The markets on Thursday, October 19, did recover from lows, but closed in the red, for the second consecutive trading session.

Foreign institutional investors net sold around ₹1,093 crore, while domestic institutional investors net bought around ₹736 crore. So, net net institutions were sellers in Thursday's trade.

US Fed ChairJerome Powell indicated in a speech yesterday that inflation is too high and it's likely to require lower economic growth. The US treasury yields have jumped to 5% which is the highest level since 2007. US markets did close lower on the backdrop of the US Fed chief's comments.

Asia is largely in the red and we have crude prices which are above $90 dollars on nagging worries about the Middle East.

These cues do not seem seem to be boarding too well for our markets. The GIFT Nifty is indicating a start in the red for the Indian benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex.

In terms of earnings, watch out for reactions from ITC, HUL, United Breweries, among others. Today, Central Bank of India, JSW Steel, Laurus Labs, are among the companies reporting their earnings today.

On Saturday, October 21, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will be reporting their earnings and so the markets will be focused on these as well.