Infosys seems to have rubbed off energy from the market on Friday with Sensex slumping as much as 318.26 points to 18223.94. The Nifty fell 89.80 points or to 5504.20.

The earnings season, expected to be wobbly, started off on a terrible note as Infosys disappointed the street with dismal fourth quarter earnings, collapsing 16.5 percent in the bargain. The company reported consolidated profit after tax of Rs 2,394 crore, up 1 percent quarter-on-quarter due to other income and lower tax. The consolidated operating profit is fell 8 percent at Rs 2462 crore compared to last quarter.

All the other technology stock markets TCS (down 2.7 percent) and Wipro (down 4.5 percent) fell in tandem, dragging the BSE IT index by 9.7 percent. However, FMCG, pharma, bank and oil and gas stocks were in the green. ITC, HUL, Bajaj Auto were gainers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the market will be keenly watching the February’s industrial output data to be announced later in the day. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll it is seen contracting to 1.7 percent year-on-year.

GLOBAL MARKETS ROUNDUP
Asian shares crept higher and the yen faced fresh lows on Friday as the Bank of Japan’s liquidity injections and Wall Street’s record-high close overnight continued to underpin investor confidence.

The dollar stayed within spitting distance of 100 yen in Asia on Friday as dips were met with buying interest, putting dollar/yen on track for a second week of gains and the biggest two-week rise in four years.

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) trimmed its forecast for oil demand growth this year, the third of the world’s top forecasters to do so at a time of growing supplies.

U.S. Treasuries prices rose on Thursday as a three-day rise in yields lured investors to buy government debt both on the open market and at a $13 billion auction of 30-year bonds, the final part of this week’s $66 billion in longer-dated
supply.

LOCAL MARKETS PREVIOUS CLOSE
* BSE index 18,542.20 (+0.69 pct)
* NSE index 5,594 (+0.64 pct)
* Rupee 54.52/53 per dollar (54.58/59)
* 10-year bond yield 7.90 pct (7.88 pct)
* 5-year OIS rate 7.16 pct (7.18 pct)
* 1-year OIS rate 7.39 pct (7.40 pct)
* Call money 7.80/7.90 pct (7.55/7.65 pct)