Indian shares settled higher on Monday, as IT giant Infosys Ltd surged to an all-time high on the back of strong quarterly results and a hike in revenue forecast. The broader NSE index closed up 0.31% at 11,588.35, while the benchmark BSE index settled 0.41% higher at 38,896.71.
Shares of Infosys climbed 7.2% to a record closing high on their best day in nearly four years, while Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd advanced 3.7% after Morgan Stanley double upgraded the stock. Meanwhile, troubled property finance firm Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) sank 29.2% to its worst closing level in more than a decade, after it warned it may not survive as a going concern and reported a net loss of for the March quarter.
This was also DHFL's worst day since September 21, 2018, when concerns over about a credit crunch in Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services and DHFL first sparked a sell-off in the share market. DHFL's rival Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd, a component of the Nifty 50, fell 4.1% on Monday and checked the gains on the index.
Broader Asian shares were also buoyant after China's second-quarter economic growth came in line with consensus, and industrial output and retail sales topped forecasts, suggesting the world's second-biggest economy may be starting to stabilise thanks to ramped-up stimulus from Beijing.
On Friday, data showed India's retail inflation stayed below the central bank's target in June despite hitting a eight-month high on higher food prices, potentially giving the RBI room for a further interest rate cut to boost slowing growth.
Infosys topped gains on the local indexes, climbing as much as 5.8% in its sharpest intraday gain in two years and pushing the Nifty IT index 2.1% higher.
The IT firm on Friday lifted its revenue forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2020 to between 8.5% and 10% on constant currency basis, from its previous guidance of between 7.5% to 9.5%, as its first-quarter net profit beat analysts' estimates. Yes Bank Ltd rose as much as 5.4% after television channel ET NOW said the private-sector lender got a $850 million term-sheet from a US-based private equity firm.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd advanced 4.2% and was headed for its fifth straight session of gains. Shares of property finance firm Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) plunged 10% after warning that it may not survive as a going concern, as it posted first quarterly loss since at least 2005. Allahabad Bank sank 14.4%, its worst daily drop since November 13, after the state-owned bank said it detected a fraud worth $259 million in accounts of bankrupt steelmaker Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd. Allahabad Bank is the second Indian state-owned bank to report a major alleged fraud by Bhushan this month.