Obama vs Goldman 'Oil' Sachs - PART II - Crude Capitulates - the Obama Effect ! - as predicted.

On September 5th we had written .....' Crude oil prices have since come down to around $105-110 levels currently. However, Goldman Sachs is still very bullish on crude and has once again put a target of $150 on crude by year end. With the US election date fast approaching, we will soon have the political pundits coming out with a constant dose of opinion polls on the chances of both presidential candidates. Positive swings in favour of Obama could well signal a negative on crude oil prices and negate the Goldman effect....' Since then Obama has taken a bigger lead over McCain in the opinion polls / presidential debate points nearer to the fast-approaching presidential elections. Consequently, as predicted, crude oil levels have now come down to $70-75 levels. Even the obstinate 'Oil Bull' Goldman Sachs has substantially scaled down its future outlook on crude prices despite having predicted oil prices to be at $150 by year end 6 weeks back - around September 5th.

'Bear' Market's been the only Reality and How???

In April 2006, the Sensex scaled the 12,000 mark for the first time ever and this has been the pivot point for the Indian Stock market eversince. Infact, over the last 31 months since this historical peak was first conquered, we have had the Sensex revisiting the 12,000 odd mark almost as a reality check in as many as 22 months out of the last 31 months. Therefore, approx. 71% and a whopping majority of the overall time in the ensuing period was spent around 12,000. Evidently, Sensex levels between 13,000 to 21,000 was merely an over-hyped aberration. Fundamentally, if at the current index level of 9,975 the Sensex PE stands at 12.60 (per reports in financial dailies), at the pivot level of 12,000 the PE was at a more realistic and reasonable level of around 15. That being so, between 13,000 - 21,000, the PEs were in the high-end of the illusionary range of 17- 27, and therefore, lacked sustainability. In the overall scheme of things, markets have many a time in my experience swung between extremes. After having done so, it is almost magnetically pulled towards the plausible levels (12,000 in our case) most of the times - as evidenced above - with Micro and Macro factors acting as catalysts. I trust the markets to surely have a way of correcting the excesses too after having often over-stretched itself on either side - but can we ever live to see the last of it ? Take a call !

Take a bow !!! Our September 1st BEAR CALL on the Indian Stock Market - SPOT ON !!!

We were perhaps one of the biggest contrarions on September 1st, 2008 and perhaps the motley few who could accurately read the BEAR TREND in the market well ahead of most. Reliance Industries is currently at Rs.1,306 (down 39% from Rs.2,136 on August 31) and the Bombay Sensex at 9,975 (down 32% from 14,565 on August 31). Approx. 4,600 points have got wiped off the Sensex in only 6 weeks since our prediction led by heavy-weights like Reliance Industries.

Reliance down 16% takes index down by 9% - We had cautioned you on September 1

On September 1, we had clearly warned that Reliance Industries can take the Indian stock markets down sharply. Reliance has since dipped from Rs.2,136 on August 31 to a low of Rs.1,800 on September 16 - a dip of about 16% and the Bombay Sensitive Index from 14,565 on August 31 to 13,263 today - down by whopping 9%. The writing was clearly on the wall but the majority of the market experts / brokerages ignored it - leaving Investors / traders trapped at higher levels. At 14,500-15,000 levels of the index, many leading Indian brokerages including an expert from Karvy reiterated a number of times on TV that he was sure that the index will climb to 16,000-17,000 levels shortly. Sample this : in his book 'Swim with the Sharks' - Harvey Mackay writes 'You'll always get the good news, its how quickly you get the bad news that counts'.

Obama vs Goldman 'Oil' Sachs

Goldman Sachs had predicted earlier in the year the crude oil will touch $150 by July 4th when oil was ruling around the $100-$110 mark. Being that it is a very large player in the crude futures market and therefore, true to their word we got to see oil at around $142-147 by July 4th. The world reeled under the pressure of high inflation due to the tizzy hieghts that crude oil touched. This evoked very strong reactions accross the world including the political circles in the USA. Mr.Barack Obama, one of the US Presidential candidate, went to town proclaiming that he will, among other things impose a "windfall" profits tax on oil companies if he is voted into power. Crude oil prices have since come down to around $105-110 levels currently. However, Goldman Sachs is still very bullish on crude and has once again put a target of $150 on crude by year end. With the US election date fast approaching, we will soon have the political pundits coming out with a constant dose of opinion polls on the chances of both presidential candidates. Positive swings in favour of Obama could well signal a negative on crude oil prices and negate the Goldman effect.

Reliance (2081) down 3% , BSE Sensex down only 0.5%

Reliance Industries (2081) has underperformed the BSE Sensitive Index by almost 6 times in September up to date. This was discussed by us on September 1st - when we were very skeptical about Reliance in terms of returns vis-a-vis the index.

Reliance Industries (2136) , RPL (157) look weak

Indian stock market's leading blue chip Reliance Industries has been under-performing the markets in the last two months even though the markets have remained stable. Any adverse movement in the share price of Reliance, which is an Index heavyweight, will have a negative impact on the overall market - more so because there are not many other shares with high weightage that can prop up the index.

Indian Share Market Maturing ? Take a hint from Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

In an interaction on August 23, the Warren Buffett of Indian stock markets Mr Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said, until now we have had three bear markets. “In April 1992, the peak PE was at 63.1 per cent and we have the scam of Mr Harshad Mehta, then in 1994 we peaked at 42 times the earnings, then in December 1999 we peaked at 30 times the earning and had the Ketan Parekh scam. In 2008, we peaked at 21 times the earnings with no scams. While there was euphoria and mania, this time we have peaked at a far more reasonable valuation and are still below peak PE levels of the past,” he said. If I can read between the lines - this to me signifies that as the Indian market matures even further, the gap between manic reactions on both sides - euphoria and pain will narrow. Though the same cannot be said in terms of a time lag between the two - which may well signify an overall lower CAGR on a basket of share market investments. Future upsides will be capped at lower PEs than the previous highest achieved at the last peak before it plateaus out. Therefore, investors who really want to make money in the longer run will have to enter stocks only when it commands a lower PE (considering that previous PE highs may not be achieved) with of course other future prospects and parameters. To coincide with Mr.Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's nuances, a recent SEBI amendments for a stricter evaluation and pricing of IPOs and other capital issuances by existing listed companies is not only a very positive step in managing expectations at reasonable levels of the both issuer and the investor - it will also help in the markets coming of age.

USA & India - Stock Market Co-relations

In the past 2 months the Dow Jones Industrial Index and India's NSE Index have seen positive patterns emerging in terms of technicals - both showing a rising top and a rising bottom formation. Going forward, both countries are grappling with oil price led inflation and their respective negative internal micros. The markets seems to have resigned itself to some issues that they have little control over and are possibly looking at better times ahead. However, excesses on the upper side have yet to be reciprocated on the down side as is the nature of the markets. This could well happen if commodity markets once again spike up or an unknown eventuality catches everybody unawares. With political elections around the corner every effort will be made to feed market-friendly news in the coming months which may keep the markets steadier despite intermittent blips. Possibly, the scenario will add to the time-wise correction with a positive bias which the markets indeed requires for longer term sustainability.

Mid-Cap IT Stocks look good

Mid cap stocks like 3i Infotech, Rolta, Geodesic and Microtech are some of the stocks that look very good bet in a gyrating market largely because of the neutral impact on these companies due to adverse conditions in the USA & other developed markets. The domains these companies operate in largely insulated to local micro and macro headwinds.

How to be a Smart Investor ?

For starters, to be one you might want to try and keep track of the company's products, management, growth prospects, bottom-line, acquisitions, mergers, buy-backs, government policies, regulations, taxes, world/local economy, international demand/supply, world commodities/stock markets, other asset-classes, seasonal factors, calendar events, geo-political factors, currency & interest rate movements, FII/Mutual fund data, technicals/fundamentals, insider news, sentiments, perceptions et al. Easy isn't it? So, what are the canons of successful investing in stock markets? This is a question which many of us ask when faced with a particular market scenario. Not suprisingly, we come accross different answers each time notwithstanding being bombarded with informations and conjectures as soon as we come alive each morning. Don't you think that that day is not far when they'd have invented a technology that enables exchange of SMSs even while sleeping. Curiously enough, if that be the case, you and I will still rush-in to take the prime-mover advantage in the race for more - or some bloke would be smart enough to sell it to us anyways. When we perpetually keep all doors and windows open to the vagaries of the weather, for sure we will enjoy the breeze but can we weather the ominous storm that will suddenly threatens us from time to time? Given the fact that one needs to be invested in the stock markets or any asset class over time, funnelling vital clues into meaningful decisions is more important than shutting yourselves from the data deluge. Differentiating between a breeze and a storm is as important as clocking a profit or loss situation. Else, find an insurance company to possibly cover against the risk of literally loosing your shirt due to an information overload?

