L&T, Maruti and HUL report in a week of US growth data and big-tech results

The September-quarter results season turns this week to the companies that build, sell cars and fill grocery shelves, while the United States publishes its first estimate of third-quarter growth and three of its largest technology companies report. For investors already unsettled by oil above $115 a barrel, it is one of the busiest weeks of the year.

Engineering, cars and soap

Tuesday is the heaviest day at home. Larsen & Toubro, the country’s largest engineering and construction group, reports along with Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Cipla. L&T’s order inflows will be read as a gauge of government and private investment, and Maruti’s numbers as a check on how festive-season demand held up against higher fuel prices.

Hindustan Unilever, the largest maker of household goods, reports on Wednesday, with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Hero MotoCorp also scheduled. Asian Paints and Trent follow on Thursday. Results dates can shift, and companies confirm them in their filings to the exchanges.

The weekend gave an early read on lenders. IDFC First Bank’s profit nearly tripled from a year earlier, a day after IndusInd Bank’s return to profit, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, like IDFC First, pointed to a surge in foreign-currency deposits.

Jio Platforms allots shares on Monday and is due to list on Wednesday, while five other companies open share sales on the main board during the week.

The US data that matters for India

On Thursday at 6 pm IST, the US Commerce Department releases its advance estimate of growth for July to September, together with September’s personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. Economists expect growth to quicken to about 3% at an annualised rate from 2.2% in the previous quarter, helped by spending on artificial intelligence and by consumers.

The inflation figure may be less welcome. Headline PCE prices are forecast to rise about 0.5% in the month, the largest gain since March, with the core measure up about 0.3%. A strong reading would keep alive talk of a Fed rate rise in December, which in turn bears on the dollar, US bond yields and the flow of foreign money into Indian shares.

The Fed’s own decision comes the night before, at 11:30 pm IST on Wednesday.

Big tech and the rest of the world

Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon all report this week, with Visa, Mastercard, ExxonMobil, Eli Lilly, Intel and Boeing also on the US list. Their spending plans will be watched closely by Indian software shares, which open the week reacting to Infosys’s forecast cut. Samsung Electronics reports in Seoul, and HSBC and TotalEnergies in Europe.

China’s Communist Party holds the fifth plenary session of its 20th Central Committee from Monday to Thursday, with September industrial profits and October manufacturing surveys also due. The eurozone publishes a first estimate of third-quarter growth on Friday, forecast at 1.1% a year.

At home

India’s industrial output figures for September are due, with economists expecting growth of about 7.4% after 8% in August. The Reserve Bank publishes foreign exchange reserves for the week to 23 October on Friday, after six straight weekly falls took them to $721.02 billion.