Today's picks Nifty, Hindustan Unilever, Hindalco, HCL Tech & Union Bank Dec 12, 2012

NIFTY
Current: 5,899 (futures: 5,931)
Target: NA
A swing session could pull the index till 5,825 or 5,975 with the futures trading at 30-40 points premium. Stop loss shorts at 5,950 (futures price 5,980) and stop loss long positions at 5,850 (fut: 5,880). Hold a bullspread of long 6,000c (34) and short 6,100c (12) – it will double if the index rises past 5,950.

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER 
Current price: Rs 545
Target price: Rs 560
The stock should test resistance at around Rs 560-565. Keep a stop at Rs 535 and go long. Add to the position between Rs 550 and Rs 555. Book profits above Rs 560.

HINDALCO 
Current price: Rs 120
Target price: Rs 116
The stock is likely to react until the Rs 114-116 level. Keep a stop at Rs 122 and short. Add to the position between Rs 117 and Rs 118.5. Book profits below Rs 116.

HCL TECH
Current price: Rs 614
Target price: Rs 590
If support between Rs 600-606 breaks, the stock could fall till Rs 590. Keep a stop at Rs 622 and go short. Add to the position between Rs 600 and Rs 605. Book profits at Rs 590.
UNION BANK 
Current price: Rs 250
Target price: Rs 246
A pullback till Rs 244-246 is possible. Keep a stop at Rs 261 and short. Add to the position between Rs 249 and Rs 252. Book profits below Rs 246.

Today's picks HDFC, Tata Steel & Cairn

HDFC 
Current price: Rs 866
Target price: Rs 890 
The stock hit a new high on decent volumes. It could move till the Rs 890-900 mark if it consolidates above Rs 865. Keep a stop at Rs 855 and go long. Add to the position between Rs 873-800. Book profits above Rs 890. If Rs 855 is broken, a fall till Rs 835-840 is likely.

TATA STEEL 
Current price: Rs 400
Target price: Rs 390
The stock could react till the Rs 385-390 level. Keep a stop at Rs 405 and go short. Add to the position between Rs 394-398. Book profits below Rs 390.

CAIRN 
Current price: Rs 327
Target price: Rs 318
A slide till Rs 315-318 is possible. Keep a stop at Rs 332 and go short. Add to the position between Rs 321-324. Book profits below Rs 318.

Stock Market Technical Analysis

In finance, technical analysis is a security analysis discipline used for forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume.Behavioral economics and quantitative analysis use many of the same tools of technical analysis, which, being an aspect of active management, stands in contradiction to much of modern portfolio theory. The efficacy of both technical and fundamental analysis is disputed by efficient-market hypothesis which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable.