Sentiment Cracking-How to react??

Message

   With respect to the discussion going on with respect to Nucleus and the way members have expressed that the recent performance is owing simply to the sentiment that gripped the entire sector, I thought it fine to start a thread specifically dedicated to market sentiment. Many a times we are caught in too much of a positive sentiment and the blue strikes from nowhere. I remember at the peak of the fanatic sugar stock rally a year back, ethanol was such a buzz word....a few years back the same thing was with carbon credits.....I beleive the greatest skill which determines men from boys is the ability to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH....picking right stocks is llike entering the chakravyuh but the real winner is one who gets out at the right moment....if one is unable to get out, he will become a Abhimanyu , brave but dead......thats also suggestive of many a people's career in stock markets. I know many people who began very well but got got badly trapped in their last purchase. One of my acquaintance made a big money with sugar stocks but is hugely trapped now with Shree Renuka Sugar and Bajaj Hindusthan....two of my friends are saddled with a good quantity of Infosy and one of them has also piled up TCS and owing to that their portfolio performance has been horrendous. I beleive when you start to see vertical built up on charts, its time to bid adieu. True, you may miss on certain super multi baggers but then its also true you wont have a big bag of losers otherwise. Sentiment is a very whimsical thing....by the time you realise the wind and tide has turned against you you find the sail's gone and all you are lefty with is agony. Its fine to see you lose while others are losing as well but when you see others win and you are losing at that moment, the anguish that grips you at moments is unbearable. You start wondering why are people dumping the stock, why no one is buying, why so much negative talks when the performance has not been as bad as they are making out to be. Its one thing talking about it and totally another bearing that phase.....although I have never got into this sentiment mess because I generally make an entry when no one is talking about such stocks and I have never had the luxury of being in the hot theme at any point of time but still my little portfolio is more than 9 times than what it was in 2001-2002 lows and that is inspite of the fact that i have pulled good deal for fixed income investments.....I beleive the biggest threat to a person portfolio emanates from being in a theme where is nothing to win and everything to lose.....people are betting big time on infrastructure, they are betting big time on cement and steel, on media on telecom, on retail saying this is the potential market size and this is the business model and stuff like that.....now in such a case, whats to win????? One must always bear in mind business performance and stock market performance never go hand in hand, the market either follows the performance or leads the business performance.......but then they are supposed to meet back the business performance. IT has done quite well in the period from 2001-2002, especially the biggies but the stock market performance has been pathetic....things dont fall hard and rise hard everytime. Sentiment when good evaporates the margin of safety from the stock. Ask yourself the question everytime, what if what you suppose will not happen?????? This may translate into being pessimist but always remember that a pessimist either gets correct or gets a positive surprise, for he doesnt expect any good to come out!!!!!