PNB (508) at very attractive valuation

Punjab National Bank (PNB) is quoting at around a historically low valuation of around 8. With a risk of 5-7% on this stock it looks good to attain Rs.590-600 in the medium term. Being that it is among the largest banks in India and with strong recoveries - the amounts the company so recovered will directly add to its bottomline.

GTL (248) - Telecom Infrastructure play

GTL with with an almost 97% growth in net profit in the year ended 2007-08 is poised for continued growth with the growth of the mobile telephony sector. It is in the telecom tower space which can piggy back on the telecom growth with a medium term target of Rs.280-300.

Power on with CESC around Rs.474

CESC's a very good bet on the ever-growing demand for power. Clubbed with the prospects of its retail foray flagship 'Spencers' it could see muliple profit streams in the days ahead. A medium term target of Rs.525 - 550 looks imminent.

Focus: Indian Stocks International Plays

Fertilizers & Chemicals : Chambal Fertilisers, Coromandal Fertilisers, Tata Chemicals, Basant Agro. Alternate Energy : Suzlon, XL Telecom & Energy Power Generation: NTPC, CESC, Tata Power Mining : Sesa Goa, Gujarat NRE Coke Metals : Hindustan Zinc, Hindalco, Nalco Energy Equipments : Praj

Sterlite Tech recommended on May 2 at Rs.215 touches Rs.248 on May 8

Sterlite Tech recommended on May 2 at Rs.215 touches Rs.248 on May 8 despite the fact that Sensex has slipped down from 17,600 on May 2 to around 17,000 on May 8. Way to go still.

World's largest insurer AIG's Losses - Should policy holders of Indian Private Life Insurers with MNC partners be worried?

American International Group Inc - the world's largest insurer, posted its largest ever quarterly loss on Thursday - the second consecutive quarter that AIG had posted record losses, hurt by a write-down of derivatives exposed to bad mortgage investments. AIG's first-quarter net loss was $7.81 billion compared with net income of $4.13 billion a year earlier. This brings us to the pertinent question - Should policy holders of Indian Private Life Insurers with MNC partners be worried?

Sterlite Technologies (215)- Market Leader in product & performance

Stupendous performance from Sterlite Technologies (214) with the bottomline up almost up 80% for the year will be a multi-bagger since it is one the leaders in the optical cables market of the world and has also delivered consistent growth.

Bharti (904) will outperform from these levels

Bharti (904) will outperform from these levels because of its relative strength in the otherwise turbulent past months for the market and also because of its fundamental strength. Accumulate aggresively since the low appears to be around 825-850.

Federal Bank (243) and Corporation Bank (340) at attractive valuations

Both are quoting at near all-time low valuations with limited downside and therefore, can be bought and accumulated for handsome gains.

Dena Bank, Indian Bank & PSU Navratnas

Dena Bank (61) and Indian Bank (140) among PSU banks look good for 10%-15% upsurge in the short term. Accumulate PSU Navratnas and MiniRatnas for the medium term for good returns including bonuses etc.

Tracking Mid Cap Winners-March 2008 Results Part I

Temptation Foods....Vakrangee Soft....Compuage....Ankur Drugs....Rallis.... Lincoln Pharma....MMTC....Brescon....Stovec....GTL Infra....Garware Offshore.... Sky Millars....Goa Carbon....KS Oils....Noida Toll.... Orient Paper....Bluedart....Modella Wool....Bihar Caustic...Exide.... M&M Finance....Mangalam Chem Fert....Rain Commodities....Nippo Batteries....Crisil....ILFS Inv....Vimal Oil....Pondy Oxide.... Geodesic....Mysore Cement....Allcargo Global....Glaxo Consumer.... Mic Electronics....Kale Consultants.... Guj Hotels....Tanfac....Alembic....MRF....Ferro Alloys....Facor Alloys ....Unique Organics....Techno Electric....Tata Metaliks....Micro Inks ....Lloyd Electric....Avantel Softtel....Mangalam Cement....Simplex Castings

Can you trust Stock Market Analysts?

A recent readers survey conducted by the leading financial daily 'Economic Times' states that a whopping 86% of the readers do not reckon that the share market Analysts' suggestions are accurate. Wouldn't it be better to buy into an Index fund and stay put while leaving the pack to mull over beating or meeting the benchmark?

