The Hindu Business Line : Sideways movement

Monday's trading activity witnessed sideways movement. The sentiment reading of the tradable counters remains neutral. Bull move on Tuesday is likely to change the sentiment reading in their favour. On the contrary, the sentiment reading may turn bearish with additional counters.

NIFTY FUTURES

The February month contract opened with a bull gap of around five points from its previous close. It moved within a range of around 23 points making an intraday high of 4183.40 and closed with a gain of around 17 points from its previous close.

The long position in the February contract remains intact. The long exit and short entry levels are placed quite nearer to its last traded price. These levels are likely to be triggered during the normal course of trading during Tuesday.

STOCK FUTURES

The composition of the top-10 tradable list had no changes. However, the ranking had minor changes. ICICI Bank and VSNL moved up in the ranking, while Hindalco and Satyam moved down. The top-three tradable counters in this segment were Reliance Industries, SAIL and ICICI Bank. The long exit level for Bajaj Auto is placed at 3014.95.

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There are five uptrend and five downtrend counters in the top-10 tradable list. Except ICICI Bank, other uptrend counters are likely to be under threat for Tuesday's trading. On the other hand, the downtrend counters SBI, Tata Steel and Century Textiles are likely to be terminated. There are three buying opportunities and four selling opportunities for Tuesday's trading. The best among them is likely to be buying in Tata Steel. This counter is in downtrend. Bull move on Tuesday is likely to reverse the prevailing trend in this counter.

CASH SEGMENT

The composition and ranking of the top-10 tradable list had minor changes. Reliance gave way to Infosys. Infosys occupied seventh position in the ranking. Tata Steel, Zee Tele and IDBI moved up in the ranking, while Satyam, SAIL and SBI moved down. The long exit level for Reliance is placed at 1419.95.

There are five uptrend and five downtrend counters in the top-10 tradable list. The uptrend counters Satyam, Infosys and BHEL are likely to be under threat for Tuesday's trading. On the other hand, the downtrend counters SBI and Tata Steel are likely to be terminated. There are two buying opportunities and three selling opportunities for Tuesday's trading. The best among them is likely to be buying in Tata Steel. This counter is in downtrend. Bull move on Tuesday 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.