Sensex falls 257 pts as Infy cuts forecast

Mumbai: Asharp reduction in revenue guidance by Infosys sparked a slide in the IT stocks on Thursday, leading to a steep fall in the overall market with the sensex closing down 257 points at 17,233. Infosys, down 8.2% on the day, was the main drag on the index, which also led to a 5.1% crash in BSE's IT index. The slide in the IT stocks, however, is expected to be arrested on Friday on the back of a strong result by TCS, which bettered most analysts' estimates but its results came after the close of trading.      The day's session started on a weak note on the back of alower close in the US market and weak Asian markets. The rush for risk aversion across the globe also affected the sentiment on Dalal Street, market players said. During the day, South Korea and Brazil cut policy rates to support their respective economies, and Euro slid against the US dollar to a more than twoyear low level. Late on Thursday, after dipping to an intrasession low at 1.2168 to an euro, it was trading at 1.22.      In the Indian market, however, the silver lining was the continuous buying by foreign funds. With a net inflow of Rs 267 crore, the month's total net FII buying through the secondary market has already reached close to Rs 4,000 crore, BSE data showed. On the other hand, domestic institutions are taking a cautious stance and recording net outflows.      Among the sensex stocks, Infosys lost 8.2% to Rs 2,265 while Wipro was down 4% at Rs 359 and Bharti closed 3% lower at Rs 306. Of the 30 sensex stocks, 21 closed in the red. In the broader market, there were 1,174 advances to 1,631 declines. The day's slide left investors poorer by Rs 35,000 crore with BSE's market capitalization now at Rs 61.6 lakh crore.