Infosys stock closes lower amid Rs 13,000-crore share buyback

The stock of India's second-largest software services firm Infosys closed lower on Thursday after the firm commenced its Rs 13,000-crore share buyback programme.

The stock rose in early trade on Thursday.

The share buyback, is the first in the company's 36-year long history, and will see Infosys buying back over 11.30 crore shares at Rs 1,150 apiece.

At 11:36 am, the stock was trading 0.36 percent higher at 986.50 level in an otherwise weak market.

The stock is up 1.18 percent since the last one year. It's down 2.42 percent on an year-to-date basis on the BSE.

The buyback proposal was approved by the Infosys Board on August 19.

The buyback had been a long standing demand by some of the founders and high-profile former executives, who have been pushing Infosys to return surplus capital to its shareholders.

Earlier this year, its larger rival Tata Consultancy Services completed a Rs 16,000-crore mega buyback offer. Other competitors like Cognizant, Wipro and Mindtree had also made similar announcements.

Share buybacks typically improve earnings per share and return surplus cash to shareholders, while supporting share price during period of sluggish market condition.