Q2 earnings to again set market tone FUTURES & OPTIONS

Ahead of the settlement week derivative segment witnessed stock/sector specific trading. On the back of settlement, consolidation is likely to continue in the coming week. Any major uptrend or downtrend from hereon will largely depend on earnings feel punters.

Track rollovers for spotting winners of November series. Expect short covering on dips. Techies suggest that Nifty has to close above the 10,240 mark for the current momentum to extend further. However, Nifty can move 350-400 points on either side if important resistances or supports are broken accompanied by good volumes.

Bank Nifty underperformed in the week gone by mainly on account of the results of Axis Bank which dragged the index lower. Bank Nifty futures closed at 23,890, below the psychological support of 24,000. Further weakness in banking stocks is not ruled out.

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, Canara Bank, IDFC Bank, RBL Bank and Vijaya Bank will announce their earnings in the coming week.

Track asset quality and read between the lines. Profits of majority of banks may be higher due to a low base in the yearago quarter that was hit by higher provisions.

Important to watch out from Infosys would be commentary from new interim CEO UB Pravin Rao and Nandan Nikekani who was appointed as nonexecutive chairman of the company.

Results of ITC may provide clues of GST impact. Buy on dips stocks of capital goods and pharma sectors. Stocks looking good are Adani Ports, ACC, BEL, Bajaj Auto, Federal Bank, Hexaware, JSW Steel, Srei Infra and RIL.

C. Kutumba Rao is an avid follower of stock markets. This newspaper is not liable for decisions made on the basis of this column. Views expressed in the article are personal views of the writer.