Infosys Q1: Will bears maintain their dominance on Friday?

Sagar Salvi & Riken Mehta
moneycontrol.com

Traders are warming up for action as the erstwhile bellwether of the Indian software industry, Infosys, announces its first quarter earnings on Friday.

The volatility in stock options of Infosys has hit a five-year high as bulls and bears are anticipating big moves in the stock on either way.

Also Read: Infosys' global sales, marketing head Basab Pradhan quits

As the table below shows, in the last 12 quarters (July 2010-April 2013) Infosys has closed only twice in the green.

Bulls have not done too well, even over a longer time frame. In the last 23 quarters, they have managed to trump the bears only on seven occasions.

However, the weakness in the stock on results day is not only due to earnings miss. Even when the company has managed to meet or better market expectations, unwinding of speculative positions built in anticipation of good numbers has led to pressure on the stock.

Also Read: IT firms USD revenue growth seen up 0.5-4% QoQ in Apr-June

Results Date	Close	Change	% Chg
11-Oct-07	1,976.85	-148.2	-6.97
11-Jan-08	1,581.75	-20.8	-1.3
15-Apr-08	1,510.40	88.5	6.22
11-Jul-08	1,676.85	-128.4	-7.11
10-Oct-08	1,225.20	-29.05	-2.32
13-Jan-09	1,228.15	68.45	5.9
15-Apr-09	1,370.60	-38.7	-2.75
10-Jul-09	1,721.15	43.6	2.6
09-Oct-09	2,177.60	-33.2	-1.5
12-Jan-10	2,586.95	97.3	3.91
13-Apr-10	2,781.90	98.8	3.68
13-Jul-10	2,796.75	-99.15	-3.42
15-Oct-10	3,076.30	-109	-3.42
13-Jan-11	3,205.20	-172.1	-5.1
15-Apr-11	2,989.50	-316.7	-9.58
12-Jul-11	2,791.55	-129.6	-4.44
12-Oct-11	2,679.35	174.8	6.98
12-Jan-12	2,588.25	-238.4	-8.43
13-Apr-12	2,402.55	-348.1	-12.66
12-Jul-12	2,264.40	-206.6	-8.36
12-Oct-12	2,395.35	-137.9	-5.44
11-Jan-13	2,712.10	389.8	16.79
12-Apr-13	2,295.45	-622.4	-21.33