Update at 11.36 am: The BSE Sensex was trading 188 points higher at 30,131 while the NSE Nifty was up 55 points at 9,361. Both the benchmark indices had opened at record highs on Wednesday and were sustaining the rally led by frontline stocks such as ITC, HDFC Bank, GAIL and Asian Paints.
Wipro was trading lower after opening on a positive note on the back of Q4 results and 1:1 bonus issue, Infosys was also down, reflecting the negative sentiments in the IT software services sector despite an otherwise bullish mood among investors.
In related news, Allcargo Logistics rallied 10.5 percent to an intraday high of Rs 198.90 after reports of a bulk deal on the counter. Blackstone Gpv Capital Partners (Mauritius) sold its entire stake of around 14 percent in the company, according to media reports.
Original story:
The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) opened on an all-time high on Wednesday morning. The Sensex of the BSE opened at 30,030.20 points, and touched a high of 30,071.61 points.
The Sensex was trading at 30,044.54 points, up by 101.30 points or 0.34 percent, at 9.36 am.
The broader 51-scrip Nifty at National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 9,336.20 points after closing at 9,306.60 points.
Wipro shares are likely to see a bullish opening on Wednesday after the upbeat results declared on Tuesday (April 25) evening post trading hours. For investors, the bonus issue in the ratio of 1:1 comes after a gap of seven years; the company had last given bonus shares in the ratio of 2:3 in June 2010. However, analysts have a mixed view of Wipro's results and this could trigger a fall in share price.
The bonus shares will be paid by June 24, 2017, Wipro said in a regulatory filing to the BSE. The dampener was in the form of Wipro skipping final dividend, leaving shareholders to contend with the interim dividend of 100 percent declared in January this year.
For the fourth quarter ended March 2017 (Q4), Wipro's consolidated net profit rose 7.19 percent sequentially to Rs 2,267 crore from Rs 2,114.8 crore in the December 2016 quarter, while revenues increased 4.8 percent to Rs 15,033.8 crore.
The company's IT revenues came in at $1,954.6 million for Q4, higher than the guidance of $1,922-1,941 million given by the company. On a sequential basis, revenues grew 2.72 percent from $1,902.8 million reported for the December 2016 quarter.
The IT reveune guidance for the first quarter ended June 2017 (Q1) is in the range of $1,915-1,955 million and this is being perceived as a negative.
"Wipro's results were a mixed bag with revenues coming marginally higher and margins slightly lower v/s expectations. The guidance of (-)2% - 0% growth in 1QFY18 is a negative surprise and is due to cancellation of projects in the healthcare business as well as structural challenges in retail vertical," Dipen Shah, Sr Vice President, PCG Research at Kotak Securities Limited, said in a note.
Sarabjit Kour Nangra, VP Research - IT, at Angel Broking had a different view. "The company posted 4QFY2017 results better than expected. IT services revenues came in $1,955mn V/s $1,937mn expected V/s $1,903mn in 3QFY2017...On the operating front, EBIT margin came in at 17.8% V/s 16.0% expected V/s 16.4% in 3QFY2017, an expansion of 180ps QoQ," she said in her note.
The board of directors also approved re-appointment of Azim H Premji as chairman of the company for a two-year tenure commencing July 31, 2017, subject to approval by shareholders.
The share price of Wipro closed at Rs 494.55 on the BSE on Tuesday, up 0.56 percent from its previous close. The BSE IT Index ended with a marginal gain of 0.19 percent to end at 9,740.
The BSE Sensex closed 287 points higher at 29,943 while the NSE Nifty ended at 9,307, up 89 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs/FPIs) turned net buyers of Indian equites on Tuesday, with a net-buy position of Rs 179 crore while domestic institutional investors were net buyers of stocks worth Rs 998 crore, according to provisional data published by the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