Time right to log into Technology

Tech stocks from large caps like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Satyam and Aptech, Hexaware, Tata Elxsi from mid caps look good in the short run. Every dip will be an opportunity going forward.

SBI Hits Rs.1200 target in just 6 trading days !!!

We wrote on Sunday, May 6, 2007......'Bank stocks will rule'.....'SBI (Rs.1128) looks like hitting the Rs.1200 mark ... in the near term'..... Today the stock crossed the Rs.1200 mark with a return of 6.40% in just 6 trading sessions !

Bank stocks rock Dalal Street!!!

We wrote on Sunday, May 6, 2007...'Bank stocks will rule'....Banking stocks have seen significant upmove in the chopppy market and have remained firm all through the week. Infact, they have been the best performing sector on the exchanges after our call. Both private and public sector banks have done very well. Private banks will now look to take lead over PSU banks in the short term.

Bank stocks will rule

Several bank stocks that were beaten down recently look good. For instance our earlier calls on Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, ICICI have yielded good returns in the recent past and can repeat the good performance on the bourses despite recent setbacks to the overall market. Bank of Maharashtra & Lakshmi Vilas Bank are smaller banks but hold very good potential and look good at current levels - certainly on dips too. SBI looks like hitting the Rs.1200 mark again in the near term and Kotak Mahindra Rs.600.

March 21 call on Reliance Industries comes good !!!

On March 21 we wrote....'Reliance Industries (Rs.1340) could hit Rs.1400-1450'.......Today, in just 3 weeks, Reliance Industries closed at Rs.1460 !!!

April 3, we said 'Don't Panic'.... & guided up the Sensex by almost 1100 points!!!

At a BSE Sensex level of 12,625 on April 3, amidst very pessimistic expert opinions we said :'Don't Panic' (after a 600+ points single day fall in the market). Since then we gave a guidance of 13,000 and later upgraded it to 13,500-13,700. In less than 2 weeks, the markets have achieved all of these targets......& we have succeeded in guiding our readers to a gain of almost 1100 points in the BSE Sensex!!!

Sensex target 13,700 Achieved in just a week!!!

April 9 we wrote........ "The BSE Sensitive Index crossed the 13,000 mark convincingly today and closed at 13,177. A level of 13,500 - 13,700 looks good in the short run........".Today the Sensex crossed the 13,700 level convincingly!!!

Kotak Mahindra Bank crosses the 1st target convincingly !!!!...Gains 10% in just 3 sessions

Tuesday, April 3, 2007 when top analysts were siding with the bears we wrote ....'Kotak Mahindra Bank is the strongest'..... 'Kotak Mahindra Bank has withstood all the recent storms and upheavals in the market. At current price (Rs.459.5) it looks good to go upto Rs.500-525 levels soon'..........Today it completed the 1st target and closed at Rs.505.35 - A whopping gain of 10% in just 3 trading sessions.

Sensex Target 2 achieved !!!

On Tuesday, April 3, 2007 (Sensex 12625) we wrote amidst all the chaos and mayhem.........'DON'T PANIC...Sensex will be back around 13,000 levels'.....The BSE Sensitive Index crossed the 13,000 mark convincingly today and closed at 13,177..... A level of 13,500 - 13,700 looks good in the short run.

Sensex Target 1 achieved amid bear onslaught !!!

On Tuesday, April 3, 2007 (Sensex 12625) we wrote amidst all the chaos and mayhem.........'DON'T PANIC...Sensex will be back around 13,000 levels'.....'All the hue and cry will soon die down and the Sensex is likely to bounce back 200-300 points soon and can check the 13,000 levels'. By April 5 the Sensex rose in intraday trade to 12,900 levels - a gain of 275 points. This completed the first target and looked good to achieve the second target too !!!

Kotak Mahindra Bank is the strongest

Kotak Mahindra Bank has withstood all the recent storms and upheavals in the market. At current price (Rs.459.5) it looks good to go upto Rs.500-525 levels soon.

Don't Panic...Sensex will be back around 13,000 levels

All the hue and cry will soon die down and the Sensex is likely to bounce back 200-300 points and can check the 13,000 levels soon. Stick to frontline blue chips....RIL, ONGC, ICICI.

Hexaware call Hits all our Targets with ease !!! ..Gains more than 13% in almost a week.

