Grid and HDFC Bank were the laggards from the pack.
Seven consecutive sessions of decline in the equity market has eroded the wealth of investors by a whopping Rs 10.42 lakh crore and the benchmark Sensex has tumbled more than 2,000 points during this period. Concerns over more rate hikes by developed economies, weak global equity markets and fresh foreign fund outflows from the domestic market have dented investor sentiments. On Monday, the BSE Sensex dropped 175.58 points or 0.30 per cent to end at 59,288.35 points, marking a decline for seven straight trading sessions.
The hiring scenario is for the batch that passes out in 2024. These are graduates who will be impacted, given 2022 graduates are not fully absorbed and 2023 onboarding still incomplete.
Nine of the 10 most valued firms together added over Rs 2.12 lakh crore in their market valuation last week, with HDFC Bank and TCS emerging as the lead gainers. Last week, the 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 844.68 points or 1.38 per cent. The stock markets were closed on Tuesday for Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Equity investors became richer by Rs 5.66 lakh crore as markets bounced back sharply on Tuesday following a recovery in global equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,276.66 points or 2.25 per cent to settle at 58,065.47 points. During the day, it zoomed 1,311.13 points or 2.30 per cent to 58,099.94 points. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms climbed Rs 566,318.84 crore to Rs 273,92,739.78 crore.
Corporate India continues to be generous in rewarding its shareholders with big dividend payouts. This is especially true for shareholders of companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Hindustan Zinc (HZL), and Coal India (CIL) which are seen as cash cows of large business groups and the government. Boosted by a big payout by these three companies, the combined equity dividend payout by listed companies was up 38 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to a record high of Rs 2.27 trillion in 2022-23 (FY23), compared with Rs 1.65 trillion in 2021-22 (FY22).
The early bird results for the January-March quarter of 2022-23 (Q4FY23) show a pick-up in earnings growth, despite a slowdown in revenue growth, thanks to a decline in input costs and lower provisioning for bad loans by banks. The combined net profit of 66 companies that have, so far, declared their quarterly results was up 15.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q4FY23, an improvement from 4.3 per cent YoY growth in Q3. Net sales growth of these companies, however, slowed down to 11.5 per cent YoY in January-March 2023, the slowest rate in eight quarters.