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Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: West Asia war likely to dent L&T's near-term margin, analysts say

 

MUMBAI--0850 IST--Larsen & Tourbo displayed resilience during Apr-Jun despite disruptions the company suffered due to the war in West Asia. Its net profit and revenue expanded on an on-year basis and brokerages maintained their stance on the stock. The company retained its revenue growth guidance of 10-12% for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) and sees the margin at around 7.8% However, the company's growth in the first half of FY27 is likely to be subdued, according to analysts.

 

Despite the ongoing war in West Asia, the company's sales from its core projects, products, and manufacturing vertical grew 2% on year though its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin fell 20 basis points to 7%, Nuvama Institutional Equities noted. The company's order book totalled INR 7.79 trillion as of Jun. 30 and a prospective pipeline of projects for the rest of the financial year amounting to INR 15 trillion for the near term provide strong revenue visibility, the brokerage said. It raised its earnings per share estimates for the company by 8% for FY27 and 6% for FY28. Nuvama retained its 'hold' stance on the stock and raised its target price to INR 4,065 from INR 4,050.

 

Execution-related hurdles are likely to persist for the company's projects, products, and manufacturing business in FY27 and margins could be adversely impacted, Prabhudas Lilladher said. The brokerage has trimmed its earnings per share estimates for the company by 2.2% for FY27 and by 0.3% for FY28. Prabhudas Lilladher maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock and cut its target price to 4,425 from INR 4,632. "Short-term execution risks remain for L&T due to supply chain challenges amid Middle East (West Asia) conflict. Meanwhile, we believe L&T is well-placed to benefit in the long-run," the brokerage said.

 

Order activity for the company from West Asia is expected to pick up pace from the September quarter, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said. The company has a strong order pipeline for the remainder of FY27 and it diversified its order inflow mix during Apr-Jun, the brokerage noted. Motilal Oswal revised its earnings per share expectations higher by 2.3% for FY27 to INR 147.9 while maintaining its 'buy' call. It has a target price of INR 4,550 on the stock.

 

L&T's consolidated net profit for the June quarter rose 14% on year to INR 41.23 billion and its revenue from operations rose about 7% on year. Profit for the quarter fell 23% sequentially and revenue by close to 18%. Tuesday, shares of the company closed 0.7% higher at INR 3,832 on the National Stock Exchange.  (Ruchira Kagita)

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Equity Alert: Indices seen opening up; Adani Ports, Adani Ent results in focus

 

MUMBAI--0835 IST--Domestic equity indices are expected to open higher and turn range-bound on Wednesday. The August futures contract of the GIFT Nifty also suggested a higher opening for the market despite fresh escalation in the West Asia war as Iran launched surprise attacks on US forces in West Asia. Crude oil prices, however, stayed at their lower levels of $86 a barrel amid the fresh escalation in strikes. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors, and Asian Paints will be in focus as these will detail their June quarter results later in the day.

 

At 0818 IST, the August futures contract of the GIFT Nifty was at 24231, down 70 points or 0.3% from its previous close, but around 245 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close of 23985.35. Rupak De of LKP Securities expects a decisive move above 24050 in the near term to provide strength for the Nifty 50 index to move towards 24500 in the short term. "On the lower end, support is placed at 23800. Chance of range bound movement remains but at higher level," De said.

 

On the earnings front, Adani Ports is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 33.75 billion for the June quarter, up 1.8% on year. Its consolidated revenues for the reporting quarter are seen at INR 105.61 billion, up 16%. Automobile major Eicher Motors is likely to report a consolidated net profit of INR 13.80 billion, up 15% on year.

 

Asian Paints is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 12.63 billion for the quarter, up nearly 15% from the corresponding quarter a year ago. Its revenue is expected to be INR 101.80 billion, up nearly 14% on year.

 

Shares of Larsen & Toubro will also be in focus as the company detailed its June quarter earnings Tuesday post market hours. The company reported strong on-year growth in its consolidated net profit for the quarter on a moderate rise in revenues. Its consolidated net profit for the June quarter rose 14% on year to INR 41.23 billion, while revenues rose about 7% on year to INR 679.42 billion.

 

Barring the Nasdaq Composite, all other US indices settled higher Tuesday. Asian equity indices were also mixed in early trade Wednesday, with South Korea's KOSPI shedding nearly 5% and Hang Seng index gaining over 1%.  (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: Brokerages trim HUL price aim after co's Q1 results miss view

 

MUMBAI--0830 IST--Multiple brokerages have trimmed their target prices on Hindustan Unilever after the company detailed its June quarter results on Tuesday. For Apr-Jun, the fast-moving consumer goods company reported a 4% on-year fall in its net profit at INR 26.31 billion on revenues of INR 166.57 billion. While revenues rose over 10% on year, the fastest pace in 13 quarters, the bottom line was dragged down by higher tax outgo in the reporting quarter. Both the bottom line and the top line missed the Street's view.

