“One thing very important for the Budget is the rural stress. People will look forward to what the Budget does to address that. Second point to watch out for would be the long-term capital case”

The NSE Nifty index was trading 172.9 points down at 17945.4

“The 18200 Nifty has become a major resistance level which is keeping the Nifty in the narrow band of 17800-18200. Now, it appears that a major trigger is necessary to break this range either on the upside or the downside,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said.

The NSE Nifty index closed 90.9 points up at 18118.55

The BSE Sensex index ended 320 points or 0.53% higher at 60,941, while Nifty50 rose 91 points or 0.50% to settle at 18,118

HUL, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Eicher Motors and UPL were among the biggest Nifty gainers. The losers included UltraTech Cement, Grasim Industries, NTPC, JSW Steel and Tata Steel

The NSE Nifty index was trading 107.6 points up at 18135.25

“Niftys 17800-18200 range has been holding for sometime now. To break the upper end of the range, the market needs positive triggers,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said.

ICICI Direct recommended hold rating on Hindustan Unilever with a target price of Rs 2800 in its research report dated January 20, 2023.

Four of the 10 most valued firms together added Rs 82,480.67 crore in market valuation last week, with HDFC Bank and Adani Total Gas emerging as the top gainers. While Infosys and HDFC were the other gainers, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) faced erosion from their market valuation.

Obviously next week also we are in expiry. Monthly expiry is coming up that is why we are seeing that markets have been quiet since the last three-four sessions. So, the sector on my radar is financials and within the financials also PSU banks.

Motilal Oswal is bullish on Hindustan Unilever recommended buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 3100 in its research report dated January 20, 2023.

Obviously next week also we are in expiry. Monthly expiry is coming up that is why we are seeing that markets have been quiet since the last three-four sessions. So, the sector on my radar is financials and within the financials also PSU banks.

Motilal Oswal said operating performance was in line with expectations and that "royalty increase was not a concern". Recovery in rural demand and commodity cost reductions will help HUL get back to the mid-to-high teens earnings growth trajectory that it exhibited for the four years before Covid, the brokerage firm said.

Sharekhan is bullish on Hindustan Unilever has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 2900 in its research report dated January 19, 2023.

The NSE Nifty index closed 80.2 points down at 18027.65

Prabhudas Lilladher recommended accumulate rating on Hindustan Unilever with a target price of Rs 2800 in its research report dated January 19, 2023.

HUL, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel and Nestle India were among the biggest losers on the Nifty, while Coal India, HDFC Bank, Power Grid Corporation, HDFC and ITC ended on top of the heap

HDFC Securities recommended reduce rating on Hindustan Unilever with a target price of Rs 2400 in its research report dated January 19, 2023.

Key downside risks are delayed recovery in demand, sustained raw material inflation and irrational competition.

Global investment bank, Jefferies maintained its buy rating on HUL post Q3 results but slashed its target price to Rs 3100 from Rs 3150 earlier which still translates into an upside of about 17% from Rs 2650 recorded on 19 January.

The NSE Nifty index was trading 21.35 points up at 18129.2

​Yes, the outlook is definitely improving and we will continue to prefer the leaders in the pack. Yes for HUL the royalty issue is a near term negative but in the broader scheme of things I think it is not too much of an issue.

The NSE Nifty index was trading 1.9 points down at 18105.95

However, on the short-term time frame, the momentum indicators suggest that the stock is in an overbought zone and high chances of quick short-term correction are not ruled out if the stock trades below 368 or 10-Day SMA.

Hindustan Unilever has posted standalone revenue from operations at Rs 15,228 crore, up 16 percent against Rs 13,092 crore, YoY.

HUL’s net material inflation came down to 18 percent in the December quarter. In the June quarter, it was at 20 percent and had climbed to 22 percent in the September quarter

Budget 2023: The deadline for availing concessional tax rate is till March 2024, and going by Mehta’s wish list, it should be extended till 2029

This is the first such hike undertaken by the parent firm after 10 years. The prior agreement with the parent for technology, trademark licence and central services was entered into in January 2013 for a period of 10 years

HUL Q3: According to a poll of brokerages, standalone revenue was expected to come in at Rs 14,904 crore, up 13.8 percent YoY while PAT was estimated to increase 8.3 percent YoY to Rs 2,481 crore.

Net sales during the quarter rose 16% to Rs 14,986 crore against Rs 12,900 a year ago period. On Thursday, HUL's scrip closed 1.61% lower at Rs 2,643.05 on NSE.

The NSE Nifty index was trading 53.35 points down at 18112.0

The NSE Nifty index was trading 67.1 points down at 18098.25

Sectorally, buying was seen in metals, capital goods, telecom, and consumer durables while selling was seen in utilities, auto and power stocks.

However, volume growth is likely to be muted in single digits and gross margins will take a hit year-on-year (YoY) mainly due to inflationary pressures during the period under

“We have held a reasonable weight to this sector to keep a balanced portfolio. The expectations were not that high and obviously the numbers are probably coming through better than expected. So yes, we like this space and continue to have good holdings there.”

On the options front, the weekly maximum Call OI is placed at 18,000 and then towards 18,100 strikes while the maximum Put OI is placed at 17,900 and then towards 17,800 strikes.

The company is likely to post a 5 percent growth in volumes even as it faces inflation in the food segment

Hindustan Unilever, incorporated in the year 1933, is a Large Cap company (having a market cap of Rs 626870.95 Crore) operating in FMCG sector.

The move will allow ITC to expand presence in the Rs 45,000 crore fast growing, nutrition-led healthy foods space. ITC said this deal is in line with its ‘ITC Next strategy articulated by chairman Sanjiv Puri that focuses on building a future-ready portfolio of products that serve evolving consumer needs

SBI, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Wipro and Tata Steel were among the top losers on NSE in today's trade.

Homesfy Realty Ltd., Maan Aluminium, Speciality Rest, Indiabulls Enterprises Ltd. and Shriram EPC, hit their fresh 52-week highs during the day.

The NSE Nifty index closed 158.45 points up at 18053.3

The NSE Nifty index was trading 91.9 points up at 17986.75

The NSE Nifty index was trading 133.85 points up at 18028.7

“The dominant trend impacting the near-term texture of the market is the sustained selling by FIIs for the eleventh time this month. The simple logic behind sustained FII selling is that India is the only large market where FIIs are still sitting on good profits after the disastrous 2022 performance in most global markets,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said.