The Hindu Business Line : Indecisive move

MONDAY'S activity had very less impact on the top-10 tradable counters. The sentiment reading of the tradable counters stands neutral. Bull pressure on Tuesday is likely to change the sentiment reading in their favour. On the contrary, the sentiment reading is likely to turn bearish.

Nifty futures recommendation: The December month contract opened with a bear gap of three points and went further down by another five points. Later on, bulls took charge of the day's proceedings and wiped out their early losses.

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The December contract moved within a band of 25 points. It closed with a gain of around 14 points with respect to Friday's close.

The short position in the December contract remains intact. However, this is likely to be under threat for Tuesday. The exit level is placed within two points from its last traded value. Bullish trigger level for the December contract is also placed closer.

Bull domination on Tuesday has the potential to reverse the downtrend in the December contract.

Stock futures recommendation: ONGC regained entry to the top-10 active counters list with the exit of M&M. The top three traded counters in this segment were Reliance, Tata Steel and NTPC.

Bull move on Tuesday is likely to terminate the prevailing downtrend counters in the list. On the other hand, the four uptrend counters are likely to be under threat. Buying opportunities are likely to exist in six counters. Selling opportunities are likely to exist in three counters.

Buying in State Bank is likely to be the best for Tuesday's trading. This counter is in the downtrend. The exit and bullish trigger levels for this counter are placed very close to its last traded value.

Bull pressure on Tuesday is likely to reverse the prevailing downtrend in State Bank.

Cash segment: The top-10 tradable list underwent a change. Zee Tele gained entry with the exit of Wipro.

The ranking of the list had some changes. Infosys moved to the fifth position followed by Tata Motors and Satyam.

Bear pressure on Tuesday could be a threat to the prevailing uptrend counters in the list. On the contrary, the downtrend counters are likely to be terminated. Bulls are likely to have opportunity in four counters. Selling opportunities are likely to exist in three counters.

Buying in State Bank is likely to be the best bet for Tuesday's trading. This counter is in the downtrend. Bull move on Tuesday has the potential to reverse the prevailing downtrend in State Bank.

(Note: All price levels refer to the absolute value of the shares traded on the NSE. There is risk of loss in trading.)

The author is a technical analyst and fund management consultant.