Business

Infosys, OFSS, TechM, other IT stocks gain up to 3% despite weak market sentiment. Here’s why

Published

2 months ago

18 May 2026

Infosys, OFSS, TechM, other IT stocks gain up to 3% despite weak market sentiment. Here's why

Tech stocks, including Infosys and Oracle Financial Services Software, gained up to 3% on Monday, lifting the Nifty IT index over 1% even as the broader market remained under pressure.

The Nifty IT index climbed 1.2% to around 28,049, emerging as the only sectoral index trading in the green. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 fell over 1% as the rupee hit a fresh record low and bond yields surged to all-time highs, weighing on investor sentiment.

Today’s Top IT Gainers

Oracle Financial Services Software emerged as the top gainer on the IT pack, rising over 3%. Shares of LTIMindtree, Coforge and Tech Mahindra climbed more than 2% each, while Mphasis and Persistent Systems gained nearly 2% each.

Heavyweights Infosys and Wipro shares rose over 1% each, while those of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies made marginal gains, as seen at 11.15 am. The sharp gains pulled up the total value of all companies on the Nifty IT index to Rs 1,752 crore.

The AI Story

The IT stocks had seen a sharp decline recently. OpenAI last Monday announced the launch of OpenAI Deployment Company with an initial investment of $4 billion, designed to help organisations build and deploy AI systems they can rely on every day across their most important work. This retriggered worries around AI-led disruption in India’s IT sector.

Strong earnings by tech giants pushed the Nasdaq to record high levels last week, but the Nifty IT index fell. “IT firms are making reasonable headway in AI-driven opportunities, although it will not be enough to compensate for deflationary headwinds. Offsetting growth headwinds amid high competitive intensity will be challenging. Margin headwinds are manageable by further flexing cost levers,” said Kotak Equities.
As global AI giants rallied, IT stocks on Dalal Street plunged. The Nifty IT index has plunged around 12% in one month, with the IT heavyweights hitting fresh 52-week lows last week. However, Nasdaq tumbled more than 1.5% on Friday. On Dalal Street meanwhile, IT stocks jumped.

Rupee At Record Low

The renewed investor optimism may also have been driven by the weakening rupee. Rupee dropped to a fresh all-time low of 96.18 against the US dollar on Monday, eclipsing its previous record of 96.1350. The Indian currency is Asia’s worst performer so far in 2026, and has ‌dropped 5.5% since the Iran-US war erupted on February ⁠28.
Notably, today marks the fifth consecutive session when the Indian rupee hit a fresh record low as high oil prices sent bond yields soaring to record high levels, denting risk appetite and spooking investors. “Market participants remain cautious amid fears that elevated crude prices may persist for a longer duration despite government measures to control volatility. Near-term rupee range is expected between 95.55–96.25,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities.

As the IT companies mostly derive their revenue in US dollars, the rupee’s depreciation boosts hopes for better earnings and profitability.

Investors this week will focus squarely on Nvidia’s earnings on Wednesday for clues on the durability of the artificial intelligence-driven rally, said Bajaj Broking.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Business

M-cap of 6 of top-10 most valued firms surges Rs 1 lakh cr; Airtel, Bajaj Fin top winners

Published

5 minutes ago

5 July 2026

NewsAdmin

M-cap of 6 of top-10 most valued firms surges Rs 1 lakh cr; Airtel, Bajaj Fin top winners

The combined market valuation of 6 of the top-10 most valued firms surged by Rs 1 lakh crore last week, with Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance emerging as the biggest gainers, amid a largely positive trend in equities.

Last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 663.44 points, or 0.86 per cent, and the NSE Nifty rose 214.85 points, or 0.89 per cent.

Markets ended the week on a firm footing, supported by resilient domestic macroeconomic indicators, healthy GST collections and improving industrial activity, Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

“Expectations of a more accommodative global monetary policy following softer-than-expected US labour market data further strengthened investor sentiment,” he added.

