Expiry blues

Nifty50: 17,464 ▼33 (-0.1%)  
Sensex: 58,568 ▼ 115 (0.2%)

• After a gap-up opening, the markets drifted downwards and closed lower, snapping the three-day winning streak.
• In all, 30 of the Nifty50 stocks closed in red.
• This week the Indian markets may continue to take cues from the international markets. However, next week, traders will set their eyes on the outcome of the RBI policy meeting, which is scheduled mid-week.

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, FMCG (+1.2%) and Media (+0.8%) were the top gainers, while Pharma (-1.1%) and PSU Bank (-0.7%) were the top losers.

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Here are the top stories of the day.

HUL raises prices of soaps and detergents

Consumer goods company Hindustan Unilever has increased the prices of its soaps and detergents by 3-5% to offset rising raw material costs. The price of palm oil, which is an important ingredient in making soaps and shampoos, has seen a spike due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

However, the hike in prices was expected since companies were thinking to offset the impact of rising inflation in several commodities. For FMCG companies, inflation remains an issue for the second year in a row. Last year in November, HUL had increased prices across its products in the range of 1-33%.

Hindalco charts out massive five-year capex plan

Aluminium and copper manufacturer Hindalco Industries has outlined a capex plan worth over $7 billion over the next five years to ramp up its aluminium products output. This comes as aluminium prices have risen to record highs, on the back of a global supply shortage and immense demand.

About $2.4 billion in capex is planned for its India aluminium operations, while around $4.8 billion has been earmarked for its overseas operations through the US-based subsidiary Novelis. Separately, it has set aside about $286 million for its copper business and $459 million for the development of coal mines. The stock has witnessed profit booking over the last two days after having rallied over 30% in the last 3 months.

Auto component industry to see healthy growth in FY23

The Indian auto component industry is expected to grow by 8-10% in the financial year 2023, aided by easing commodity inflation and supply-chain issues in the second half of the year, according to a report by the rating agency ICRA. Over the long term, the key drivers of growth in the industry are expected to be the premiumisation of vehicles and focus on localisation.

In the financial year 2022, the industry is expected to grow by 13-15% over the low base of Covid impacted FY21. This growth expectation is attributed to export volumes, vehicle replacements and the pass-through of commodity prices.

IPO corner

On Day 2, the IPO of steel products maker Hariom Pipe Industries was subscribed more than 1.3 times. The retail portion witnessed strong interest and was subscribed more than 3 times. Click here to apply for this public issue on Upstox. 

Meanwhile, the IPO of edtech player Veranda Learning Solutions was subscribed more than 3 times on its final day. 

Good to know

What is a bear trap?

A bear trap is a technical pattern reflecting a false reversal of an upward trend in the market. As the name suggests, investors fall in this trap believing this downward trend will continue and start selling, but only to incur losses. It happens when an upward trend unexpectedly stops and a short-term downward price movement begins.

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