Morning Trade on May 8: Coforge, Persistent Systems, LTIMindtree, Other IT Stocks Buck Broader Market Weakness 

Mumbai, May 8: Indian IT stocks rose on Friday morning, with the Nifty IT index climbing 0.68 per cent to 29,242.00 as the US dollar rallied, improving rupee realisations for dollar-revenue firms, even as benchmark indices opened with losses on fresh hostilities between the US and Iran. 

The IT index traded at 29,031.55 at the open, rose to an intraday high of 29,311.90 early in the session and held up well thereafter, showing that buying interests in export-oriented IT counters continued to be strong amid weak market sentiment.

Coforge was Friday’s top gainer among Nifty IT stocks, jumping 3.64 per cent to ₹1,332.10 from its previous close of ₹1,285.30. The stock was the biggest Nifty IT index constituent in terms of price movement during early trade on Friday. It opened at ₹1,279.10, rose to an intraday high of ₹1,338.00 and continued to trade with a positive bias during early trade.

Persistent Systems was the second-biggest gainer among Nifty IT stocks, rising 1.67 per cent to ₹5,067.00 from its previous close of ₹4,984.00. It opened at ₹4,990.00, rose to an intraday high of ₹5,099.30 and traded above the ₹5,000 level for most of the early session with a low of ₹4,960.

LTIMindtree rose 1.24 per cent to ₹4,302.80 from its previous close of ₹4,250.00, becoming the third-biggest gainer among Nifty IT stocks on Friday. It opened at ₹4,254.50, rose to an intraday high of ₹4,308.40 and traded with strong buying interest during early trade with a low of ₹4,239.20.

Tech Mahindra gained 1.07 per cent to ₹1,463.70 from its previous close of ₹1,448.20, becoming the fourth-biggest gainer on the Nifty IT index during early trade Friday. It opened at ₹1,453.50, rose to an intraday high of ₹1,468.80 and continued to hold its gains during the early hour of trade with a low of ₹1,448.40.

HCL Technologies was the fifth biggest gainer on the Nifty IT index as it rose 0.77 per cent to ₹1,192.50 from its previous close of ₹1,183.40. It opened at ₹1,179.80, rose to an intraday high of ₹1,193.80 and held near its intraday high during early trade with a low of ₹1,176.80.

US Dollar Strengthens; Asian Shares Drop

The Nifty IT index was up during early trade on Friday as the US dollar index strengthened across the board on Friday after renewed hostilities between the US and Iran sparked a fresh bout of risk aversion across asset classes.

The dollar index traded higher at 98.235 against a basket of its key peers Friday. The greenback opened Friday’s Asian session on a strong note after Iran and the US traded blows on Thursday escalating tensions that put fresh pressure on a vulnerable month-long truce agreed last month and dashed hopes for a quick diplomatic solution to end the standoff.

Oil prices extended gains on worries about a disruption to supply from Iran as geopolitical tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated. US crude futures traded as much as 3 per cent higher in early trade on Friday. Brent crude futures gained nearly 1 per cent to $72.35 a barrel. Stocks tumbled across Asia while bond prices soared, also supporting the dollar. Safe-haven gold prices rose 0.1 per cent to $1,308 per ounce.

The dollar index rose for a second straight day after dropping to an over two-month low earlier this week on optimism about prospects of an imminent peace deal between Washington and Tehran. The stronger dollar would help IT firms’ earnings as most revenues come from dollar-denominated contracts and convert into higher rupee realisations.

Here are the 5 stocks:

Source:

• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/live-equity-market?symbol=NIFTY%20IT