Market Ahead Podcast, Oct 22: Top factors that could guide markets today

The last trading day of the week is likely to be no different than the days gone by, with most analysts expecting the frontline indices to remain range-bound amid volatility. That said, the focus on Friday will be on Mukesh Ambani–led Reliance Industries (RIL) that is scheduled to announce its results for the September quarter (Q2FY22) later in the day.

Analysts expect the September quarter performance of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate to be led by growth in retail, digital-telecom business, and steady petrochemical margins.

Rising oil prices, recovery in retail business and improvement in refining and marketing margin are likely to aid the overall performance, analysts at JM Financial said in a result preview note.

"We expect RIL’s Q2FY22 EBITDA to grow 10% QoQ to Rs 25,600 crore due to an improvement in refining margin, strong subscriber addition, and recovery in Retail business"-- J M Financial

As regards the stock, Nomura recently sounded cautious and downgraded the counter to a "Neutral" from Buy; citing rich valuations.

Besides the index heavyweight RIL, Tata Consumer,YES Bank, PVR, INOX Leisure, Gland Pharma, Hindustan Zinc are some of the other companies that are scheduled to declare their September quarter numbers

today.

From a macro perspective, analysts are now cautious on the markets given the sharp run up seen over the last few months and suggest investors use a rally to book profit.

The latest Bank of America (BofA) survey of fund managers found investors are increasingly worried about global growth expectations. The biggest risks to the equity markets, BofA survey findings suggested were inflation, developments in China and Covid

“There are mixed cues for the market with some global tailwinds and domestic headwinds. Retail investors should temper their expectations. Partial profit booking, particularly in overvalued segments, may be considered” -- Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial