The stock market focus in the coming week will shift firmly to third-quarter (Q3) earnings from India Inc, with heavyweight IT companies set to take centre stage and drive index-level direction, analysts said on Saturday.
HCL Tech, TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Wipro— together accounting for nearly 13 per cent of the Nifty’s weight — are scheduled to report, making their results and management commentary critical for broader market sentiment.
“Investor focus will be firmly on post-results management commentary and forward guidance. Key areas to watch will include trends in client IT budgets for the current year, signs of recovery in discretionary spending across industries, and hiring plans — especially in the context of tighter H-1B visa approvals,” said Ponmudi R, CEO — Enrich Money, a SEBI-registered online trading and wealth tech firm.
Equally important will be updates on progress in AI-led technologies and infrastructure, which are increasingly being viewed as the next growth engine for the sector.
Earnings from Reliance Industries Ltd will be another major trigger next week, given its significant weight in the indices. Investors will watch trends across the energy, retail and telecom businesses, with guidance on demand, margins and capex likely to drive sentiment, said market watchers.
Large-cap IT companies are likely to report sequential USD revenue growth in the range of 0–2 per cent, impacted by furloughs (in line with historical trends) and fewer working days, according to a Systematix note.
“Demand conditions remain largely unchanged, with subdued discretionary spending, cautious client sentiment amid macro uncertainty, and ongoing AI-led technology transitions,” it added.
Tier-1 IT players are expected to post 0.2 per cent–2.1 per cent (on-quarter) USD revenue growth.
While Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will declare its Q3 results on Monday, Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, will announce results for the third quarter on Wednesday.