Equity indices edge higher, Infosys gains by 4 pc on good Q3 results

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 13 (ANI): Equity benchmark indices traded with a positive note during early hours on Monday as global investors waited for US President Donald Trump and Chinese officials to sign the long-awaited phase one trade deal later this week.
The market sentiment got a further boost with oil prices lowering as fears of conflict between the United States and Iran eased. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 215 points to 41,814 while the Nifty 50 ticked up by 55 points at 12,312.
Except for Nifty auto, all sectoral indices were in the positive zone. Nifty IT gained by 1.36 per cent, pharma by 0.87 per cent and FMCG by 0.77 per cent.
Among stocks, Infosys rose by 4.15 per cent after the IT major reported 11 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 2019 (Q3 FY20) to Rs 4,457 crore from Rs 4,019 crore quarter-on-quarter due to higher other income and lower other expenses. The year-on-year profit growth was 23.5 per cent.
Wipro gained by 1.4 per cent while HCL Technologies was up by 1.3 per cent. Sun Pharma, Cipla and Dr Reddy's ticked up by 2 per cent, 1.2 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. The other prominent winners were Britannia, Hindustan Lever and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
However, Yes Bank plunged by 4.8 per cent to Rs 42.60 per share as reports said that co-promoter Rana Kapoor, and his family-run firms Yes Capital India and Morgan Credits have exited the bank, thus losing all control and voting rights.
The other losers included Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, Maruti, JSW Steel, Hindalco and Adani Ports.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets traded on a subdued note ahead of the expected signing on a US-China trade deal, though talks on a phase two package are likely to drag on for months.
The Shanghai Composite fell by 0.36 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.28 per cent and South Korea's Kospi also rose by 0.56 per cent. Japan's markets were closed for a holiday.
Meanwhile, oil prices consolidated with Brent crude futures down by 12 cents at 64.86 dollars a barrel while US crude eased by 14 cents to 58.90 dollars a barrel. (ANI)