Infosys drives Sensex higher after earnings beat estimates

Stock markets rose as investors turned their focus to companies’ October-December earnings reports.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.6% to 41,839.52 to a new record as of 9:34 a.m. in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also climbed 0.6%. Infosys Ltd. was the biggest boost to both gauges.

Infosys., Asia’s second most-valuable software exporter, on Friday posted quarterly net income after market hours that beat the highest analyst estimates. The company raised its sales-growth outlook for the year ending March 2020 to between 10% and 10.5%.

Software exporter Wipro Ltd. and IndusInd Bank are scheduled to announce results on Tuesday.

Strategist View “The broader market under performance should take a pause now and earnings will help selective midcap stocks to gain,” said Pritam Deuskar, a Mumbai-based analyst with Bonanza Portfolio Ltd. “We expect consumption and entertainment stocks to do well.”

The Numbers

• All 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE rose, led by a gauge of software exporters
• Infosys contributed the most to the Sensex gain and had the largest move, increasing 2.8%
• Yes Bank declined as much as 8.3% after its board approved raising $1.4 billion, while rejecting an investment bid