India's Infosys rises after approving biggest ever share buyback

** Shares of Infosys NSE:INFY1! rise 1.74% to 1,536 rupees

** India's No. 2 IT service provider approves its fifth and largest share buyback worth 180 billion rupees (~$2 billion)

** INFY to buy back 100 million shares at 1,800 rupees/share via tender offer

** Investec ("Buy", PT: 1,655 rupees) says INFY's 85% free cash flow payout policy implies lower dividends this year due to the buyback but it is expected to be ~2.4% earnings accretive in FY26

** Morgan Stanley ("Buy", PT: 1,700 rupees) says based on historical experience, it could take 3-4 months to fully execute the buyback, and it is a vote of confidence on stability in FY26 guidance ahead of results

** CLSA ("Outperform", PT: 1,861 rupees) says buyback should provide some support to the stock price during a seasonally weak second half, and sees any macro improvements leading to upward revisions to the top end of revenue growth guidance

** INFY down 18.3% YTD

($1 = 88.3070 Indian rupees)