The market valuation of Bharti Airtel jumped Rs 36,529.21 crore to Rs 11,63,877.30 crore, the most among the top-10 firms.

Bajaj Finance added Rs 33,059.83 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 6,43,141.36 crore.
ICICI Bank‘s valuation surged Rs 16,084.29 crore to Rs 10,11,695.03 crore, and that of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) climbed Rs 8,601.99 crore to Rs 5,44,139.55 crore.The market capitalisation (mcap) of HDFC Bank rallied Rs 7,664.89 crore to Rs 12,33,646.33 crore, and that of Hindustan Unilever edged higher by Rs 6,461.38 crore to Rs 5,17,086.30 crore.

However, the mcap of Larsen & Toubro tumbled Rs 26,572.2 crore to Rs 5,53,978.63 crore.

The mcap of Reliance Industries eroded by Rs 18,945.56 crore to Rs 17,64,981.36 crore, and that of State Bank of India (SBI) declined by Rs 4,846.08 crore to Rs 9,59,891.92 crore.

The market valuation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) dipped by Rs 1,031.15 crore to Rs 7,57,175.27 crore.

Reliance Industries remained the country’s most valued firm, followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, LIC and Hindustan Unilever.

Business

Safran: I Forecast It Will Follow Rheinmetall Down (OTCMKTS:SAFRY)

Published

12 minutes ago

5 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Safran headquarters building in Paris, France

Wolf Report is a senior analyst and private portfolio manager with over 10 years of generating value ideas in European and North American markets, and the owner of Wolf of Value, a service focusing on international dividend-paying value investments.He further covers the markets of Scandinavia, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Eastern Europe in search of reasonably valued stock ideas.

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of FINMY either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

While this article may sound like financial advice, please observe that the author is not a CFA or in any way licensed to give financial advice. It may be structured as such, but it is not financial advice. Investors are required and expected to do their own due diligence and research prior to any investment.

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Business

This Bull Market Should Charge Into 2027

Published

18 minutes ago

5 July 2026

NewsAdmin

ITWO: Russell 2000 Covered Call Strategy That Outperforms Its Peers (BATS:ITWO)

Lawrence Fuller has been managing portfolios for individual investors for 30 years, starting his career at Merrill Lynch in 1993 and working in the same capacity with several other Wall Street firms before realizing his long-term goal of complete independence when he founded Fuller Asset Management. He also manages the Focused Growth portfolio on the new fintech platform called Dub, which is the first copy-trading platform approved by securities regulators in the US, allowing retail investors to copy the portfolio and ongoing trades of the manager they choose automatically. You can also find him on Substack and lawrencefuller.substack.com.He is the leader of the investing group The Portfolio Architect, which focuses on an overall economic and market outlook that complements an all-weather investment strategy designed to produce consistent risk-adjusted market returns. Features include: Portfolio construction guidance, access to an “All-Weather” model portfolio and a dividend and options income portfolio, a daily brief summarizing current events, a week ahead newsletter, technical and fundamental reports, trade alerts, and 24/7 chat. Learn More.

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of RSP, IWM either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Lawrence Fuller is the Principal of Fuller Asset Management (FAM), a state registered investment adviser. He is also the manager of the Focused Growth portfolio on the copy-trading platform Dubapp.com. Information presented is for educational purposes only intended for a broad audience. The information does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale of purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and are not guaranteed. FAM has reasonable belief that this marketing does not include any false or material misleading statements or omissions of facts regarding services, investment, or client experience. FAM has reasonable belief that the content as a whole will not cause an untrue or misleading implication regarding the adviser’s services, investments, or client experiences. Past performance of specific investment advice should not be relied upon without knowledge of certain circumstances or market events, nature and timing of investments and relevant constraints of the investment. FAM has presented information in a fair and balanced manner. FAM is not giving tax, legal, or accounting advice.
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