Sunday, January 15, 2012

BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 index chart patterns – Jan 13 ‘12

BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 index chart patterns closed higher on a weekly basis but both indices are yet to convincingly cross above their 50 day EMAs and down trend lines (marked DTL). The FIIs have stepped up their buying, but DII selling kept the up moves in check.

Q3 results have started to trickle in. Infosys did well, but their Q4 guidance disappointed the market and the stock took a beating. IndusInd Bank declared encouraging results. HDFC results were also good. The market is factoring in some positive policy announcement by the RBI later this month.

Both the indices are trading within their down trend channels and are in bear markets. Till they break out above their downward channels, the bears will remain on top.

BSE Sensex index chart

SENSEX_Jan1312

The Sensex is facing resistance from the blue down trend line (DTL) within the downward-sloping channel. In case the FIIs continue their buying, the up move will need to cross above three important hurdles – the falling 20 week and 50 week EMAs and the upper end of the channel.

The weekly technical indicators are still bearish, but showing signs of turning around. The MACD is negative, but has moved up to touch its signal line. The ROC is negative and below its 10 week MA, but starting to rise. The RSI is just below its 50% level. The slow stochastic has emerged from its oversold zone.

Note that the last four weeks’ trading has formed a bearish ‘flag’ pattern, from which the likely break is downwards. However, volumes have risen during the formation of the flag, which is a contrary indication. Has the rally run its course?

NSE Nifty 50 index chart

Nifty_Jan1312

The Nifty index has moved above its 50 day EMA and the DTL, but not very convincingly yet. Volumes have picked up in the last week, thanks to FII buying. The technical indicators are bullish, but showing signs of weakness. The RSI is above its 50% level, but touching lower tops while the index moved higher. The slow stochastic is turning back after entering its overbought zone. The MACD is rising above its signal line, and about to enter the positive zone. The ROC is positive and above its 10 day MA, but its upward momentum has slowed down.

There has been bullish opinions expressed among some technical analysts that the DTL and the lower end of the downward channel has formed a bullish falling wedge pattern. But two reasons put a question mark over such a prognosis. Falling wedges usually occur as continuation patterns within an up trend. Any pattern formation within a prolonged downward channel is unlikely to have any long-term implication.

A look at the Nifty TRIN should send most bulls scrambling for cover:-

Nifty TRIN_Jan1312

The current rally in the Nifty started after touching a low of 4531 on Dec 20 ‘11 when the TRIN (in red) touched an extremely oversold level of 1.5 (any level of 1.2 and above is considered oversold). The TRIN has now dropped to an overbought level of 0.6 (levels of 0.75 and lower are considered overbought). Is this a warning prior to a break below the downward channel?

Bottomline? The BSE Sensex and the Nifty 50 index chart patterns are in bear markets and falling within downward sloping channels. Several counter-trend rallies have provided bears with opportunities to sell. A sharp fall below the down trend channels can occur at any time. Smart investors may use such a fall to accumulate fundamentally strong stocks for the long-term.

Related Post

Two market breadth indicators

2 comments:

Sanjeev Bhatia said...

Dear Shubhankar Da,

Interesting post. Didnot know about TRIN although looked at A-D ratios quite frequently. Another interesting thing is that particularly in case of TRIN, both the index as well is indicator have come together whenever the gap has widened too much. Is there Any significance of that to get a prior indication of trend reversal or pullbacks?

Subhankar said...

Hi Sanjeev

You are the one who had pointed me to the breadth charts on the icharts.in site!

There is no significance of the 'coming together' of the index and the TRIN - just happened that way because the two graphs have been overlapped to save space and for easier comparison.

The important thing to observe is whether the TRIN is reaching overbought or oversold levels in the short-term.

A long-term trend reversal is almost always indicated by the formation of some reversal pattern that takes a few weeks or months to form.