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Informist, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: Nuvama sees HUL's EBITDA margin rising 50-60 bps post demerger

MUMBAI--1505 IST--Nuvama Institutional Equities expects Hindustan Unilever's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin to improve 50-60 basis points after the demerger of its ice-cream business Kwality Wall's (India). The demerged entity constitutes about INR 50–INR 55 of HUL's current market price of around INR 2,400, Nuvama said. The ice-cream business contributes around 3% to HUL's total turnover with a historical EBIT margin of 5–9%, the brokerage stated.

"HUL trades at (around) 9x (nine times) EV/sales (enterprise value to sales) and in our view, the ice cream business could get a lower multiple as its margins and scale are lower," the broking firm said. Nuvama estimates market capitalisation of Kwality Wall's to be INR 12 billion to INR 15 billion.

Following the demerger, each HUL shareholder will get one share of Kwality Wall's for every HUL share held. Nuvama expects the ice-cream business to yield a revenue of around INR 20 billion with a potential of 15–20% compound annual growth rate.

The Indian ice-cream market is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15% over 2024–2031, supported by better cold-chain infrastructure and rapidly evolving consumer preferences, Nuvama said. This momentum is likely to strengthen further, following the reduction of the goods and services tax on ice cream to 5% from 18%.

Nuvama expected slightly muted growth for HUL in the September quarter and "decent" growth in the December quarter. It believes the company will have a muted performance in October due to transition issues following the GST cut and expects normalcy to return in November.

"Overall, risk-reward looks attractive to play the Q4 (December quarter) recovery as it currently trades at 45x (around 45 times) 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) earnings per share," the brokerage said. Nuvama has retained its 'buy' rating on the HUL stock following the demerger and has kept the target price unchanged at INR 3,195.

HUL Tuesday said the demerger scheme will be effective Dec. 1 and fixed Dec. 5 as the record date. The demerged company will have a portfolio of iconic brands such as Magnum, Cornetto, and Kwality Wall's ice creams. At 1505 IST, shares of HUL were up 1.6% at INR 2,442.30.  (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: Indices in Europe down; France's CAC 40 slumps over 2%

MUMBAI--1445 IST--Equity indices in Europe were down in early trade Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. Traders are eagerly waiting for the October quarter earnings of Nvidia Corp. amid concerns about expensive valuations of artificial intelligence-related stocks in the US. A limited rise in the UK's annual inflation rate raised the chances of the Bank of England cutting its benchmark interest rate.

The UK's FTSE 100 index was flat in early trade. Inflation in the UK rose 3.6% on year in October, in line with market expectations. The reading showed a 0.4% increase on month and raised the chances of an interest rate cut by the Bank of England. Traders await UK's Autumn Budget, which is set to be released next Wednesday. "With the labour market softening more than expected, GDP growth weaker than the Bank of England projected, and (underlying) inflation tracking a little lower than Bank of England expectations, we think Governor Andrew Bailey — who will likely have the deciding vote for December — will feel more confident about cutting (the) Bank Rate below 4%," Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist for Deutsche Bank, was quoted as saying by CNBC.

France's CAC 40 shed 2.3% and was down for the fifth straight session, during which it has lost nearly 4%. Shares of luxury goods company Kering fell 3% and those of Sartorius Stedim Biotech slipped 1%. Shares of BNP Paribas bank were down 1% and pharmaceutical and healthcare company Sanofi also traded in the red.

Germany's DAX Performance index was marginally lower and shares of energy supplier MVV Energie declined 5%. Shares of Fraport Frankfurt Airport Services fell nearly 4% and those of Auto1 Group dropped 2.5%. In corporate news, Rheinmetall got an order worth roughly $70.63 million from the German armed forces to modernise the German army's training centres. Shares of defence companies gave up earlier gains and were slightly lower.

Traders await the quarterly earnings of Nvidia, which is expected to beat Wall Street's expectations and forecast strong sales growth. However, traders have recently booked profits in the stock in recent days, signalling concerns that the recent investor optimism around AI companies has elevated valuations of Nvidia and other big technology companies.

