1276: Marketbuzz Podcast with Kanishka Sarkar: Sensex, Nifty 50 likely to open flat, banks, telecom stocks in focus

Welcome back to CNBC-TV18’s Marketbuzz Podcast. Here are all the important updates ahead of the trading session of June 20

-The bulls seem to have taken a breather. It turned out to be another day and another record for the Nifty 50 but the index could not sustain at those levels. 23,664 is now the new record high for the Nifty. The index fell 150 points from those levels and ended with losses, snapping a four-day winning streak.

-Big focus seems to be on banks. The Nifty bank has hit an all time high almost at 52000.  HDFC bank is now up almost 15% in June. Led by the underperforming HDFC Bank, six out of the top seven Nifty contributors are banking stocks, which also kept a lid on the Nifty downside. In fact, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank together contributed nearly 120 points to the Nifty's gains.

-HDFC Securities says although the Nifty is at highs, there is no confirmation of any reversal pattern building up on the charts at higher levels. The analyst only sees further weakness in the index if it slips below the 23,300 mark. This setup may be negated if the Nifty moves further higher.

-Asian shares retreated this morning following a rally in the previous session as investors sought new catalysts after a holiday in the US. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1% after jumping 1% on Wednesday, with shares in Japan and Australia posting small losses. Futures for Hong Kong indicated declines. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2% after two days of gains.

- In the UK, inflation has fallen to 2% in May with services inflation still elevated. The Bank of England is likely to leave rates unchanged in today’s meeting. In the US, jobless claims and housing starts data will be in focus today. US markets, meanwhile, were closed on Wednesday for a holiday.

-On the commodities front, oil remains above $85 on geopolitical concerns.

-GIFT Nifty was trading higher at a premium of nearly 20 pts from Nifty Futures Wednesday close, indicating a flat-to-positive start for the Indian market.

-Stocks to watch: MAS Financial Services, PNB Housing, Sun Pharma, Sapphire Foods, GMR Urban, Reliance Industries, Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, Som Distilleries, Godrej Group stocks

Tune in to the Marketbuzz Podcast for more cues