Key Points:
- No company news explained the spike.
- Trading volumes and options activity surged.
- Likely caused by a technical/data feed glitch, not fundamentals.
Infosys’ American depositary receipts saw an Infosys ADR surge of as much as 57% in volatile New York trading on Friday, triggering two halts and briefly hitting a four-year high, before paring gains, leaving Indian investors cautious ahead of Monday’s session.
Infosys Ltd. shares are in focus after the company’s US-listed ADRs saw an unusual intraday spike on the New York Stock Exchange, followed by a sharp pullback by the close. The move occurred without any disclosed corporate development, according to the company.
The ADR rose to an intraday high of $30, its strongest level since January 2022, when it last peaked at $26.39. The Infosys ADR surge unfolded within the first 50 minutes of trading and was severe enough to prompt the exchange to halt trading twice due to extreme volatility.
The ADR had closed at $19.18 on Thursday. It opened slightly lower at $19.08 on Friday before surging nearly 57%. By the end of the session, however, most of the gains had evaporated, with the stock finishing up 5.4% at $20.22.
Trading Halts Follow Sudden Surge to $30 High
The rapid price escalation caught market participants off guard. The speed and scale of the move were unusual for Infosys, a bellwether Indian IT services company known for relatively stable trading patterns.
NYSE volatility curbs were triggered as prices accelerated, pausing trading twice during the rally. Such halts are designed to cool excessive price swings and allow markets to absorb new information, even when no news is immediately apparent.
Infosys said it was not aware of any material information or corporate announcement that would explain the sudden Infosys ADR surge. The company has not issued any filings indicating a change in fundamentals or outlook.
Volumes and Options Activity Jump Sharply
The price action was accompanied by a surge in trading activity. Volume in the Infosys ADR was nearly 10 times its 20-day average, signaling heightened interest from short-term traders.
Options markets also reflected the frenzy. Call option volumes jumped to roughly 10 times recent averages, while put option volumes were about four times the 20-session average, indicating aggressive positioning amid the rapid rise.
Such spikes in derivatives activity often amplify intraday moves, as algorithmic strategies respond to momentum and volatility signals, market participants said.
Analyst Cites Data Feed Error, Not Company News
Anil Singhvi, managing editor at Zee Business, said the rally did not resemble a typical “freak trade,” which usually occurs in a single erroneous tick.
“This move played out over nearly 50 minutes, which suggests it was not a one-off execution error,” Singhvi said. “A more likely explanation is a data feed issue that led to repeated trades, which then triggered algorithm-based buying at successive price levels.”
Singhvi added that speculation around a potential trade deal or macro trigger did not hold up. “If this were driven by broader optimism, we would have seen similar moves across other stocks, which did not happen,” he said.
Market participants in India are now watching whether the Infosys ADR surge spills over into domestic trading. Infosys shares are expected to remain under close scrutiny in the coming sessions as investors assess whether the episode reflects a technical anomaly or signals heightened speculative interest.
For now, analysts caution against reading too much into a single volatile session, especially in the absence of confirmed news or changes in company fundamentals.
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