Following were the levels of major European indices at 1445 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Most Asian indices end lower; all eyes on Nvidia earnings

MUMBAI--1431 IST--Most Asian indices ended lower Wednesday, after swinging between gains and losses due to concerns about artificial-intelligence-related stocks being overvalued. Investors are waiting for the quarterly earnings of chipmaker Nvidia, due later in the day, for cues on global demand for AI-related products.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3% and was down for the fourth consecutive session. The broader Topix was down 0.2%. Diplomatic tensions between China and Japan have risen after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response. Earlier this week, China demanded a retraction of her remarks and issued an advisory to its citizens to not travel to Japan. This boycott could result in a loss of around $14.23 billion annually for Japan, Reuters reported, citing an estimate by Nomura Research Institute. In the latest development, the Chinese government Wednesday informed Japan that it will ban all imports of Japanese seafood. Yields on 10-year Japanese government bonds rose about 2 basis points to 1.759%, the highest level since the global financial crisis, Financial Times reported.

China's CSI 300 index was among the few advancing indices in the region, closing 0.4% higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.4%. Shares of smartphone maker Xiaomi fell nearly 5% after global investment banks lowered their target prices for the stock following the company's quarterly results, South China Morning Post reported. Shares of Baidu also closed at lower after the search-engine giant reported a 7% drop in quarterly revenue.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6%, with shares of Korea Aerospace being among the biggest laggards. The stock fell over 5%. Shares of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also declined 5% and those of Korea Electric Power fell 4.5%.

On Wednesday, US equities fell as a selloff in technology-related stocks intensified. Globally, traders are concerned about the skyrocketing valuations of AI-related stocks and are adopting a lower-risk strategy.

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 1353 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Indices rise more as pharma stocks advance; IT cos lead gains

MUMBAI--1335 IST--Domestic benchmark indices rose more, on gains in pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. A sharp recovery in information technology stocks helped the Nifty 50 cross 26000 points yet again. Shares of IT companies rose despite a fall in global markets on concerns about high valuation of artificial intelligence companies.

At 1328 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 26008.70 points, up 97.20 points or 0.4%. Index heavyweight HDFC Bank, which was down 0.5%, continues to limit the gains of the Nifty 50. Reliance Industries was down marginally. The BSE Sensex was at 85005.01 points, up 331 points or 0.4%.

Shares of government-owned banks recovered from Tuesday's fall and rose close to their lifetime highs. The Nifty PSU Bank index has risen nearly 20% in three months. Private banks were mixed, with HDFC Bank slightly down and Axis Bank making a recovery.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Maruti Suzuki India were down 2% and 1%, respectively. Both the companies continued to be the worst performers in the Nifty 50 index. Sona BLW Precision Forgings, Samvardhana Motherson International, and Bharat Forge were the leading stocks in the sector. They were up 2-3%. (Akshat Saksena)

Equity Alert: Waaree Energies falls to 3-month low as co faces IT raids

MUMBAI--1322 IST--Shares of Waaree Energies dropped over 6% to a nearly three-month-low of INR 3,075.10 following the Income Tax Department's search and seizure operations at the company's offices and facilities. The officials conducted the investigation under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The company did not provide any further details of the ongoing investigation by Income Tax Department officials. 

"The proceedings are underway and the company is extending its full co-operation to the officials," Waaree Energies said in a press release. Reports cited those familiar with the matter saying that the focus of the investigation was on financial records, transactions, and any irregularities linked to operations and expansion activities, and teams were reportedly going through digital records, documents, and asset information, NDTV reported. 

At 1301 IST, shares of the company traded nearly 4% lower at 3,153.20 on the NSE. The stock traded in the red for the third consecutive session. Nearly 2 million shares of the company changed hands so far, compared to over 415,000 shares traded till the same time on NSE. 

Out of the four brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, three have a 'buy' rating on the stock with an average taraget price of INR 3,153. Kotak Securities has a 'sell' rating on stock with a target price of INR 2,978. (P. Madhu Kumar)

Equity Alert: Tenneco Clean Air lists at over 27% premium on NSE at INR 505

MUMBAI--1321 IST--Tenneco Clean Air listed at INR 505 on the NSE, a premium of over 27% to the issue price of INR 397. At 1321 IST, the stock was up nearly 28% at INR 506.70 and more than 79 million shares of the company changed hands on the bourse so far. The stock rose to a high or INR 517 and the intraday low was INR 480.10.

