Indian stocks fall 0.4% in seesaw trading

Mumbai: Indian shares fell 0.4 per cent yesterday in seesaw trade, indicating fragile investor sentiment ahead of quarterly results but Infosys Technologies Ltd bucked the trend on strong earnings.

Falling markets in Europe and weak US futures that pointed to a lower opening on Wall Street also contributed to the drop after the market had risen 1.7 per cent in the morning, traders said.

"The market was holding on because of strong performance from Infosys, but the fall in European markets has raised fears of recessionary economic conditions again," said Arun Kejriwal, director of Kris Research. Bellwether Infosys, India's second-largest outsourcer, rallied as much as 7 per cent after it beat expectations with a one-third jump in quarterly net profit.

Satyam Computer Services Ltd which is at the centre of an accounting fraud, closed down 9.2 per cent at 31.25 rupees as investors awaited a new government-appointed board to put the firm back on track.