Amid a firm global setup, Indian indices look set to open in the green for a second day today. At 7.10 am, SGX Nifty was trading 24 points higher at 15,838. Quarterly earnings by select large-cap names such as Reliance Industries and JSW Steel and listing of Zomato's shares will mostly hog the limelight and result in stock-specific action.
In overnight session, Big tech helped Wall Street inch up to a higher close, modestly building on a two-day rally as lacklustre economic data and mixed corporate earnings prompted a pivot back to growth stocks. Overall, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.07%, the S&P 500 gained 0.20% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.36%.
In Asia, markets traded on a steady note. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was little changed, South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.3% but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.6%. US futures remained firm with S&P500 futures up 0.3% and Nasdaq futures 0.4%.
In the commodities market, Brent crude prices further gained strength on Thursday and settled a little shy of the $74 mark, up over 2%, on expectations of tighter supplies through 2021. In trade today, prices were mostly unchanged.
Meanwhile, in other news, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will introduce its own version of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in a phased manner and after carefully weighing its impact on various issues, deputy governor T Rabi Sankar said on Thursday.
Now, a look at the stock-specific triggers that are likely to guide the market today.
Forty-one companies, including RIL, JSW Steel, SBI Card, YES Bank and Federal Bank will report their quarterly numbers today.
Analysts expect improvement in RIL's energy margins on the back of a pickup in global demand to support the consolidated performance of Reliance Industries in the first quarter. However, the gains are also expected to be offset by the challenges in the retail and petrochemicals businesses, and a flattish show in telecom.
Zomato shares will make their market debut today. The IPO that was subscribed nearly 40 times is expected to list at a 30 per cent premium, as per analysts. It issue price stands at Rs 76 per share.
Telecom stocks, namely Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Tele will be in focus today amid reports that the Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment on appeal for correction of errors in Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) calculation on July 23.
The pandemic has left deep gashes on the balance sheet of the leading non-life insurer ICICI Lombard General Insurance, with its net income diving 62 per cent YoY to Rs 152 crore for the June quarter.
Indiamart Intermesh posted a 19 per cent YoY increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 88 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, as against a net profit of Rs 74 crore in the same period a year ago.
 "Market Ahead Podcast, July 23: Top factors that could guide markets today")
