Registering its best gain in the calendar year, the BSE 30-share index remained in positive throughout the day to settle at 19,906.41 - a rise of 242.77 points or 1.23 percent.

Inflation numbers, due on the first trading day of the week, would set the market trend because expectations for a rate cut when the RBI meets on Jan 29 for monetary policy review would be formed accordingly. Besides, third quarter earnings will also determine the market's course.

The key BSE index dipped to settle the week at 19,663.64, a fall of 120.44 points, or 0.61 per cent. Similarly, the wide-based 50-issue Nifty of the NSE initially logged a two-year high of 6,042.15.

Infosys was the only company among large software services firms which deferred salary hikes earlier in the year citing uncertain business environment. It, however, gave promotions to 20,000 employees.

The net profit of the company during the quarter fell a tad to Rs 2,369 crore, or Rs 41.47 a share, from Rs 2,372 crore, or Rs 41.51 per share, a year earlier. Analysts, who had moderate expectations given a spate of poor performances previously, were quick to spot a turnaround.

Despite a better-than-expected third quarter results, the Infosys CEO and MD expressed caution on the broader economic environment saying it \"remains challenging\".

Infosys shares surge by 14.7 per cent following the company's better-than-expected quarterly profit. The IT bellwether also raised its revenue forecast for the 2012-13 fiscal.

Infosys Ltd has revised its revenue guidance for this fiscal (2012-13) by 1.5 per cent to $7.5 billion from previous projection of $7.3 billion on better performance during the third quarter (Oct-Dec).

The revenues of India's third-largest IT services company were up 12.1 per cent to Rs 10,424 crore from Rs 9,298 crore in the year-ago period.

The company commands a market value of Rs 2,74,874 crore - the highest for any listed firm in the country.

All eyes will be on Infosys' guidance for the full year as it takes the lid off its earnings on Friday for the third quarter of financial year 2012/13. Market watchers expect India's third-largest IT services company to further trim its already-low organic growth guidance of 5 per cent for 2012/13.

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Wednesday closed 76 points down as investors indulged in trimming their positions ahead of the quarterly earning season.

Samsung Electronics Co, the world's largest technology company by revenue, will release its full quarterly result later this month.

IT giant Infosys will declare results on January 11. The Infosys stock was the biggest underperformer on the Sensex in the last calendar year, losing 16 per cent while the benchmark index gained 25.70 per cent.

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Monday fell from two-year high by 93 points on emergence of profit-booking in recent star performers amid a weak global trend.

A survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has revealed that business confidence in India worsened during the October-December quarter, due to high interest rates and infrastructure bottlenecks.

Executive co-Chairman S Gopalakrishnan expects 2013 to a better year for the $100 billion Indian IT industry as economic environment improves and businesses invest in technology.

The BSE Sensex ended 51 points higher and Nifty closed above 6,000 level for the first time in two years led by IT and refinery stocks amid firming global trend.

The board will also consider the audited consolidated financial results of the company and its subsidiaries for the third quarter and nine months ending December 31, 2012.

World's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal says it will write down the value of its European business by about $4.3 billion on account of decreasing demand in Europe due to weaker macro economic and market environment.