The Hindu Business Line : Sideways movement

Neither bull nor bears able to dominate over Tuesday's trading activity. But the sentiment reading of the tradable counters continues to remain bullish. Bear move on Wednesday is likely to change the sentiment reading in their favour. NIFTY FUTURES

The January month contract opened with a bull gap of around 18 points from its previous close but not able to sustain the initial momentum and gave way to bears. The January month contract moved within a range of around 35 points making an intra-day low of 4066.50. The January month contract closed with a loss of around five points from its previous close.

The long position in the January contract exited with huge profit of 176 points and went short. The short exit and long entry levels are placed quite nearer to its last traded price. These levels are likely to be triggered during trading on Wednesday.

STOCK FUTURES

The composition and the ranking of the top-10 tradable list had minor changes. ONGC gave way to IDBI. IDBI occupied eighth position. The long exit levels for TCS, Tata Steel and ONGC are placed at 1320.25, 481.50 and 915.45, respectively. The top-3 tradable counters in this segment were India Cements, Bajaj Auto and IDBI.

There are seven uptrend and three downtrend counters in the top-10 tradable list. Except IDBI and ICICI, other uptrend counters are likely to be under threat for Wednesday's trading. On the other hand, all the downtrend counters are likely to be terminated. There are five selling opportunities and three buying opportunities for Wednesday's trading. The best among them is likely to be selling in ONGC. Bear move on Wednesday is likely to reverse the existing trend in this counter.

CASH SEGMENT

The composition of the top-10 tradable list had no changes. However, the ranking had minor changes. Infosys, SAIL and ICICI moved up while Tata Steel moved down in the ranking. The long exit levels for TCS and Tatamotors are placed at 1318.95 and 945.55, respectively.

There are eight uptrend and a two downtrend counters in the list. Except ICICI and Polaris, other uptrend counters are likely to be under threat for Wednesday's trading. On the other hand, both the downtrend counters are likely to be terminated. There are six selling and four buying opportunities for Wednesday's trading. The best among them is likely to be selling in ONGC. This counter is in uptrend. Bear move on Wednesday is likely to reverse the prevailing trend in this counter.

(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.