Nifty IT gains 2.88% as Sensex falls 143 points ahead of Infosys results
Banking and auto indexes fell while Infosys prepares to release its September quarter results on Oct. 23.
Theo Marchetti
The National Stock Exchange of India's Nifty IT index gained 2.88 per cent to 32,422.50 at Wednesday's close in its 3:30 p.m. IST update. The advance came ahead of quarterly results due Oct. 23 from Infosys Limited NSEINFY BOM500209 NYSEINFY.
The NSE's Nifty 50 closed lower at 22,811.35 in Wednesday's 3:30 p.m. IST update. The benchmark surrendered an early advance, while the exchange's banking and auto indexes also finished lower.
The BSE Sensex lost 143.21 points to 73,709.69 at the Oct. 21 close, according to BSE's 4 p.m. IST update. BSE's broad index watch also showed losses across its midcap measures.
The BSE 250 SmallCap index fell 2.16 per cent to 6,679.35 in Wednesday's 4 p.m. IST closing update. The broader selling extended beyond the large companies tracked by the Sensex.
Wipro Reports Flat Sequential IT Services Revenue At Constant Currency
Wipro Limited NSEWIPRO BOM507685 NYSEWIT describes itself as a technology services and consulting company. Its Oct. 15 results release reported IT services revenue of US$2,611.5 million for the September quarter, a sequential decline of 0.1 per cent.
At constant currencies, that revenue was flat against the previous quarter and increased 0.6 per cent from a year earlier. Wipro reports constant currency figures to compare performance using exchange rates from the corresponding comparative period.
The Oct. 15 release put total bookings at US$2,595 million, down 22.9 per cent sequentially at constant currencies. Large deal bookings were US$674 million, down 58.6 per cent on the same basis.
Wipro defines bookings as the total contract value of orders, including new orders, renewals and increases to existing contracts. Revenue from those contracts accrues over their terms, so bookings measure a different stage of business activity from reported sales.
"We see AI as a long-term growth driver that will expand the addressable market for technology and business transformation," Wipro chief executive and managing director Srini Pallia said in the Oct. 15 release.
The same release described a U.S. banking client selecting Wipro to modernize mortgage operations. It also reported an engagement with a U.S. health insurer to transform provider services, illustrating the overseas customer exposure behind its technology services business.
Wipro's IT services operating margin was 16.5 per cent in the September quarter, according to its Oct. 15 release. The company reported a sequential improvement and a decline from a year earlier.
Infosys lists consulting, cloud services and application modernization among the services on its website. Its earnings will add another company record to the sector's reporting season.
Mugglehead's Oct. 19 coverage tracked a separate rebound in U.S. semiconductor shares.
Read more: PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index rebounds as chip shares rise
Infosys is scheduled to announce results for the quarter ended Sept. 30 on Oct. 23. The report will provide the next company earnings figures against which to assess the sector's advance.
