Infosys shares hit record high

Export-focused outsourcer Infosys Technologies firmed 1.9 per cent to a record Rs 3,075.

At 11:29 a.m. 0559 GMT,the 30-share BSE index was down 0.4 per cent at 20,024.52 points,with 20 of its components declining,after rising 0.6 per cent early.

8220;The market is a bit volatile because of derivatives expiry tomorrow,8221; said Ambareesh Baliga,vice-president of Karvy Stock Broking,referring to the contracts on the National Stock Exchange.

8220;But the party is still on. Foreigners are pumping in big money as the developed world isn8217;t going through a great time,8221; he said.

The benchmark index hit a 32-month high on Monday and is just around 1,200 points from an all-time high.

Foreigners have bought shares worth 5.1 billion in September,boosting the net inflow since the start of January to almost 18 billion 8212; surpassing last year8217;s record 17.5 billion investment.

Tata Consultancy Services,the country8217;s top outsourcer,was up 0.5 per cent after it won a A50 million infrastructure management contract from AGL.

Mahindra Satyam was choppy ahead of its review of audited results for fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

In the broader market,gainers were almost equal to the number of losers on volume of 279 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was down 0.3 per cent at 6,008.75 points.

Elsewhere,the MSCI8217;s measure of Asian markets other than Japan rose 0.8 per cent.