IT companies shares tumble after Cognizant cuts 2019 growth outlook; TCS falls 3.7%

New Delhi: Shares of IT companies tumbled up to 3.7 percent on Friday after Cognizant reported over 15 percent drop in net income for the quarter ended March, and slashed its full-year revenue growth outlook. On the BSE, TCS fell 3.70 percent, Hexaware Technologies 2.73 percent, Tech Mahindra 2.16 percent, HCL Tech 1.40 percent, Wipro 0.87 percent and Infosys Ltd 0.84 percent. TCS was the worst hit among the BSE 30-share pack.

Led by the decline in these scrips, the BSE Information Technology index fell 1.91 percent to close at 15,659.96. The US-headquartered company, which has a significant portion of its employees based in India, revised its full-year 2019 revenue growth outlook to 3.6-5.1 percent in constant currency, significantly less than 7-9 percent projected just months ago. The company follows January-December as financial year. It cited “first quarter underperformance” and the likelihood of slower growth in financial services and healthcare as reasons for the massive cut in full-year outlook. Shares of Cognizant, however, are not listed on India bourses. A strengthening rupee also weighed on the IT counters.