Information Technology stocks have outperformed the index on Sensex in April. The sharp jump in TCS has helped the overall outlook for the tech sector in the country.
The latest gain was led by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The company’s shares reached new heights in the month of April. With the 24% rise, TCS has scaled $100 billion landmark market capitalization mark and became the most valued company in the country. Infosys is the second company that concluded April on a strong note.
The IT index ended the April month with 10.71% gain. The 30-share index gain for the same month was 6.64%. BSE Information Technology index was quoted at 13,567.69 on April 30th, significantly higher than its value on April 2, which was 12,254.92 points.
India’s second largest firm, Infosys soared 5.72%, HCL Technologies at 8.44% and Tech Mahindra at 5.20%. IT stocks have the second biggest sectoral weight in the indices, after banking. The strong tech stocks performance last month helped Sensex gain 6.64%.
A Nomura report suggests that the rupee started depreciating since the beginning of 2018 by nearly 4%. The report said, “IT has already materially outperformed Nifty in this period of rupee depreciation. Theoretically, companies with lower margin profiles and higher offshore components are likely to benefit rupee depreciation.”
Referring to India’s IT earnings, Edelweiss Research firm said, “Our analysis reveals that with acceleration in revenue and digital gaining scale, double-digit earnings growth will soon become a reality. We reiterate our structural bullish call on sector led by falling proportion of low-growth business being replaced by high-growth digital business.”
The mutual fund ownership in IT is still quite low in the Indian industry. Elara Capital’s report suggests that large-scale mutual fund allocations were moved into the financial sector after 2014. In an official note, Elara Capital said, “Now the AUM ratio has reached close to 2008 highs reversal has begun. Any large reversals will significantly benefit IT, which remains the largest under-allocated sector among local MF. In the past, a reversal such high zone has brought about a big round of outperformance in IT.”