The Hindu Business Line : Infosys gains on Q1 number

CONCERN over increase in oil price re-emerged to haunt the markets, as crude prices are hovering around $40 a barrel mark. Besides, disappointing results from corporate majors such as Intel Corp, Veritas Software and Siebel Systems pushed down the benchmarks to a new low; according to Bloomberg the Standard & Poor's 500 Index posted its fifth straight weekly drop, its longest retreat since October 2002, when the benchmark slumped to a five-year low.

The Dow average recorded its fourth week of losses, shedding 0.7 per cent to 10,139.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 3.2 per cent to 1883.15. All three benchmarks closed at levels not seen since mid-May.

On the other hand, Indian bourses, which began last week on weak note, recovered following good financial performance from Infosys Technologies. The BSE Sensex scored a marginal gain of 0.12 per cent at 4951.17 and the NSE S&P CNX Nifty 0.36 per cent 1558.8.

On the ADR front, Infosys was the major gainer following its excellent financial performance. The company posted a net profit of Rs 394.47 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2004 compared with Rs 278.12 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003. Total income has increased to Rs 1,489.38 crore (Rs 1114.42 crore). Further, it also announced the bagging of an order from ABN Amro Bank N.V. in the UAE for its Finacle. The Infosys counter closed higher at $47 against the previous week close of $44.91.

While Satyam Computer closed higher at $19 ($17.95), Wipro ended on weak note at $15.27 ($15.75). Both the companies are scheduled to announce their Q1 financial performance this week.

HDFC Bank also declared robust financial performance; the bank's net profit rose 31 per cent to Rs 139.97 crore in the three months ended June 30, 2004 against Rs 107.28 crore recorded a year earlier. Besides, HDFC Bank said it might sell additional shares to boost capital so it can expand lending to companies and consumers. However, these announcements failed to cheer investors, as the counter fell to $26.65 ($27.27).

Dr. Reddy's finished marginally higher at $17.35 ($17.25) following reports that the company has filed to sell esomeprazole magnesium in the US.

Internet counters Sify and Rediff.com continued their downslide and closed at $5.53 ($5.8) and $6.7 ($7.38) respectively.

On the premium/discount front, there was not much deviation.

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Infosys gains on Q1 number