The company's initial public offering, which ended Friday, was subscribed nearly 60 times, with the company receiving bids for 3.92 billion shares against 66.67 million shares on offer. Ahead of the public offer, the company had raised INR 10.80 billion by allocating 27.20 million shares to anchor investors at INR 397 per share. The public offer comprised an offer for sale of shares of up to INR 36 billion by promoter Tenneco Mauritius Holdings Ltd.

Tenneco Clean Air manufactures and supplies clean air, powertrain and suspension solutions for original equipment manufacturers and export markets. The company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 1.68 billion for the quarter ended June, on a revenue of INR 12.86 billion.  (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Indices up more on surge in IT stocks; HDFC Bank, RIL cap gains

MUMBAI--1206 IST--Benchmark equity indices rose more after coming off highs Wednesday, primarily due to a surge in information technology stocks following their recent correction. Gains in technology giants such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and HCL Technologies together pushed the Nifty 50 index 0.2% higher. 

Benchmark indices opened on a flat note Wednesday and fell briefly, but then recovered. At 1208 IST, the Nifty 50 index was at 25993, up almost 83 points or 0.3%. The BSE Sensex was at 84968.65, up 295.63 points or 0.4%. The Nifty IT index rose the most among sectoral indices, up almost 3% to hit a one-month high.

Shares of Infosys traded nearly 4% higher and those of peers such as HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, and Tech Mahindra were up 1-3%. Globally, traders await the quarterly earnings of Nvidia Corp., the bellwether in the artificial intelligence industry. Market participants remain concerned about expensive valuations of global AI-related stocks, signalling a bubble in the US equity market.

Domestic healthcare companies also rose and shares of Max Healthcare and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries traded 3% and 1% higher, respectively. The fall in Nifty 50 heavyweights limited the gains, with shares of HDFC Bank falling nearly 1% and Reliance Industries down 0.3%. These two stocks together have over 21% weightage in the Nifty 50 index. 

Small-cap automobile companies outperformed their Nifty 50 peers as shares of Sona BLW Precision Forgings and Samwardhana Motherson rose 3% and 4%, respectively. Among other stocks, Waree Energy hit three-month low and was down 4% after the company said income tax officials visited its premises.  

Shares of KEC international slumped nearly 6% after the company said it was barred from participating in any tender by the Power Grid Corp. of India. The stock traded at its lowest levels in over a week and was the worst performer in the Nifty 500 index. Meanwhile, shares of Jaiprakash Power Ventures were up more than 6% and the stock was the top gainer in the 500 stock index. 

Broader market indices were mostly in the red due following losses in several small-cap stocks while the Nifty Midcap indices were largely flat. Among the Nifty Smallcap 250 constituents, shares of HBL Engineering, Inox India, City Union Bank fell 3-5%.  (Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Indices rebound after opening lower on recovery in IT cos

MUMBAI--1134 IST--India's headline indices recovered after opening lower Wednesday, primarily due to buying in information technology stocks. At 1131 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25950.05 points, up 40 points or 0.2%. The 50-stock index recovered despite index heavyweight HDFC Bank falling 1%. The BSE Sensex was at 84842.56 points, up 169.54 points or 0.2%.

The Nifty IT index was the best performing sectoral index, up nearly 3%. This was mainly due to a nearly 4% rise in shares of Infosys, which has over 28% weightage in the IT index. The company had announced a buyback of up to 100 million shares for INR 180 billion. The buyback will open Thursday and close on Nov. 26.

Other IT stocks such as HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra gained 1-4%. Globally, sentiment around the sector has been hit on the lower likelihood of US Federal rate cuts and concerns over artificial intelligence companies being overvalued.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Realty and the Nifty Media were down nearly 1%. Shares of The Phoenix Mills, Godrej Properties, and DLF fell 1-2%. Among media stocks, shares of Nazara Technologies and Network18 Media & Investments fell 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively.  (Akshat Saksena)

Equity Alert: KEC Intl down 7%; co barred from bidding in Power Grid tenders

MUMBAI--1020 IST--Shares of KEC International sank a little over 7% to an intraday low of INR 724.70. The stock fell after the company said it is considering moving the court against Power Grid Corp. of India after the latter blacklisted the company from bidding on its tenders for a period of nine months from Tuesday. At 1026 IST, shares of the company were down nearly 6% at INR 737.45 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock fell for the third consecutive session, during which it has lost over 8%.

