ET Prime Series: Q2 earnings estimate special Part 2 – Will banks deliver a surprise?

The earnings season is an important time in the yearly market calendar. If you are a trader, it is an opportunity to exploit the up/down movement of stock prices. As an investor, it helps you figure out whether managements are delivering on promises. It is also a volatile period – and with a good reason. There is something which causes the volatility. What is that something? Which stocks are going to be up or down earnings announcement day? The answers depend on many factors. While many of them cannot be tracked, some can be. Prices are not reacting to the absolute numbers delivered; they are reacting to the surprise relative to what was priced in.