Sensex up by 150 points on Infosys earnings

MUMBAI: The stock market opened firm on Friday with the benchmark Sensex recovering by over 150 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange after software major, Infosys Technologies posted strong earnings for the fourth quarter.

The BSE-30 share index, which had lost over 69 points on Thursday, recovered by 150.70 points at 13,264.51 points in the first five minutes of trading.

Similarly, on the wide-based National Stock Exchange, Nifty index was up by 32.90 points at 3,862.75 points.

The better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings announced by the Infosys mainly buoyed the trading sentiments.

The Nasdaq-listed software major announced net profits of Rs1,124 crore for the fourth quarter of 2006-07 as against Rs664 crore in the same period last year.

Infosys Technologies stocks were up by nearly Rs57 at Rs2,100 on funds and retail investors buying. Satyam Computer and Wipro were also in the positive zone.

Reliance Capital, Reliance Communication, ITC Ltd, Larsen and Toubro, ONGC and State Bank of India were also advanced, lifting the Sensex higher.