Gloom and Doom Ahead

If one goes by the headlines, there is doom and gloom ahead. Airlines are going bust, people are being laid off, bond yields have crossed 9 pc and Italy tethers on the brink of a collapse. Lets us look at things in detail and try and find a silver lining to the cloud.

1. For any medium term upside, 5390 - 5400 remains the key resistance. There are a confluence of resistances here. The previous high comes at 5399, the 200 DMA comes at 5390 as also the lines joining previous tops from 6339 comes at this value. Prudence suggests that one should not go long before 5400 is breached.

2. On the downside, fresh shorts could be taken below 5072 and 5011, the previous significant bottom. We are in some kind of consolidation move right now. This expiry is 9 trading sessions away and we wait and watch. In this series it is only the Option writers who have made money.

3. Fundamentally, Kingfisher is in trouble. The problem is not as simple as an airline going bust. It has a cascading effect. Several banks have a very high exposure to the airlines and their NPAs will go up. The Power sector also has NPAs rising and banks will be wary of lending to the power sector as well.

4. The government bonds are trading at an yield of almost 9 pc. The Repo Rate is at 8.5 pc and will raise further in the month of December. The high yields imply that government bond supply is not being absorbed by the market. In simple language, government is borrowing big time from the markets.

5. Gold is also trading in a range. The previous top needs to be taken out for investments to be made in gold. The rupee has breached the psychological Rs 50 mark. Weak rupee means the companies which import are in trouble. India is an economy which is a net importer and hence the fiscal deficit target of 4.6 % is not likely to be met.

6. With elections in the key states of UP and Punjab round the corner expect no fiscally prudent measures from the government at least till March 2012.

Now, is the time to start nibbling at stocks, systematically picking the good companies. Those interested in stocks and gold investment advice, there is Lakshmi's Cherry Picks available.

Finally, a tailpiece on Austerity in these tough times by Sanil Sonalkar.
Financial year 2011-12 has truly marked the dawn of a new era of austerity measures being adopted by countries worldwide, caught in the midst of a recession which seems to be spreading by the day. The developed world, particularly the USA & the Eurozone countries, are grappling with huge debts and failure to pay sovereign obligations is becoming a stark reality. To tide over the crisis, these countries are resorting to unprecedented austerity measures in a ferocious bid to salvage pride and credit ratings (no pun intended).

Back home, the common man is increasingly feeling the burden of high prices and household budgets have taken a hit like never before - austerity begins at home too. The government,
almost belatedly, has tried to offer some respite by increasing the interest rate on the popular savings schemes - PPF, NSC, etc, etc. This may seem too little, too late.
A judicious mix of savings and investments is the order of the day in these troubled times.