 

Nuvama Institutional Equities marginally trimmed its earnings per share estimates for FY28 by 2% and FY29 by 3%, factoring in extended weakness in soaps and softer recovery in the personal care vertical after a fall in skin cleansing product volumes. The brokerage expects continued investments in growth initiatives to offset some of these factors. It retained its "buy" recommendation on the stock but cut its target price nearly 9% to INR 2,820 at 41 times the earnings per share multiple based on FY27 estimates and 37 times the multiple based on FY28 estimates.

 

Sytematix Shares and Stocks increased its estimates for FY27-FY28 by 1–2% and expects HUL's net profit and revenue to grow at a compounded annual rate of 9% over FY26-FY29. The brokerage retained its "hold" recommendation but trimmed the target price on the stock by over 12% to INR 2,205. It underscored the scope for improved volume growth over FY27 and FY28 as HUL revamps its portfolio to expand into high-growth categories such as premium beauty, laundry liquids, and high-science nutrition. However, the brokerage anticipates input-cost inflation and pricing volatility across FY27 and factors in their impact on demand and margins. The brokerage underscored its cautious stance on the stock.

 

Nirmal Bang, on the other hand, iterated its structurally positive stance on HUL's long-term growth prospects, supported by premiumisation, portfolio transformation, and continued execution improvements. The brokerage increased its target price by nearly 2% to INR 2,295 and maintained its "hold" recommendation on the stock.

 

On Tuesday, shares of HUL closed 7% lower on the National Stock Exchange. Emkay Global Financial Service views the post-earnings stock correction as making the risk-reward ratio more favourable. The brokerage slightly tweaked its estimates but maintained its "add" recommendation with an unchanged target price of INR 2,350. It factored in a cautious demand outlook given expectations of a below-normal monsoon and potential margin pressure in the September quarter due to higher commodity prices. (Shruti Nair)

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Equity Alert: Asian markets mixed; Kospi down as SK Hynix  misses estimates

 

MUMBAI--0800 IST--Asian markets opened mixed Wednesday after a harsh selloff Tuesday. South Korea's Kospi recovered most of its Tuesday losses but then fell more than 5%. The small-cap Kosdaq also fell around 5%. South Korea's SK Hynix reported higher earnings, on year and sequentially, but fell short of the Street's estimates. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell more than 4% and the broader market TOPIX fell slightly. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose more than 1% and Singapore's FTSE rose marginally. 

 

The shares of SK Hynix fell more than 9%. The stock was up during early trade after the company reported a more than six-fold sequential increase in its quarterly operating profit. Samsung Electronics fell more than 5%. Japan's Advantest fell more than 1% and Tokyo Electron fell nearly 10%. The SoftBank Group fell more than 6% while Nvidia Corp. rose slightly. 

 

The latest weakness in Asian chip stocks reflects "the ongoing deleveraging process in Korea and softer sentiment towards global technology stocks," CNBC quoted Kieron Poon, investment director of Asian equities at Aberdeen Investments. The recent volatility "has not changed our long-term positive view," Poon was quoted as saying.

 

Following are the levels of key indices in the region at 0800 IST:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Nikkei 225 Day	61459.06	(-)1.5
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3953.62	(-)0.3
S&P/ASX 200 Index	9059.4	1.3
KOSPI Index	5714.19	(-)5.1
Hang Seng Index	25671.29	1.4
CSI 300 Index	4544.75	(-)0.5
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	5635.04	0.3

 

(Deesha Jadhav)

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Equity Alert: US markets close mixed; Boeing, Coca-Cola results up sentiment

 

MUMBAI--0700 IST--Major indices in the US ended mixed Tuesday as investors pulled out of chip stocks but gains in Boeing and Coca-Cola compensated for the fall in chip stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1% higher. The S&P 500 closed slightly higher while the Nasdaq Composite ended almost flat. Concerns over artificial intelligence spending by Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and other technology heavyweights have made global markets volatile this month. 

 

Coca-Cola rose 5?ter it posted better-than-expected top line and bottom line, Reuters reported. The company has also raised its earnings outlook for the full year. Boeing rose 4.8?ter it reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss but generated positive free cash flow. Microsoft rose 1.1% ahead of its earnings, due later in the day. Amazon fell slightly ahead of its results, due Thursday. 

 

Apple rose almost 1% and hit a high of $342.89, which lifted its market capitalisation to $5 trillion for the first time. The company will report its results Thursday. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF fell more than 3%, down for a fourth straight day. Micron and Advanced Micro Devices fell more than 8%. The PHLX Semiconductor index fell 4.5%. 

 

The S&P healthcare index, the consumer staples index, and the materials index all rose between 1.7% and 2.4%. Meanwhile, a decline in chipmakers kept the technology index down 1.4%. Shares of Corning fell 12?ter its June quarter sales missed estimates, while contract research firm IQVIA Holdings rose 14?ter the company reported better-than-expected results for the June quarter. Investors await the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting, which will start later in the day. 

 

Following were the closing levels of major US indices Tuesday: 

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	52747.32	1.0
NASDAQ Composite	24876.91	(-)0.2
S&P 500	7428.78	0.2

 

(Deesha Jadhav)

 

US$1 = INR 95.85

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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