Indian technology shares diverged from the broader market on Oct. 21, lifting the Nifty IT index 2.88% while the Nifty 50 fell, with Infosys earnings due later this week.
The Nifty IT index finished at 32,422.50, a gain of 906.20 points, while the Nifty 50 closed at 22,811.35, down 0.34%. The advance reversed a 1.28% decline in the technology index in the previous trading session.
Wipro rose 3.86% to ₹189.17, and Infosys gained 3.30% to ₹1,168. Birlasoft closed at ₹315.70, up 0.99%. NDTV Profit reported that Birlasoft had climbed 3.18% earlier in trading, a gain it did not maintain through the close.
NDTV Profit and Business Today reported that Jefferies raised price targets for large-cap Indian IT stocks by 14% to 18% but kept a Hold rating on Infosys and an Underperform rating on Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Both outlets said the brokerage identified Infosys and TCS as companies whose valuation multiples could rise despite those ratings.
Business Today put Jefferies’ revised targets at ₹1,160 for Infosys, up from ₹1,020, and ₹2,125 for TCS, up from ₹1,800. Both revised targets were below the shares’ Oct. 21 closing prices: Infosys ended at ₹1,168 and TCS at ₹2,529.
Wipro’s Oct. 15 results provided a separate measure of sector growth. Wipro said its IT services revenue, measured in constant currency, was unchanged from the prior quarter in the three months ended Sept. 30. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, Wipro forecast sequential IT services revenue growth in constant currency ranging from a 1.5% decline to 0.5% growth.
Infosys is scheduled to report results for the quarter ended Sept. 30 on Friday, Oct. 23. Its earnings call is set for 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 UTC).
