Fed policy review, earnings to dictate Sensex movement this week

The US Federal Reserve's policy review on interest rates on October 28-29 will dictate the course of stock market movement in India this week.

All eyes will be on the Fed statement and its future course of action. The market doesn't expect any change in the US interest rates, which is currently at 0.25 per cent.

Some market observers feel that the Fed may continue with its quantitative easing to keep the growth momentum.

Global growth could remain weak for longer and hopes are that the increase in US interest rates could be postponed beyond the middle of 2015. So it would be important to note the Fed's future course of action regarding interest rates.

It has to be seen whether the Fed stops its bond purchases. Earlier on September 17, the Fed cut its bond buying by $10 billion to $15 billion a month.

Back home, quarterly earnings from Hindustan Unilever (HUL), ICICI Bank, ACC, Ambuja Cement, Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin, Nestle, Tech Mahindra, Grasim Industries, IDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Raymond, Bharti Airtel and Sesa Sterlite will be important to watch. HUL will announce its result on Monday, October 27, while Tech Mahindra and Sesa Sterlite will declare their results on Wednesday.

ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel and IDFC will declare their results on Thursday, while Suzlon Energy and Union Bank of India announce their earnings on Friday.

The market may remain volatile ahead of the expiry of October futures & option contracts on Thursday. Auto sales data for October will also be watched later in the week.