The casualty here has been the operators who lost heavily earlier when the force of the FII selling took them by surprise resulting in fairly considerable losses. Thus these operators who traditionally impart liquidity and buoyancy at the bourses are conspicuous by their absence.

However, in the Indian market memories are short and it might not be too long before the next party commences, FIIs, domestic FIs and operators all included.

Traders could consider taking up long positions at the counters of Fulford at Rs.391 (square up at Rs 416), Goodlass Nerolac at Rs 162 (square up at Rs 178) and Castrol at Rs 361 (square up at Rs 383). Short positions could be considered at the counters of ITC at Rs 767 (cover up at Rs 751) and Essel Packaging at Rs 566 (cover up at Rs 549).

The dark horse bet of the week is Philips India whose share price has dipped below the three figure mark. Discerning medium term investors could consider exposure at the counter of Voltas which looks underpriced at the current price level.

Perhaps, a prod from the Finance Ministry or even SEBI could revive the waning enthusiasm at the bourses. But then, the market has this knack of bouncing back sharply just when despondency seems to be setting in. Will history repeat itself?

(Ashok Kumar heads Lotus Strategic Consultants, Mumbai, and can be contacted on e-mail at: ashokkumar@mantraonline.com)