Markets have started the trading session on a firm note with the Indices hitting lifetime high. The first Budget session of the 16th Lok Sabha begins today.

Indices continue to scale fresh highs on account of strong foreign inflows and budget optimism.

Infosys Ltd's operating profit may lag consensus estimates when India's second-largest IT services exporter reports quarterly results on July 11, Thomson Reuters StarMine's SmartEstimates shows.

In line with expectations, Vishal Sikka, chief executive officer (CEO)-designate of city-based Infosys, is set to become the highest-paid executive in the Indian information technology (IT) services space. Sikka’s total annual remuneration would be up to $5.08 million (Rs 30 crore), in addition to stock options worth $2 million, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies rose on Friday after US-listed Accenture reported good results for the quarter ended May. Investors lapped domestic IT stocks, as Accenture’s results signalled a robust demand environment and higher order flows for Indian IT firms, brokers said. On Friday, the BSE IT index rose 2.5 per cent, the gains led by Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services HCL Technologies, each rising three-four per cent.

Commending the role of N R Narayana Murthy, banker K V Kamath on Friday said the Infosys co-founder had "got the cost equation right" to improve revenue growth.

Kamath, also the non-executive chairman, said it was on "successor" Vishal Sikka to take that agenda forward.

Amazon's Asia unit will provide back-end support in a venture with an Indian private investment firm formed by Infosys Ltd co-founder NR Narayana Murthy that aims to help get Indian companies online.

Catamaran Ventures's partnership with Amazon Asia will target small and medium-sized firms, Arjun Ramegowda Narayanswamy, who heads the private investment company, said in an email to Reuters on Friday.

Indian software companies gain as a better-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue by Accenture Plc sparks hopes of a robust demand environment, dealers say.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd up 2.7%, Infosys gains 1.4%, Wipro up 1.9%, HCL Technologies rises 3.3% and Tech Mahindra surges 2.3%.

Markets have come off morning highs as weakness in counters like ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and M&M weighed on the indices. At 1130 hrs, the Sensex was up 80 points at 25,143 and the Nifty was up 22 points to trade at 7,514.

In the broader markets, the smallcap index surged 0.6% and the midcap index was up 0.4%, both outperforming the Sensex which was up 0.3%.

Bangalore: Infosys Ltd is finalizing a new board for its recently hived-off products and platforms unit, Edgeverve Systems Ltd, even as India’s second largest software services exporter looks to create a road map for more product launches in the next few years from the unit.

“We realized that we needed to fine-tune the operating model. We decided we had to give it an environment in which the R&D (research and development) and engineering of the products and platforms is done attuned to a products and platforms organization which requires its own processes, own culture and, at the same time, we wanted to create something that can connect better with clients,” Sanjay Purohit, head of Edgeverve, said on the sidelines of last week’s annual shareholder meeting.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies are trading higher for the fourth consecutive trading session as the Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, MphasiS, Hexaware Technologies, Mindtree and Tech Mahindra are up 1-2%, each in early morning deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.