1358: Marketbuzz Podcast with Kanishka Sarkar: Muted opening likely, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra to react to Q2 results

Welcome CNBC-TV18’s Marketbuzz Podcast. Here are top news from around the world ahead of the trading session of October 21

-The market recorded its third consecutive weekly loss, marking the longest losing streak of 2024, despite a surge on Friday that helped reduce the decline. A recovery in banking majors during the final session helped pare some losses, with both the Nifty and Sensex closing above 24,860 and 81,220, respectively.

-Sector performance was mixed, with banking, financials, and realty posting decent gains, while auto, metals, and FMCG sectors were the top losers. The broader indices reflected a similar trend, as the midcap index lost nearly a percent while smallcap closed slightly positive.

-Today, in the absence of any major triggers, market participants will focus on upcoming earnings for direction. Shares of HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tech Mahindra, which reported earnings over the weekend, will be in focus on Monday.

-Earnings: UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, SBI Life, ITC, Bharat Electronics, BPCL, HPCL, Coal India, JSW Steel, Shriram Finance, ICICI Bank.

-Stocks to watch: Alembic Pharma, HDFC Bank, MCX, Star Cement

-On the global front, Asia’s benchmark stock index rose this morning, while gold touched a record high as tensions in the Middle East stoked demand for the asset as a haven. Australian stocks climbed, while Japanese equities swung between gains and losses. US futures rose after the S&P 500 notched up a sixth straight weekly increase, its longest winning streak this year following a slew of corporate results and signs the world’s largest economy remains robust.

-On Friday, US stocks closed their latest winning week with more records. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to squeak past the all-time high it had set early this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, to its own record set the day before, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%. Netflix helped drive the market with a leap of 11.1% after the streaming giant reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That was despite a slowdown in subscriber growth.

-In US earnings this week, Tesla Inc. faces questions on its production targets and regulatory challenges after the unveiling of its much-hyped Cybercab failed to enthuse investors and quell concerns over its recent vehicle sales.

-Now, despite the ongoing positivity in the US markets, the Indian markets have been largely unresponsive, a divergence likely to persist due to continued foreign fund outflows. Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking says that any change in the fund flow pattern would also be on the participants' radar.

-This morning, the GIFT Nifty was trading flat versus Nifty Futures' Friday's close, indicating a muted-to-negative start for the Indian market.

Tune in to Marketbuzz Podcast for more cues