The bourses switched on insipid and ended Wednesday's session flat. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed at 3601.39 (down 03.04 points) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 ended at 1133.80 (plus 03.10 points).
The market breadth was positive as the ratio of advances to declines on the two exchanges combined stood at 1792 : 834.
The capitalisation of the market breadth was also positive at Rs 3,113 crore: Rs 1,608 crore on the two bourses taken together.
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Traded volume on the BSE was Rs 1,426 crore, while on the NSE it was more than double that at Rs 3,313 crore.
The market capitalisation shows buying concentration in index heavyweights.
Traded volumes perked up compared with Tuesday, and has logged a rise of 10 per cent over the last fortnight's traded average. That is a sign of increased retail participation.
The outlook for the trading session on Thursday is that of caution as the indices have been unable to surpass their short-term resistance levels on the daily charts.
The Nifty continues to face resistance at 1150-1155 levels and the Sensex at 3635 levels.
Should the Nifty surpass 1155 levels and close above it, expect the upmove to gain momentum. On the lower side, expect the markets to get support at 1115 levels.
Among stocks, stay long on the Bharat Electronics counter as long as it stays above Rs 355 levels. This share is regularly making new highs and that makes it a market outperformer and a good buy. Buy for delivery and derivatives trades, albeit in minimal quantities.
Tata Iron & Steel is on an upturn and should see Rs 180 levels if the markets remain firm. Buy for delivery and derivatives in small quantities, keeping a 2 per cent stop-loss.
Traded volumes must be kept small to protect capital.
Vijay Bhambwani
CEO, BSPLindia.com
The author is a Mumbai-based investment consultant and invites feedback at vijay@bsplindia.com
Sebi disclosure: the author has no exposure in any securities mentioned above.