Well what matters in the market most is Viewpoints which cumulatively decides the trend.Valuations and Technicals are for normal times.
Else how does one justifies outrageously high PEs for some stocks , even when it is not listed(Reliance Power). Fundamentals are non existent and technicals are not available. Even in some stocks which are already trading for long, sustained high PEs are not justified even by their past performances(Ispat or Essar group of companies). Ultimately when viewpoints turn negative trend reverses.
If technicals supported over bought positions for a month or so, nobody bothered to point out or discuss those things.
AS far as I know it is FII action which holds the key. O several occasions markets have been in overbought positions but it continued to get up and move on.
The fisrt alarm signal , as far as I am concerned was in October 2007. How ever a more recent article by Badri Narayanan in Business Line (on 6th Jan 2008) had pointed to this ominous trend
I have very little understanding of FNO side and could only understand the implications of Short Positions by FII may be ominous.
I feel it may be better if somehow we could find such details and analyse it further we may understand market better.
Secondly, FIIs have been net seller for Month of January, how ever they have remained net buyers till date. Their overall investment figures are much more than we could really imagine. So it is unlikely that they would allow the market to tank beyond a certain point. Someone in the forum had pointed out in a thread that FIIs have entered market at various levels and keep booking profits. May be it could be analysed when FIIs have been net positive in their action on spot and futures side or where they are hedging.
Lastly, like all crashes, Market does not give time to investors or traders to make a proper exit based on stop losses. Stocks either get locked in lower circuit or margin calls force you to exit at the lowest.And traders & short term investors get hit most in such situations.
I am sure there will be calls to take short positions. As retail investors rush in to cash last leg of rally and get hit, similarly those taking short positions at this stage may also get badly hurt. Time to take short position was when FIIs were taking it.
Just watch when they take long positions and start entering in your select stocks based on market leadership, growth outlook, low PE and profits etc. This is just for those who take long term investments.
pankaj