Punters target Satyam: The news of Satyam Computers entering into a joint venture agreement with GE Industrial Systems has set the stock soaring on the bourses. The scrip, one of the few bright spots on Monday, surged ahead by Rs 27 accompanied by large trading volumes. Prospects of increased forex earnings also pushed the stock to an intra-day high of Rs 574 on NSE. The new joint venture company, Satyam-GE Software Services Private Limited, would provide design anddevelopment work in mechanical CAD/CAM/CAE and product software for GE Industrial Systems' global product development activities in Europe and North America.

Petron braves the storm: Expectations of an attractive dividend had sent investors flocking to the Petron Engineering counter. In less than a fortnight, the stock zoomed from Rs 18 to Rs 30. The company did not disappoint investors -- it has announced a dividend of 24 per cent. For those who entered at Rs 18, the yield works out to over 13 per cent, which is higher than what most banks offer on their one-year deposits. Shareholders can also take heart from the fact that Petron has withstood the recession and posted a 30 per cent growth in net for the year ended September 1998.

Stochastics indicate a sell: In the Sensex chart, the daily stochastic indicator has crossed its trigger line indicating a sell for short-term. But this has not happened on the weekly chart. The interpretation is that long-term investors can still pick upbluechips on decline. But do allow the wave of profit-taking to go through. Corporation Bank could be a pick in reaction. Digital Equipment at Rs 137 could be another target. Pharma shares are coming down in a wave of profit-taking. While they could be tempting for short-selling, one also needs to take care of risks.

Tisco is an attractive buy: Tisco has given a fresh break out and is expected to continue its uptrend. The stock has moved above the resistance level of Rs 99.50, which clearly puts the stock into a bull orbit. In fact, the break-out has occured with a huge jump in volumes. The daily trading volume touched a 6-month high of over 40 lakh shares. The stock had bottomed out at Rs 68 in the last week of October. From this level, it moved up to Rs 99.50, which is a resistance level. However, it failed to cross the level and reacted to Rs 82. Since then, the stock has been on an upward trend.

Prices turn weak on NSE: Share prices turned weak on the National Stock Exchange onemergence of fresh selling by financial institutions (FIs). The market opened on a postive note, but equities could not maintain their opening levels and declined during the trading session and finished with some losses. The S&P Cnx Nifty dropped by 6.40 points to 863.60 from the previous close of 870.00. Cnx Nifty Junior fell by 4.05 to 1433.60 from 1437.65. The S&P Cnx Difty eased by 4.85 to end at 702.90 from the previous close of 707.75.

Stocks close lower on DSE: Stocks failed to maintain their early gains following emergence of selling by domestic financial institutions coupled with profit-taking at higher levels. The Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) sensitive index, after opening at a firm note surged to 667.79 points towards the middle of the session but due to late selling in index-linked stocks, it slipped back to close 3.30 points down at 657.36 points. Marketmen said adjournement of Parliament after some members shouted slogans against the Women's Bill also triggered late selling on themarket.

Stocks shed gains on CSE: Industrials resumed on the Calcutta Stock Exchange on a firmer note with prices in most cases above the Thursday's closing rates because of markedly higher advices from the Mumbai bourse over the weekend. But with higher rates attracting waves of profit taking, the top marks were not maintained in the majority while select scrips finished lower than the Thursday's closing. The turnover was fair and undertone steady. The CSE 40-share index finished the day at the lowest level of 1671.04 points the highest being 1685.42 points.

Malaysian shares end 1.3% higher: Malaysian share prices closed 1.3 per cent higher Monday due to follow-through buying despite a mild bout of late profit-taking, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Stock ExchangeÕs benchmark composite index rose 7.13 points to finish at 541.01 while the lesser second board index fell 1.55 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 178.95.

Tokyo stocks fall 2%: Share prices in Tokyo finished 2 per cent lower onMonday, depressed by a gloomy central bank business survey and caution over the near-term outlook for Wall Street, brokers said. There was some relief for investors, however, as the impact of debt-ridden Nippon Credit Bank LtdÕs enforced nationalisation announced on Sunday was limited, brokers said. The 225-issue Nikkei average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 294.02 points to end at 14,111.62.

Singapore closes 2.3% lower: Singapore share prices closed 2.3 per cent down Monday in dull trade amid a lack of interest from both institutional and retail investors, dealers said. The Straits Times Index fell by 31.77 points to 1,379.50. Hong Kong share prices opened 0.8 per cent lower Monday amid an absence of fresh leads. Hang Seng index lost 78.54 points to open at 9,873.46.

Jakarta shares down 0.2%: Indonesian shares Monday closed 0.2 per cent lower with falls on selective big cap shares pressuring gains on second liners, dealers said. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index was down 0.892points at 404.703. The Indonesian rupiah was trading at 7,450-7,525 against the dollar in late Monday trade.