Dabur hangs on

Nifty50: 16,677 ▲ 5 (+0.03%)
Sensex: 55,669 ▲ 33 (+0.06%)

Hey, there!

Bears are on vacation today, or so we thought! They showed up much later in the day to pull markets downwards. In all, as you read further, you'll notice that the markets are choppy, and inflation is showing no signs of abating. 

But to keep your mind wandering to such thoughts, here’s a GIF you can watch on repeat.

• After a strong start, the markets gave up all the gains to end flat.
• Of the Nifty50 stocks, 31 closed in the red.
• The markets seemed to have received the US Fed rate hike well and were going strong before bears struck back.

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, IT (+2.0%) and Metal (+0.6%) advanced the most, while Realty (-1.6%) and Healthcare (-0.8%) were the top losers.

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What’s trending

⭐Say ‘HUL’LO to mehengai 🧼

Hindustan Unilever has increased prices of its products by up to 15% across segments due to inflation. So the next time you visit the supermarket, get ready to shell out more for your cosmetics and beauty products. The company had hiked prices of its skin cleansing range and detergents by 3-20% in April. 

⭐Havells has an electric Q4 💡 

Havells India’s shares rose over 2% intraday as the consumer electricals maker's Q4 net profit rose 17% year-on-year to ₹353 crore. Income from operations rose 33% supported by higher sales and volume growth. Its air-conditioning brand Lloyd grew by 62% in the quarter, the highest among all segments.

⭐Fast fashion to slow down?👚 

All you fashionistas out there, skip this story if you want to avoid heartache. That’s because fashion retailers like Shoppers Stop and Arvind Fashions are planning to jack up prices yet again, as they deal with a nonstop rise in cotton prices. An exact amount of price hikes hasn't been indicated so far. But around the end of 2021, apparel brands had hiked prices by 5-15%. So you do the math!

⭐EMI onslaught begins 💸

Before we could even digest the RBI's rate hike news, banks have already started increasing interest rates on home, auto and other loan EMIs. ICICI Bank (+0.4%) has raised its repo-rate-linked lending rate to 8.1%. Bank of Baroda (-2.3%), too, has hiked its lending rate to 6.9%. More banks could soon follow.

⭐ Gold glitters again ✨

The US Fed’s 50 basis point rake hike has impacted both equity and commodity markets. Gold prices, which had plummeted in the last two weeks, jumped 1.5%, while silver was up by 2.5%. Industrial metals also rose by 1-2%, with oil rising 5%.  

⭐Drone, where’s my delivery? 📦 

As the instant-delivery market heats up, some players have their eyes in the sky. Swiggy is conducting drone trials for grocery delivery in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. It is partnering with four technology firms to evaluate feasibility of drones for its instant grocery delivery service.

In Focus

Dabur’s immunity gets tested

It seems Dabur’s results got the Chyawanprash boost last quarter, fighting all kinds of disruptions like the third wave and geopolitical worries. Its net profit (excluding exceptional items) stood at ₹379 crore, marginally below estimates. 

Its revenues rose by 8% to ₹2,518 crore led by a 34% growth in the food and beverage segment. This segment contributes to 19% of total sales.

The company used a mix of pricing actions and cost control measures to fight rising input costs. So what's the deal with the pricing actions? As you would have seen in your grocery bills, the prices of food items from biscuits to beauty care items like soaps and shampoos are on the rise. And this is done by companies to offset the skyrocketing prices of raw materials. So, at the risk of losing demand, FMCG companies are trying to keep shareholders happy, for now.

IPO corner

On Day 2, the LIC IPO was fully subscribed. The policyholders category was subscribed around 3 times, while the retail portion has been subscribed around 85%.

Click here to apply for the LIC IPO on Upstox.

Good to know

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