Power Grid blacklisted the company for nine months on an alleged transgression of contractual provisions and a corruption-related matter wherein the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested some officials of both companies in an INR 250,000 bribery case, KEC International informed the exchanges. The company said that the exclusion from tenders will not affect the existing projects which are under execution. It added that it does not forsee any significant impact on its operations and financial position due to a strong order book and tender pipeline.

Of the 17 brokerage reports on the stock available with Informist, 15 have a 'buy' rating with an average target price of INR 962, while two brokerages have a 'hold' rating. So far Wednesday, around 2 million shares of the company have changed hands on the NSE, higher than 532,474 shares traded during the same period Tuesday.  (Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Indices open lower for second day; IT stocks gain

MUMBAI--1010 IST--Benchmark equity indices opened lower for the second straight session Wednesday dragged down by banking and financial services stocks. Analysts expect the indices to be under selling pressure in the near term, especially after the recent rally. Investors primarily bought shares of information technology companies.

At 0951 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25885.85 points, down 24.20 points, or 0.1%. The BSE Sensex was at 84633.86 points, down 39.16 points, or 0.1%. Broader market indices were mixed on Wednesday. Mid-cap indices gained while their small-cap peers fell. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Media fell the most while the Nifty IT gained the most. 

While there is a sell-off of technology stocks across equity markets globally, in India, shares of IT companies traded higher in early trade. Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, and Tech Mahindra were over 1-2% higher. The Nifty IT was up nearly 2%. Infosys had informed exchanges on Tuesday that it will do a buyback of up to 100 million shares for INR 180 billion.  

Among Nifty 50 constituents, Tata Motors Passengers Vehicles fell the most and was down 1%. The stock was down for the seventh straight session, losing nearly 10% during this period. 

Shares of Waaree Energies fell 3% in early trade after the company said officials from income tax department visited some of its offices and manufacturing facilities in India. The stock is down for the third straight session. Among Nifty 500 stocks, KEC International fell the most. The stock fell over 6% after the company said Power Grid Corp. of India barred it from participating in new tenders floated by the latter. KEC International is considering to go to the court against Power Grid for the same. (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Indices seen flat at open, selling pressure likely to continue

MUMBAI--0834 IST--India's headline equity indices will likely open flat on Wednesday and move in a thin range during the session. However, analysts expect the overall sentiment in the market to remain positive, even as indices may see some amount of selling pressure, especially after the six-session rally that lasted till Monday. 

"Market is expected to open flat...," Ashish Sherigar, a technical analyst at NVS Brokerage, said. "A close above 26050 points shall take the market towards a new all-time high. However, a pullback towards 25750-25650 is also possible."

The Nifty 50 closed Tuesday's session at 25910.05 points, down 103.40 points or 0.4%. The 50-stock index had touched an intraday high of 26029.85 points but failed to stay above that level due to selling pressure. The BSE Sensex closed at 84673.02, down 277.93 or 0.3%. The market was volatile throughout Tuesday's session and analysts had attributed it to the expiry of weekly contracts of the Nifty derivatives. 

The November contract of the GIFT Nifty indicated that indices will likely open slightly higher Wednesday. At 0753 IST, the contract was at 25950 points, down 8.50 points from its previous close but 40 points higher from Nifty 50's previous close.

Foreign investors turned net sellers in the Indian equity market and offloaded shares worth INR 7.29 billion on Tuesday. Domestic investors continued to be net buyers and purchased stocks worth INR 61.57 billion.

