Infosys pulls down sensex

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Infosys CEO SD Shibulal in Bangalore on Friday. (PTI) Mumbai, April 12: Infosys shares today suffered their steepest fall in a decade after weaker-than-expected revenue forecasts for the year ahead, pulling down the sensex by nearly 300 points. The 30-scrip benchmark index closed down 1.62 per cent at 18242.56. The 50-share nifty ended down 1.17 per cent, or 65.45 points, at 5528.55. The company's fourth-quarter financial results, announced today, were disappointing but what perhaps spooked the market more was the forecast for 2013-14. The country's second-largest software exporter pegged the revenue growth at 6-10 per cent for this financial year, well below IT body Nasscom's 12-14 per cent estimate for the industry. The disappointing forecast prompted investors to offload the Infosys stock, pulling down its price. The stock shed 21.33 per cent, or Rs 622.40, on the Bombay Stock Exchange to end at Rs 2295.45 — the biggest single-day fall since 2003. The Bangalore-based company's market cap tanked Rs 35,000 crore. Industry sources said there was a growing feeling that this could be because of company-specific issues. "The commentary we hear from other companies is that the demand environment is better than last time. Then why is not Infosys performing? It does lead to a feeling that there is some problem that is specific to Infosys," an analyst said. Although hopes that the central bank may cut interest rates next month lifted banking shares, such as that of ICICI Bank, the gains were not enough to offset steep falls in technology stocks following the Infosys results. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130413/jsp/frontpage/story_16781057.jsp#.UWlocaKBlA0