Markets Ahead: Q4 Earnings, Global Tariff Developments To Impact Sentiment Among Investors
The upcoming week in the Indian equity market is set to be shaped by a mix of domestic and global developments, with investors closely tracking corporate earnings, global trade cues, and foreign investment trends.
Market watchers believed that the financial results of major Indian companies, coupled with news around US tariffs, would significantly influence trading sentiment in the days ahead, reported PTI.
Investors are expected to keep a close watch on the quarterly performance of key firms such as HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, and Maruti. Meanwhile, the stock of Infosys, India’s second-largest IT services company, is expected to remain in focus on Monday following its March quarter earnings, analysts noted. The company posted an 11.7 per cent decline in consolidated net profit, which came in at Rs 7,033 crore. The drop was largely attributed to employee compensation and acquisition-related expenses.
Ajit Mishra, SVP - Research at Religare Broking Ltd, noted, “Globally, any updates related to tariffs and their potential impact on world markets will remain in focus.” Besides company earnings, market participants will be monitoring the trajectory of the rupee against the US dollar, fluctuations in Brent crude prices, and overall global cues for further direction.
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FII Inflows, Economic Indicators Supporting Positive Sentiment
Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said, “This week, we expect gradual up-move to continue in the Indian market, driven by supporting factors like FII buying interest, cool-off in domestic inflation and IMD's forecast of an above-normal monsoon. Meanwhile, any escalation on the US tariff front could induce volatility; while stock/sector specific action would carry on amidst the release of Q4 and annual results for FY25.”
Earnings season saw two major private sector banks—HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank—announce their results over the weekend. HDFC Bank reported a 7 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 18,835 crore for the March quarter. However, the bank flagged concerns over pricing pressures in the home and corporate loan categories, which are beginning to weigh on loan growth. ICICI Bank, meanwhile, posted a 15.7 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit for the same period, reaching Rs 13,502 crore.
The previous trading week, shortened by a holiday, ended on a strong note for Indian equities. The BSE Sensex soared by 3,395.94 points, or 4.51 per cent, while the NSE Nifty gained 1,023.1 points, or 4.48 per cent. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were active contributors to this rally, reversing their earlier stance.
“There is a distinct reversal of FII activity during the last three trading days ending April 17. FIIs bought stocks worth Rs 14,670 crore in the cash market during the last three trading days,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services Ltd. He explained, “This reversal in FII activity has been caused by two important factors. The decline in the dollar index to around 100 level and the expectation of further weakness in the dollar are nudging FIIs away from the US to emerging markets like India.”
He further added, “Besides, both the US and China are likely to report subdued growth this year, while India is expected to clock a growth rate of 6 per cent in FY26 even in an unfavourable global environment. This relative outperformance of India in growth can lead to outperformance in the market, too. Therefore, the FII buying trend can sustain even in this uncertain environment.”
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