Sensex slips from 28k, down 179 pts on Infosys guidance cut

A lower revenue guidance from blue-chip Infosys spooked the benchmark Sensex, which fell 179 points, breaching below the 28,000-mark, as it wiped off all its early session gains.

Software major Infosys today posted a 13.4 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,436 crore for the June quarter, but slashed full-year revenue guidance to 10.5-12 per cent, which did not meet market expectations, leading to a plunge in IT and technology shares.

However, buying interest was seen in auto, FMCG, healthcare, industrials, telecom and consumer durables.

The 30-share barometer started higher, but came down by 179.48 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 27,762.63 at 1230 hours.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also traded lower by 47.15 points, or 0.55 per cent, at 8,517.85.

Infosys was worst hit, down 8.88 per cent, followed by TCS 3.11 per cent, Wipro 2.5 per cent, NTPC 1.33 per cent and ICICI Bank 1.16 per cent.

Notable gainers were Tata Steel, up 3.44 per cent, followed by Tata Motors, Adani Ports and M&M.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers, purchasing shares worth Rs 869.84 crore yesterday, as per provisional data of the stock exchanges.

Overseas, Asian market ruled firm as better-than expected GDP growth data from China lifted risk sentiment, which was already upbeat following record highs on the Wall Street.

US stocks extended their bull run into the record books yesterday on stronger-than-expected results from large financial institutions, including JP Morgan Chase, as well as upbeat economic data.