From a recent high of Rs 195.45 touched on April 7, 2003, the Satyam Computer stock has lost 26.22 per cent, or more than a quarter of its value to Rs 144.20 on April 17, 2003.

While the BSE IT Sector Index has shed 28.06 per cent, the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex) slipped by 7.17 per cent in the same period. From its 52-week high of Rs 291.85 touched on December 2, 2002, the Satyam Computer stock has shed 50.59 per cent. The stock had touched its 52-week low of Rs 127.30 (face value Rs 2 each) in intra-day trades on 11 April 2003.

Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer will announce its quarterly results on April 24, 2003.

As per market buzz, Morgan Stanley and CL Securities have been persistent sellers on the Satyam Computer counter. The pessimism due to the poor quarterly results and guidance from IT leaders like Infosys Technologies and Wipro has caused the selling pressure on the Satyam Computer counter. There are fears that the company may not be an exception to the general weakness in the tech sector.

For the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2003, Infosys Technologies registered a 23 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 259 crore (Rs 210.3 crore) on a net sales of Rs 1,020 crore (Rs 680.1 crore). Meanwhile, pressure on billing rates and its impact on profit margin has led Infosys to come out with a conservative earning guidance for FY 2003-04.

Infosys expects earning per share between Rs 161 and Rs 163 for the current fiscal, translating into 11.3 per cent to 12.7 per cent growth in bottom line on a year-on-year basis. The company expects income from software development services and products to be in the range of Rs 4,408-4,479 crore translating into a 21.7 per cent to 23.6 per cent growth on a year-on-year basis.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2003, the Bangalore-based Wipro posted a (consolidated) net profit of Rs 225.40 crore (Rs 231.20 crore) on total income of Rs 1,237.70 crore (Rs 940.60 crore). For the year ended March 31, 2003, the company's (consolidated) net profit stood at Rs 820.05 crore (Rs 855.40 crore) on total income of Rs 4,338.30 crore (Rs 3,492.60).

For the quarter ended June 2003, Wipro expects revenue from Wipro Technologies and Wipro Spectramind to be approximately at $172 million and $16 million respectively.

While Infosys' muted guidance weighed heavily on the market, earnings growth concerns continue to haunt the tech sector. Players said there might be a conspicuous re-rating of tech stocks.

Meanwhile, for the fourth quarter, analysts expects Satyam Computer to register a rise in net profit by 1.5-6.8 per cent to Rs 117-123 crore on a 15-20 per cent increase in net sales to Rs 527-549 crore.

For the third quarter (ended 31 December 2002), the company had disappointed the market by coming out with numbers even below its own guidance. It posted a 2.2 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 116.73 crore from Rs 119.43 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Sales rose by 19.8 per cent to Rs 522.26 crore from Rs 435.77 crore. On a sequential basis, the company posted a 5 per cent rise in sales. However, profit after tax (after extraordinary items) slipped by 1 per cent sequentially as margins were under pressure.