Infosys weak, Microsoft deal awaited

MUMBAI: Shares of India's software major Infosys Technologies Ltd was down in
afternoon deals, after surging briefly on an announcement of plans for an
alliance with Microsoft Corporation. The Indian software major had earlier said
that it will hold a joint press conference with Microsoft Corporation on
Thursday to announce an alliance between the two companies.

At 2:45 p.m. (0915 GMT), the share was down Rs 77 at Rs 8,770, off a high of
Rs 8,925 at the Bombay Stock Exchange. Dealers said the share was weighed down
by the overall market weakness and some profit-taking after rising steadily in
the past three sessions.

The top 30-share Bombay exchange index was down 0.82 per cent at 4,724.54.
The firm said it will hold a joint news conference with Microsoft on Thursday to
announce an alliance. Dealers said there was speculation that Infosys may work
with Microsoft on some products, or the US firm was likely to market Infosys'
products.

"There is a lot of speculation, but we need to get down to the concrete
terms of the alliance before we can judge the impact," said Birla SunLife
Securities analyst Amit Khurana.

"But given the fact that Microsoft chief Bill Gates is in India, it
should be something big," he said.

(C) Reuters Limited 2000.