Second quarter results to dictate near-term trend

Indian stocks will continue to take cues from developments in Europe which has been grappling with debt crisis. Stock-specific activity may dominate trade in the near-term as earnings trickle in. Investors will closely watch the management commentary at the time of announcement of Q2 September 2011 results, which will provide cues on futures earnings outlook. The Q2 results season has started on a positive note, with good results from IT bellwether Infosys, which has also revised upwards its full year earnings guidance in both dollar and rupee terms.



The market will on Monday, 17 October 2011, react to Reliance Industries' (RIL) Q2 result which is due on Saturday, 15 October 2011. IT major TCS, housing finance major HDFC and media major Zee Entertainment Enterprises unveil Q2 results on Monday, 17 October 2011. Jindal Steel & Power, Hero MotoCorp and HCL Technologies unveil quarterly results on Tuesday, 18 October 2011. HDFC Bank unveils Q2 results on Wednesday, 19 October 2011.

Bajaj Auto, Cairn India, Biocon, UltraTech Cement, Exide Industries and Thermax unveil quarterly results on Thursday, 20 October 2011. Engineering & construction major L&T, Idea Cellular, paints major Asian Paints, JSW Steel and Godrej Consumer Products reveal Q2 results on Friday, 21 October 2011. Axis Bank, Power Grid Corporation and Grasim unveil Q2 results on Saturday, 22 October 2011.

Shares of steel, coal, iron ore and cement firms may edge lower as Indian Railways has raised tariffs for the "busy season", which runs from October to June, to 10% from 7%. The railways also raised the development surcharge on all goods traffic from Saturday 15 October 2011 to 5%, from 2%.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 leading industrialized and developing economies meet in Paris on Friday, 14 October and Saturday, 15 October, with the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis firmly in the spotlight, as worries grow over possible contagion to bigger nations such as Italy and Spain. In Rome, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faces a confidence vote in his government on Friday, 14 October 2011.