The stock was at Rs.150.00 on March 15 when we wrote ....'Hexaware's management has confidently projected the bottom-line to double in the next 24-30 months making it a strong candidate to lock-in gains along with the fact that it is available at an attractive PE.'.....On March 22, we wrote...... 'Hexaware (Rs.159.05) gains 5.19% today, can gain further....It looks good for Rs.165-170 levels soon.'.....A day later, on March 23, it crossed Rs.165 and also touched Rs.169.75 intraday.

Dow Jones Index at 12,447 surpasses our 2nd Target as well !!!!

Our post on March 15 (Dow Jones..12,160)......we boldly wrote 'Dow Jones Indl could touch 12300 - 12400 levels soon'.......during the time when fears on China stocks melt-down , Yen-carry trade, US Housing mortgage debacle and Indian inflation worries had dented the sentiments of global investors and fund managers. Dow Jones Indl crossed our 2nd target of 12,400 yesterday - March 21 by a fair margin and closed at 12,447.

YESTERDAY we said further 300-500 points upside seen, TODAY Sensex up 362 points !!!

YESTERDAY we confidently said ........'Experts on leading television channels have expressed 'surprise' at the upmove and have admitted being caught on the wrong foot. Another 300-500 points upside cannot be ruled out from prevailing levels'.......TODAY.....Sensex climbed up by a whopping 362 points !!!

Blue Chip calls of March 9 beat small / mid caps while Sensex moves up from 12,885 to 13,308

Wrote on March 9 .... 'Bargain hunt in blue chips '....... 'ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys..... Maharashtra Seamless, Crompton Greaves ......good bets with very limited downside'... Check out March 9 and March 22 prices : Reliance (Mar9)..1318,..(Mar22)..1375,..ICICI..(Mar9)..859..(Mar22)..900,..Crompton Greaves..(Mar9)..188..(Mar22)..192, Maharashtra Seamless..(Mar9)..462..(Mar22)..505........The Sensex has gained over 400 points between March 9 and March 22 and the BLUE CHIPS /large caps have provided good/safe returns by beating small and mid-caps amongst the strongest bout of all-round weak sentiment & skepticism...with our bargain-hunt-strategy.

Reliance up 2.63% today

Yesterday we wrote 'Reliance Industries (Rs.1340) could hit Rs.1400-1450' ......today it hit Rs.1380 intraday and closed at Rs.1375 with a 2.63% gain.

Federal Bank up 3.28% today

Yesterday we wrote .....'Federal Bank (Rs.217) can give reasonable upside ....in the short term Rs.230-240 target does not look far-fetched and is achievable'.....today it touched Rs.227 intraday and ended at Rs.224.25.

Hexaware gains 5.19% today, can gain further

Wrote on March 15.......'Hexaware's management has confidently projected the bottom-line to double in the next 24-30 months making it a strong candidate to lock-in gains along with the fact that it is available at an attractive PE.'.....The stock was at Rs.150.00 on March 15, today's close was Rs.159.05. It looks good for Rs.165-170 levels soon.

Federal Bank (Rs.217) can give reasonable upside

Federal Bank (Rs.217) has a similar story to South Indian Bank - FII accumulations in the past and good fundamentals. In the short term Rs.230-240 target does not look far-fetched and is achievable.

South Indian Bank (Rs.92) looks good

South Indian Bank (Rs.92) has shown strength in a weak market. FIIs have been accumulating the stock over the last few months. It is backed by strong fundamentals with a target of Rs.100 in the short term and possibly Rs.105 as well.

Infosys (Rs.2094) could soon test Rs.2200-2250

Infosys (Rs.2094) has the potential to touch Rs.2200-2250 and now looks a better bet than TCS. A dip below current levels will be a safe buy. TCS (Rs.1,267), however, may remain range-bound between 1,280 - 1,300 levels and is unlikely to see much of an upside in the short term.

Reliance Industries (Rs.1340) could hit Rs.1400-1450

Reliance looks good to scale Rs.1400-1450 levels soon if the current momentum continues. An announcement from the company could be a possibly a positive trigger to look out for.

