Bears guide benchmark indices to correction Zone

Inflation raises bearish bets; stocks trade over 10% below their peaks

- Ram Sahgal

Correction came calling for Indian markets on Wednesday, as bearish bets built up after the surprise spike in inflation battered stocks.

The Nifty and its smaller cousins are now 10% below their peaks, while the BSE Sensex teeters on the edge. A fall of 5-10% from the peak is referred to as a pullback, 10-20% is a correction, and above 20% marks the beginning of a bear market. As leading indices plunged, traders' strategy to sell more calls than put options paid off.

Market veterans said the texture of the market has changed from 'buy on dip' to 'sell on rise'.

Signalling the rising bearish sentiment, the Nifty touched its 200-day moving average of 23,545 and closed just above it, down 1.36% to approach a five-month low. The index had hit 23537.85 on 24 June. The Sensex fell 1.25% to 77690.95, also the lowest since 77341.08 on 24 June.