Nifty could slide into bear market territory

One lead indicator could be the Bank Nifty. The Bank has a high beta with respect to the Nifty, and financials have a very high weight in both the Nifty and Sensex (and also in the Nifty Next 50)

The technical position in the stock market is interesting. Breadth indicators are down. Declines have vastly outnumbered advances in September. Volumes have risen as prices have fallen. The rupee has hit a set of lower troughs. The major indices have lost 5 per cent this month, while midcaps and smallcaps have lost even more. The FPIs have been consistent sellers - divesting a net Rs 108 billion of equity. 

We are some way short of definitively calling this a bear market, however. The Nifty and Sensex remain above their respective 200-day moving averages (200-DMA). While a pattern of falling tops and