Sensex, Nifty open on volatile note amid mixed global cues; Infosys tanks 14% after whistleblower complaint

Equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty stared on a volatile note on Tuesday amid mixed global cues even as index heavyweight Infosys dampened the rally in energy and banking stocks in early trade.

#CNBCTV18Market | Sensex & Nifty open flat. HDFC Bank outperforms after Q2 earnings while Infosys drags post whistleblower complaints pic.twitter.com/YjTvjEvyf5

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) October 22, 2019

Shares of Infosys plunged up to 14 percent after an anonymous group claiming to be employees of the IT major placed a whistleblower complaint to the company’s board, accusing CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy of indulging in unethical practices to boost short-term revenue and profits. [caption id=“attachment_5263731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. Reuters[/caption] After swinging nearly 300 points in early session, the 30-share index was trading 82.38 points, or 0.21 percent, lower at 39,216 in morning trade. In a similar movement, the broader NSE Nifty fell 2.50 points, or 0.02 percent, to 11,659.35. Other losers in the Sensex pack included Tata Motors, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra and Asian Paints, shedding up to 4 percent. Among the gainers were Yes Bank, TCS, Bharti Airtel, HUL, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC twins, RIL and ITC, rallying up to 7 percent. Tata Motors lost by 3.6 percent while HCL Technologies slipped by over 1 percent. Tech Mahindra and Coal India were also in the red. However, Yes Bank gained by 7.2 percent on reports that billionaire industrialists Sunil Mittal of the Bharti Group and Pawan Munjal of Hero MotoCorp could be picking up stake in the private lender. Though the bank has denied such speculation, its stock has gained consistently in the past one week. Wipro, Titan and Bharti Airtel showed marginal gains. In the previous session on Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 246.32 points or 0.63 percent higher at 39,298.38, while the Nifty rose 75.50 points or 0.65 percent to settle at 11,661.85. Domestic financial markets remained closed on Monday due to assembly elections in Maharashtra. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to be net buyers in the capital market, infusing Rs 36.56 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 586.88 crore, data available with stock exchange showed. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading in the green after US President Donald Trump on Monday said progress in developing the text of a partial trade pact with China means he will likely be able to sign it next month. Stock exchanges in Shanghai, however, were trading in the red. The US markets finished on a positive note on Monday. The rupee, meanwhile, appreciated by 22 paise against the US dollar to trade at 70.92 in early session. Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.03 percent to $58.94 per barrel. — With inputs from agencies