On Tuesday, the sensex was down on account of a fall in otherwise strong stocks. The major contributor was Hindustan Lever. It fell by Rs 56. Another pivotal which made a dent into sensex was Bajaj Auto. It showed a fall of more than 5 per cent or Rs 32. Other major contributors were ITC, Reliance, State Bank, and Larsen & Toubro. Telco for the fourth successive day remained almost in one-side seller mode. The weightage of Telco has declined in the recent past, otherwise, it alone could have brought sensex below 2750 level. The position of other Tata companies -- ACC, Tisco and Tata Chemicals was equally bad. All of these counters broke their respective support levels. For the market, the present situation is without any doubt very crucial. And the final direction ofthe market will be set in the next three to four days.

A simple prospective suggests that the sensex should get a support at 2713 (December 1996 level). But unless pivotals like Hindustan Lever, ITC, Reliance, State Bank and Bhel do not show a jump, how can the sensex rally? And the position of Hindustan Lever is worrying, especially if one were to consider Tuesday's fall. Similar can be said about ITC and Bajaj Auto. So even if other counters such Reliance, State Bank and Larsen & Toubro do not show a decline, fall on the counters of Hindustan Lever and ITC can push down the sensex below the desired level. As such, as always, movements on these two counters would be of prime importance.

Along with these two counters, the market is expected to remain weak on Thursday, unless some positive news prop up on Wednesday when the markets are closed. For traders, fresh purchases are strictly prohibited. As far as the short-positions are concerned, partially covering is recommended when sensex make an attempt tobounce near the 2713 levels.

Stocks like Colgate-Palmolive, Essar Steel, HDFC Bank, Hotel Leela, HDFC, ICICI, IDBI, LML, Lakme, Nocil, Philips, Reliance Capital, Sesa Goa, Tata Chemicals, Wartsila NSD, and Tisco will continue to remain weak.