Powell-speak last week charged up the US markets big time and over the weekend there were big expectations of a ruboff here as well. However, the Gift Nifty seems to be pretty sedate towards the open.
Nevertheless, an uptick today would rescue us from the threat of declines held out on Friday. But know that this can only pull us back into consolidation zone once again. Which will bring us back to looking at the same levels for a breakout- 24850 and 25250. If the market can take out this zone then we may have a game on our hands, particularly to the upside. Option traders are aligned along these borders and keep flipping up and down, as is their wont. Net result is that the stock specific nature of the market is likely to continue. Given the positive feeds from the US, we can choose to be buyers in the stocks and indices if there were to be pullbacks into intra day support zones. Prefer the Nifty compared to the Bank Nifty.

Maruti was in play last week and seems set to continue. Same is the case with M&M. Hero Motor’s exclusion from the Nifty should lead to some fund exits and hence that stock may remain under pressure for a while. There could be switchover buying into Bajaj Auto as that has retreated well enough. UnoMinda from auto ancillaries could also present buying opportunities.