Shares of software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today plunged over 5 per cent

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in morning trade even as the company posted 18.26 per cent rise in profit for the third quarter.

After starting the day on a bearish note, the stock further lost 5.18 per cent to touch an early low of Rs 1,047 on the BSE.

In a highly volatile broader market, where the benchmark Sensex was trading on a flat note, TCS was the worst performer among the 30-Sensex blue-chips in morning trade.

On the NSE, the company's shares fell by 5.31 per cent to Rs 1,045.30.

Selling pressure was also seen at other IT stocks. Infosys was trading lower by 1.91 per cent and Wipro was quoting 2.23 per cent lower at 1110 hours.

TCS' net profit increased to Rs 2,802.77 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 from Rs 2,301 crore in the year-ago period, largely meeting street expectations.

Experts said the sluggish management commentary on the challenging quarter ahead and muted volume growth led to the decline in the stock.

"TCS management has remained confident of the demand environment until now (despite cautious outlook by peer Infosys). However, the weak macro environment has finally caught up the management commentary," Emkay Global Financial Services said in a report.