Range-Trading Likely

 The market lost ground through most of the week with a small recovery in the last stages of Friday. The Sensex closed at 4838.54 points for a loss of 0.56 per cent.

 The Nifty was down 0.63 per cent at 1540.7 points. The Defty slipped 1.43 per cent as the dollar gained sharply versus the rupee.

 Breadth indicators were quite poor. Advances were significantly outnumbered by declines. The broad BSE500 lost 0.68 per cent.

 Volumes were low but stable. The Nifty put-call ratio rose to around 0.49, which could be characterised as oversold in the context of the last six months.

 Outlook: The possibility of a further downturn next week cannot be ruled out. Most likely is a period of range-trading between the 1510-1575 zone. The recovery late on Friday looked to be a technical bounce from support at 1510 rather than the beginning of a strong uptrend.

 If there is another dip, the support at 1510 is likely to be severely tested on the next downturn. Even if the uptrend does continue, it