In the US, indices closed lower Tuesday as the sell-off in technology stocks continued. Investors sold technology-related stocks due to concerns over the elevated valuation of artificial intelligence-related companies. Now, investors await the September quarter earnings of technology giant Nvidia Corp. to provide insights on global demand for AI. In Asia, all the indices were higher in early trade, with Japenese indices leading the gains in the region. (Gopika Balasubramnanium)

Equity Alert: Indices in Asia rebound from losses; Nikkei leads gains

MUMBAI--0810 IST--Equity indices in Asia reversed early losses and were higher on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index led the gains in the region and snapped a three-day losing streak. Technology-related stocks in the region slid initially, tracking losses on Wall Street amid a sell-off in artificial-intelligence-related companies as concerns about skyrocketing valuations of AI companies weighed on equity markets globally.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose marginally and China's CSI 300 was up 0.4%. Shares of Zijin Mining Group rose nearly 3% and Foxconn Industrial Internet rose around 2%. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese technology company Xiaomi fell 3% after the company Tuesday warned of higher smartphone prices in 2026 due to rising costs of memory chips to meet AI demand.

South Korea's Kospi was up marginally after declining in early trade. Shares of index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which had fallen more than 2% each, recovered earlier losses and were only marginally lower. Shares of Korea Zinc rose more than 5% and those of shipping company HMM advanced 2.5%.

The Nikkei 225 index was up 0.6% in early trading. Shares of NH Foods rose nearly 2% while those of Advantest, a semiconductor testing equipment maker, which fell more than 4% earlier, were off lows. Shares of its peer firm Renesas Electronics plummeted 4%.

Traders await the quarterly earnings of Nvidia Corp., which is expected to beat Wall Street expectations. However, the company has seen a sharp decline amid concerns that this stock may be overvalued due to optimism surrounding AI stocks in the recent past. "The question isn't really whether we're in a bubble," Sonu Varghese of the Carson Group, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. "The real question is how long the current trend in AI spending will last and how bad the fallout will be when it ends."
 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0807 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: US indices end lower Tue as tech-related stocks fall again

MUMBAI--0733 IST--Equity indices in the US closed lower Tuesday as technology-related stocks continued to face selling pressure amid concerns about overvaluation of artificial-intelligence-related companies. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average indices fell for the fourth consecutive session. Traders await the September quarter earnings of technology industry bellwether Nvidia Corp. to provide cues on global demand for AI.

While traders expect the largest company in the broad-market index to beat Wall Street expectations when it releases its earnings later in the day, there are concerns that AI-related optimism in the recent past has inflated the valuation of Nvidia. AI company Anthropic Tuesday said it would invest $30 billion in Microsoft and, in turn, receive investments from Microsoft and Nvidia. Unlike the recent past when AI partnership-related news would drive shares of the "magnificent seven" higher, stocks of Nvidia and Microsoft still ended 3% lower each on the Nasdaq Composite index. Shares of Amazon.com slumped more than 4% and Tesla fell nearly 2%. 

"We could see an 8% (or) 9% decline (in S&P 500) when all is said done," Sam Stovall, CFRA's chief investment strategist, was quoted as saying by CNBC. "It might even end up concluding sooner if we get the kind of earnings that our analyst is expecting for Nvidia, and if we get employment data that is weak but not pointing to recession."

Shares of Home Depot fell 6% after the home improvement chain gave a disappointing forecast for full-year profit, missing quarterly earnings estimates. However, not including Home Depot, earnings for the September quarter have been stronger than expected. Year-on-year earnings growth for the S&P 500 is now at 16.9%, well above the 8.8% estimated at the start of October, Reuters reported, citing LSEG data.

"You're having this massive sentiment correction during a period where earnings is delivering maybe above bull expectations, and, yet, there's so much fear circulating in the market," Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at retirement and wealth services provider Empower, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Traders also await the September US jobs report, which is due to be released Thursday after being delayed because of the US government shutdown. Private market surveys have pointed to a cooling labour market. The reading is expected to provide cues regarding the monetary policy trajectory that the US Federal Reserve will adopt at its December meeting. Currently, expectations of Fed fund futures traders are evenly split, with one half predicting a 25-basis point benchmark rate cut and the other half expecting the apex bank to hold its overnight lending rates steady, data from CME Fedwatch tool showed. 

"The stock market has started to doubt the Fed's ability to cut rates in December. So, should Thursday's jobs report come in weaker than expected, it may clear the path for the Fed to cut in December and fuel the Santa Claus rally we anticipate, which could push the S&P 500 to 7,100 by year-end," James Demmert, Main Street Research, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Following are the closing levels of US indices Tuesday:

(Eshitva Prakash)

End

US$1 = INR 88.58

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Nishant Maher

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