Satyam tremor drags Indian ADRs

Indian shares listed on the American bourses settled mostly in the red, while Infosys defied the trend, after the New York Stock Exchange halted trading in Satyam Computer at its bourses.

Led by internet firm Sify, the shares of 16 Indian entities witnessed a plunge in their share prices.

While American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of Sify Technologies nosedived 17.98 per cent to settle at $1.46, shares of two private sector lenders - ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank - plunged as much as 13 per cent on the NYSE.

On January 7, the New York Stock Exchange halted trading in Satyam Computer Services Ltd after Satyam stock plunged by over 90 per cent to 0.85 dollars in pre-market trade in the US following Satyam founder and chairman B Ramalinga Raju's confession of a Rs 8,000 crore fraud in the company.

However, a NYSE spokesperson did not specify as to when the trading would be resumed in Satyam. "The trading is halted... I cannot speculate about when the halts will be lifted. Nor can I speculate about any other possible actions," a spokesperson for NYSE Euronext said in an emailed reply on queries when trading would resume in Satyam shares.

"NYSE Regulation is currently evaluating the news relating to Satyam and will closely monitor further developments. The security will remain halted until further notice," NYSE had said on January 7.

Meanwhile, on the Indian bourses, shares of Satyam plunged by close to 78 per cent yesterday, wiping off about Rs 10,000 crore (more than two billion dollars) from its market valuation.

Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed IT bellwether Infosys defied the trend and advanced $0.34 or 1.28 per cent to $26.94, while NYSE-listed Wipro ended with a marginal fall of 1.78 per cent at $8.26.