Sensex up 67 pts in opening trade, IT stocks rally

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Tuesday rose by 67 points, or 0.38 per cent, in early trade as stocks led by technology sector strengthened despite software major Infosys Technologies announcing a 3.6 per cent dip in its third quarter net profits.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Tuesday rose by 67 points, or 0.38 per cent, in early trade as stocks led by technology sector strengthened despite software major Infosys Technologies announcing a 3.6 per cent dip in its third quarter net profits.

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The BSE barometer gained 67.33 points at 17,594.04 points largely on the back of strong recovery in technology stocks.

The broader National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 51.10 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 5,300.50 points.

Brokers said technology stocks rose even as Infosys posted lower-than-expected drop in its December quarter net earnings. Infosys' third quarter net profit dips 3.6 per cent to Rs 1,582 crore.

The BSE IT sector index shot up by 3.32 per cent to 5,165.04 points. Infosys jumped by 3.29 per cent to Rs 2,570.50, Tata Consultancy Services by 3.35 per cent to Rs 738.20, Wipro by 3.51 per cent to Rs 685.45 and Tech Mahindra by 1.38 per cent to Rs 1,051.85.

Among other gainers which supported the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 0.39 per cent to Rs 1,085.80 and Bharti Airtel by 0.02 per cent to Rs 329.