By Manvi Pant and Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares reversed gains after rising to record highs at the open on Friday as broad-based profit booking outweighed results-driven gains in heavyweight Infosys .
The NSE Nifty 50 and the S&P BSE Sensex rose about 0.3% each to hit record high levels at the open, before turning about 0.35% lower as of 10:35 a.m.IST.
Eleven of the 13 major sectors logged losses. The broader, more domestically focussed small- and mid-caps fell about 1.5% each.
“At record high levels, bouts of … profit booking are likely, especially ahead of the national budget,” said Siddhartha Khemka, vice president, head of research (retail) at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Other analysts expect the government to announce measures to boost consumption, while maintaining its adherence to fiscal prudence, helped by record high dividend from the Reserve Bank of India and tax buoyancy.
IT stocks gained 0.7%, led by a 3%rise in Infosys.
India’s second-largest IT services firm on Thursday raised its fiscal year 2025 revenue growth outlook to 3%-4% from 1%-3%, helped by demand recovery.
IT firm Persistent Systems lost 5% after reporting operating profit margins below analysts’ estimates.
Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries, the second heaviest stock in the Nifty 50 index dropped 1% ahead of reporting its quarterly results, post closing bell on Friday.
Drug maker Zydus Lifesciences lost 3% after the U.S. drug regulator said it found objectionable conditions at its Gujarat facility, indicating regulatory sanctions.
(Reporting by Manvi Pant and Bharath Rajeshwaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K, Sohini Goswami and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
