What are the weekly cues for the coming week starting on 19 October? Please let me know what factors could impact the markets and specific stocks?

The following could be the major cues for the coming week in terms of markets and specific stocks.

· Watch for the Sensex psychological level of 40,000. The index closed just below the level after a full week’s struggle and that could be a resistance for Sensex.

· While the US Presidential elections are still some days away, the debates and the initial regional cues will be closely watched for the Trump versus Biden show.

· During the week, one a single day the Sensex cracked 1000 points due to fears of a resurgence in the Coronavirus pandemic. That could spook markets in a big way.

· When you talk of Coronavirus, the progress on vaccine cannot be far behind. Key names like Reddy Labs and Serum Institute will be closely watched for testing cues.

· While the MPC decision is known, the minutes will reveal the debate highlights and what went behind the decision on rates and accommodative stance. That will be a key trigger for the markets.

· The week could see the final numbers on the Kharif output, which is expected to be higher yoy at closer to food grain output of 145 MT. That could have a tempering effect on inflation and open the gates for rate cuts. Markets will welcome that.

· Big results are expected to be announced during the week and these include some of the marquee names like HUVR, Britannia, Asian Paints, HDFC Life, Bajaj Finance, Colgate, HDFC AMC, SBI Cards, TECHM, ICICI Lombard etc

· The institutional divergence continues. Till date, in the month of October, FPIs have bought Rs.4550 crore in October while the DFIs have sold Rs.7600 crore of stocks this month. That trend is likely to continue for now and keep markets tentative.

· The key data point could be the USDINR at Rs.73.4/$ which is likely to be positively impacted by strong trade data. The cumulative trade surplus of $17.5 billion is likely to boost current account surplus, giving strength to INR.

· While there are no listings of IPOs during this week, Equitas SFB or Small Finance Bank will raise Rs.517 crore between October 20 and 22 via a new issue.

· F&O cues are still hinting at Nifty range of 11,600 to 12,000. That is the range wherein the put and call accumulations are concentrated. However, with VIX still hovering around the 20 mark, sharp downsides look unlikely.

· Watch out for the stock of HDFC Bank which reported stellar numbers for the Sep-20 quarter and also Mr. Puri will be demitting office shortly.

· Finally, on the topic of global cues, markets will focus on US jobless claims, Markit PMI, EU PMI, EU Consumer Confidence, Japan inflation and the China GDP and industrial growth announcement.