Indian shares seen lower, Satyam in focus

BANGALORE, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Indian shares are expected to
remain subdued in thin trade on Monday in line with weak Asian
markets and on fears of poor quarterly earnings, but Satyam
Computer (SATY.BO) may buck the trend.

Shares in Satyam are expected to rise sharply after the
Indian outsourcer said it would consider more options to
improve its business practices, including strengthening
corporate governance. [ID:nBOM418074]

New York-listed Satyam SAY.N, India's No. 4 software
services exporter, has seen its shares plummet by about 40
percent since a botched attempt two weeks ago to buy two
infrastructure firms in which management held stakes.

"The market will be soft mainly because of the global cues
and non-participation by institutional investors. This trend
will continue for the next three days," said independent
investment consultant S.P. Tulsian.
"The trendsetter for the market in the short term will be the
next month's quarterly earnings reports. I don't expect a sharp
movement in the market on either side until the results start
pouring in."

The government said on Friday advance taxes paid by
companies for the December quarter had fallen 22 percent from
the same period a year ago, indicating a big drop in expected
earnings. [ID:nDEL002313]

On Friday, the main 30-share BSE index .BSESN fell 2.51
percent to 9,328.92, its lowest close since Dec. 8. It lost 7.6
percent on the week, its first drop in three and the worst
weekly fall in two months.

By 0332 GMT, Japan's Nikkei .N225 was down 1 percent,
Hong Kong .HSI fell 0.9 percent and Sydney .AXJO was
trading 0.1 percent lower. The Nifty futures traded in
Singapore SINc1 was down 1.5 percent.
--------------MARKETS SNAPSHOT AT 0337 GMT-------------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 872.8 0.54% 4.650
USD/JPY JPY= 90.55 -0.18% -0.160
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.1335 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= $881.45 1.69% 14.650
US CRUDE CLc1 $39.15 3.82% 1.440
DOW JONES .DJI 8515.55 0.56% 47.07
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 91.31 1.90% 1.70
--------------------------------------------------------------

STOCKS TO WATCH

* Bharat Forge Ltd (BFRG.BO) after the auto components
maker said its board had approved issue of non-convertible
debentures for 2.5 billion rupees to Life Insurance Corp on
private placement.

* Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KRBR.BO) after the firm said it
had shut its production unit in Madhya Pradesh from Dec. 25 to
Jan. 4 to avoid excess inventory.

* Tata Metaliks (TMET.BO) after the firm said it would
raise 1 billion rupees by issuing non-convertible debentures
on
private placement, bonds or through syndicate loans.

FACTORS TO WATCH
* Indian rupee report
[INR/]
* Indian bond report
[IN/]
* FOREX-Pound hits record low vs euro, Swiss franc gains
[FRX/]
* Oil jumps over $2 on Israel-Hamas violence
[O/R]
* GLOBAL MARKETS-US and Japanese stocks rise, oil up on UAE
cuts [MKTS/GLOB]
* US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall Street opens up on GMAC decision

[.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
INADR
(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee & Sowmya Kamath; Editing by
Ranjit Gangadharan)