Market Ahead, Aug 3: Top factors that could guide markets this week

After witnessing over 1 per cent fall in both the Sensex and Nifty last week, investors are expected to focus on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy meet. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to meet for three days, beginning August 4 and will announce the decision on August 6. 

That apart, investors will also keep an eye on key macroeconomic data that are scheduled to be released this week. Markit Manufacturing PMI for July is slated to be declared later in the day while the Markit Services PMI is expected to be released on August 5. 

Meanwhile, auto stocks are expected to hog the limelight as automakers release their July sales numbers. For instance, Maruti Suzuki has announced that it had sold 108,000 units in July, 88.2 per cent more than June 2020. Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd sold 25,678 units of commercial and passenger vehicles in July 2020—indicating a month-on-month growth of 32.64 per cent. 

Besides, the next batch of quarterly earnings, stock-specific developments, global cues, and updates related to Covid-19 will continue to be on the investors' radar.

On the earnings front, over 275 companies, including HPCL, Lupin, Cipla, and Mahindra & Mahindra are slated to declare their June quarter results during the week. Tata Motors said on Friday its consolidated net loss in the first quarter of current fiscal increased to Rs 8,438 crore from Rs 3,698 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year.

Meanwhile, India has recorded 49,931 coronavirus cases in just 24 hours. The total Covid tally in India now stands at 1,464,991, including over 33,111 deaths. 

Now, a quick look at the market snapshot for today.

The Indian markets are likely to see a negative start today as indicated by the SGX Nifty which was trading around 11,052 levels, down 52.95 points around 7:36 AM.