Santa fails to turn up on Dalal Street

The Nifty, after rebounding from a key pattern, slumped in the first week of the fortnight, losing 1,231 points (4.97%), before recovering slightly last week. Key US indices also saw declines, driven by rising bond yields and concerns about Trump's trade policies.

- V K SHARMA

I couldn't have been more wrong last fortnight, as Santa played truant. I had expected the markets to soar, as the Nifty had rebounded from the neckline of the inverse Head & Shoulders pattern on December 13 and recorded its highest close since October 21.

The markets took a sharp U-turn for the worse from December 16, continuing to slump each day and losing 1,231 points (4.97%) in the first week of the fortnight. Last week, it recouped 351 points intraday but ended with a gain of 226 points (0.96%). The Nifty at 23,813 is now below all its key averages, be it the 10, 20, 50, 100 or 200 days simple moving average.

There were only four trading sessions last week and all the trading took place in the shadow of the large candle that was made the previous week on December 20.