Stock market investors will be looking at global trends, foreign fund movement and quarterly earnings reports in the week ahead as the Indian stock markets close on Tuesday for Diwali and on Wednesday for Diwali Balipratipada.
Stock exchanges BSE and NSE will conduct a special ‘Muhurat’ trading session on Tuesday, October 21, between 1:45 pm and 2:45 pm. The market will remain closed for regular trading on Tuesday, but a special trading window will be open for one hour.
“The truncated trading week will be event-heavy, with several key triggers lined up for investors. Market participants will first react to the quarterly earnings from heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, which are likely to set the tone for the broader market,” opined Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
On October 21, the one-hour Diwali special ‘Muhurat trading session’, marking the beginning of Samvat 2082, will be closely watched for sentiment cues and festive cheer, Mishra said.
“The Q2 FY26 earnings season will continue in full swing, with major companies including Colgate, Hindustan Unilever, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and SBI Life Insurance Company scheduled to report their results,” he further noted.
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Internationally, developments around the proposed US tariffs on China, along with movements in crude oil prices and currency, will remain crucial in shaping global risk appetite and investor sentiment, Mishra added.
This is the first time in the past three months that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned buyers with a ₹6,480 crore investment in October so far, driven by strong macroeconomic factors.
“Upcoming results from Hindustan Unilever and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories are expected to further set the tone for the corporate earnings season. Any relief on US-China trade tensions could lift the market sentiments,” said Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart.
Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,451.37 points or 1.75 per cent, and the Nifty surged 424.5 points or 1.67 per cent.
Ponmudi R, CEO - Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said the buoyant stock markets in the week gone by once again defied global headwinds, and extended their rally to fresh 52-week highs.
Global markets remained volatile due to renewed trade tensions, banking stress in the US, and sharp commodity swings, but domestic benchmarks remained resilient, being supported by strong liquidity and unwavering investor confidence, he added.