Blue Chips stand tall - Banking services / Energy sectors lead the way

Wrote on March 9 .... 'Bargain hunt in blue chips '....... 'ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys..... Maharashtra Seamless, Crompton Greaves ......good bets with very limited downside'. All these stocks have stood rock solid even in the face of market carnage. Today ICICI up 5.60%, Reliance Ind up 1.06%,Infosys up 1.85%, Maharashtra Seamless up 1.06%, Crompton Greaves up 4.50%. Per March 15 note in this blog.......'the sectors to look out for will be energy / alternate energy, services / hospitality and IT in particular'...... today's best performers were energy stocks like Reliance Energy up 3.10%, CESC up 3.40% apart from good all round gains in banking services stocks like ICICI Bank up 5.60%, PNB up 3.56%, SBI up 3.21% etc.

BSE Sensex 400 points bounce back Target Achieved!!!!

On March 15 wrote ......'Markets are poised to spring a surprise with a sharp bounce back of 300-400 points in the next few days'......when the BSE Sensex was ruling at 12,543. Today the Sensex had ended at 12,947..... up 400+ points from March 15 levels - the day when all the experts were unanimous in trying to talk it down to 11,500 levels. Experts on leading television channels have expressed 'surprise' at the upmove and have admitted being caught on the wrong foot. Another 300-500 points upside cannot be ruled out from prevailing levels.

TCS, NIIT Tech do well, Tata Elxsi, Hexaware steady

Refer March 15 article.... 'TCS seems a better bet than Infosys bacause of lesser exposure to business risk associated with the US markets and will outperform the latter in the medium term. Tata Elxsi & NIIT Tech have stood very strong in the recent swings'......These 2 scrips have infact given excellent rewards between 5-10% in a matter of only a couple of trading sessions. Indeed, TCS has also proved a better bet than Infosys which is still around the same levels.

Dow Jones at 12,290 ... & almost there !!!

Refer March 15 article 'Dow Jones Indl could touch 12,300 - 12,400 levels soon....' - written at the time when the market sentiments were very weak and the index was around 11,900 levels. Today, the Dow Jones Indl was just 10 points shy of 12,300 on intraday basis.

Indian Market Bounces back!!!

Refer to the article on March 15 when almost everyone had given up on the market..."Indian Markets to bounce back.... 'Markets are poised to spring a surprise with a sharp bounce back of 300-400 points in the next few days.....sectors to look out for will be .... and IT in particular.' The markets have staged a strong recovery on the back of frontline stocks and midcap IT as well. The momentum is likely to continue with a sideways bias since the volumes remain low. After a brief rest, markets could see another spurt the end of the week.

Dow Jones Indl could touch 12300 - 12400 levels soon

With the market having digested all recent bad news coupled with the Asian markets now looking positive the Dow has the potential to hit these levels within next couple of weeks, however, volatilty will continue to be the order of the day(s).

IT Sector : TCS, Tata Elxsi, NIIT Tech, Hexaware look attractive

TCS seems a better bet than Infosys bacause of lesser exposure to business risk associated with the US markets and will outperform the latter in the medium term. Tata Elxsi & NIIT Tech have stood very strong in the recent swings. Good fundamentals, strong pedigree and excellent future prospects will deliver good returns. Hexaware's management has confidently projected the bottom-line to double in the next 24-30 months making it a strong candidate to lock-in gains along with the fact that it is available at an attractive PE.

Hindustan Lever & ITC are main culprits

Hindustan Lever & ITC have been the main culprits from pre-budget 2007 days until now in significantly denting the sensex and affecting the overall sentiments. Reliance, Infosys & NTPC have provided some support to the BSE Sensex or else the situation could have been far more dismal.

Indian Markets to bounce back

Markets are poised to spring a surprise with a sharp bounce back of 300-400 points in the next few days. Nearly every 'expert' has tried and succeeded in talking down the market. In the near term it has had the desired effect, however, all things good or bad lasts only that long. Investors with a medium term outlook will do very well. The sectors to look out for will be energy / alternate energy, services / hospitality and IT in particular.

Stick to fundamentally strong scrips to gain in the volatile market

ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys gained during the day but remained flat at close. Maharashtra Seamless & Crompton Greaves notched up decent gains to end positive. Tata Elxsi is another stock that will do well in this market - with a potential to climb to around Rs.300 levels. The mantra for now is to stick to fundamentally strong scrips that will protect ones investments from relative sharp declines.

Bargain hunt in blue chips

The market has thrown up good opportunities in blue chips. For short term gains one can look at stocks like ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys for decent gains in the next couple of weeks. Maharashtra Seamless, Crompton Greaves are the other good bets with very limited downside.