Infosys plunges 17%, Sensex ends 334 pts lower (Lead)

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) The benchmark Sensex closed 334 points lower on Tuesday, dragged down by IT major Infosys. But gains by banks and other financial stocks arrested the slide to some extent.During the day, the Sensex swung between the intra-day high of 39,426.47 and a low of 38,924.85. The Nifty closed 71.95 points down at 11,589.90.Infosys saw its worst day on the bourses in over 6 years as investors pulled out following a whistleblower allegations. Its scrips settled nearly 17 per cent lower, despite assurances from the company top brass.The impact was felt far and wide. The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which holds 5.85 per cent stake in the company, fell over 3 per cent during the day."The risk-taking ability is gradually improving and investors are shifting focus from defensive to growth-oriented ideas, owing to the recent developments in global macros and expectation of domestic earnings revival in H2FY20," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Slide in the IT sector might have an impact, but the overall market trend would remain healthy, led by marginally better results in Q2 till now, Niar added.
--IANS ravi/pcj