All eyes on Q1 results ahead of budget

As the market enters earnings season, starting with the TCS IT benchmark, expectations of better results are optimistic. Investors will be closely watching the management commentary to get insights into the sector prospects, said Vinod Nair, Head (Research), Geojit Financial Services

New Delhi: Equity markets will take cues from global trends and trading activity of foreign investors, while in the second part of the week, first-quarter earnings of IT majors TCS and HCL Technologies will drive investor sentiment, analysts said. Markets may consolidate after a record rally last week, experts added.

“On the domestic front, Q1 earnings season begins this week. Key companies like TCS and HCL Technologies are set to release their earnings on July 11 and 12, 2024, respectively. Moreover, India’s Union Budget in July is a key event with hopes linked to growth-oriented policies and development of monsoon season also being a major focus for investors and traders,” said Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart Ltd.

He added that the testimony of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled for July 9, 2024.

“Also, the activities of foreign and domestic institutional investors (FIIs and DIIs) will be tracked, along with crude oil prices, to gauge the overall market sentiment, Gour said. The benchmark BSE Sensex touched its all-time high of 80,392.64 on July 4, while the Nifty touched its all-time high of 24,401 on the same day.

“The market outlook will hinge on key domestic and global economic data like India CPI, industrial production, Federal Reserve speech, UK GDP data, US core CPI and jobless claims,” said Arvinder Singh Nanda, senior vice president, Master Capital Services Ltd.

Last week, the BSE index rose by 963.87 points or 1.21 per cent and Nifty gained 313.25 points or 1.30 per cent.

“With the market entering the earnings season, starting with the TCS IT Index, expectations of better results are optimistic. Investors will be closely watching the management commentary to get insights into the sector’s prospects,” said Vinod Nair, Head (Research), Geojit Financial Services.

“We expect sector-specific action and activity this week as the market starts taking cues from Q1 FY25 earnings. On the macro front, investors will be looking out for inflation data to be released by India, US and China,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head (Retail Research), Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Looking ahead, the direction of the markets will largely depend on the upcoming earnings reports, said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President (Research), Religare Broking Ltd.