The bears, indeed, used an iron fist during the week to smash the pivotals to pulp, and from the looks of it, the downslide is far from over unless of course the domestic or foreign financial institutions, step in to make bargain purchases. Traders with a bearish temperament can consider short-positions at the counters of Infosys Technologies at  Rs. 7,418 (cover up at Rs. 7,289)  and Wipro at Rs. 2,504 (cover up at Rs. 2,363). Those with a bullish temperament, may consider taking up long positions at the counters of  Nestle at Rs. 486 (square up at Rs. 504) and  Mastek at Rs. 1,977 (square up at Rs. 2,104).

The dark horse bet of the week is Ajanta Pharma while the optimal strategy for this week is – start bargain hunting.

(Ashok Kumar heads Lotus Strategic Consultants, Mumbai. While due care has been taken to prepare this report, readers are advised to take specific investment advice before taking any investment decisions.)