Consumer-focused companies have been left with few options but to increase the prices of their products as input costs mount because of various factors, including supply chain disruptions. This has been affecting monthly household budgets. Prices of scores of items -- from spices to soaps to rice -- have increased in the past year.
Ajit Balakrishnan offers lessons from another tech revolution not so long ago.
Nine of the top-10 most valued companies together lost a whopping Rs 309,178.44 crore in market valuation last week as selloffs continued. In a holiday-shortened past week, the 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted 1,836.95 points or 3.11 per cent amid geopolitical tensions, global sell-off triggered by a hawkish US Federal Reserve and unabated foreign fund outflows. From the top-10 list, State Bank of India was the lone gainer as its valuation jumped Rs 18,340.07 crore to reach Rs 467,069.54 crore.
"Taking forward the brand's journey towards a more inclusive vision of beauty, the company will stop using the word 'Fair' in the brand name 'Fair & Lovely'. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and we expect to change the name in the next few months," Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said in a statement. As part of the rebranding, the company will also be announcing the new name for the 'Fair & Lovely' Foundation, set up in 2003 to offer scholarships to women to help them pursue their education.
Companies from Unilever to Proctor & Gamble, Nestl, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have all alluded to lockdown challenges in India and the globe as well as the impact it will have on April-June as well as full-year numbers.
Eight of the top-10 most valued companies suffered a combined erosion of Rs 2,61,812.14 crore in market valuation last week, with Reliance Industries emerging as the biggest laggard. In the top-10 list, Infosys and Wipro were the only gainers. During the last week, the BSE benchmark slumped 1,774.93 points or 3.01 per cent.
Equity market capitalisation dropped to a seven-month low in February, with the top 10 companies losing a whopping Rs 3,33,307.62 crore in market valuation last week. The total equity market capitalisation (m-cap) in February 2022 stood at Rs 2,49,97,053.39 crore. The previous low was in July 2021, when the m-cap of BSE-listed companies was at Rs 2,35,49,748.9 crore. In January, the m-cap stood at Rs 2,64,41,207.18 crore.
Private equity player Everstone Capital has sold Modern Foods, which it had taken over in early 2016 from Hindustan Unilever, to Mexican baking major Grupo Bimbo for an undisclosed sum.
The stock market's momentum will be guided by the ongoing quarterly earnings season, with Reliance Industries, HUL and Bajaj Finance among those scheduled to announce their results this week, analysts said. Focus would also remain on the COVID situation, global stock markets, investment pattern of foreign institutional investors (FIIs), rupee-dollar trend and Brent crude, they added. "The earnings season would gain pace this week and participants will be closely eyeing the results of some of the top names like Reliance, Ultratech Cement, Bajaj Auto, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever among others. "Before that, markets will first react to the earnings of two heavyweights -- HCL Technologies and HDFC Bank in early trade on Monday," said Ajit Mishra, VP Research, Religare Broking.
Even as raw material prices start cooling off from their peaks, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies' margins are expected to remain under pressure at least in the next quarter. This is because commodity prices continue to remain high year-on-year (YoY). Consumer companies will also continue to increase rates as they have been taking price hikes in a staggered manner. They have not yet passed the entire price increase of raw materials to consumers.
Six of the top 10 most valued Indian firms added a cumulative Rs 86,683.71 crore in market valuation last week, with HDFC twins emerging as the biggest gainers. On the top 10 chart, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel and HCL Technologies were gainers. While, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and Infosys saw erosion in their market valuation.
Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved Ltd will sell its food retail business to group firm Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd for Rs 690 crore as part of its strategy to focus on non-food, traditional medicine and wellness business.
While Unilever has been aggressive, both organically and inorganically in the country, P&G's approach has been about achieving 'balanced growth' in terms of top line and bottom line.
The combined market valuation of eight of the top-10 most valued companies zoomed Rs 190,571.55 crore last week, with Bajaj Finance emerging as the biggest gainer, reflecting bullish investor sentiment. While Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) witnessed erosion in their market capitalisation, rest of the eight companies including Hindustan Unilever Limited, HDFC, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel emerged as gainers. The market valuation of Bajaj Finance jumped Rs 35,878.56 crore to Rs 2,63,538.56 crore, becoming the biggest gainer among the top-10 most valued firms.
'Devika is a people's person, who simply loves what she does. This reflects in her work; the insights she brings to the table and the way she interacts with people and clients. She has the demeanour of a good captain. Her success is well-deserved.'
Reliance Industries Limited was leading the chart of the top-10 valued domestic companies, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever Limited, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finance Limited.
Equity benchmarks mustered gains for the first time this week on Thursday as investors piled into the recently-battered metal, bank and IT stocks amid expiry of monthly derivative contracts. Snapping its three-session losing streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 503.27 points or 0.94 per cent to settle at 54,252.53. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty gained 144.35 points or 0.90 per cent to end at 16,170.15.
...followed by financial services, IT, and sales and marketing.
'The classic thing we need as a country is the virtuous cycle where you have robust demand which leads to more capital spending which in turn leads to more job creation and more money in the hands of people.'
A long and bitter funding winter in the start-up world is beginning to take its toll on start-up advertising across properties. Earlier this week, Mastercard replaced Paytm as the title sponsor for all international and domestic cricket matches organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). But this is just one part of the story. The other side is that organisers of high-impact shows and events on Hindi general entertainment channels, too, are feeling the winter chill.
Is winning a glamour contest, a beauty parade, a bigger achievement than getting to run one of the world's best known luxury brands or the IMF? asks Sandeep Goyal.
Hindustan Zinc (HZL), a subsidiary of Vedanta, announced an interim dividend of Rs 21 per share last week, resulting in an outflow of Rs 8,863 crore. The announcement has turned the spotlight on India Inc's dividend-paying policy - more so for reasons driving the generosity of firms. An analysis of BSE 500 companies by Business Standard Research Bureau shows that some of the top 20 dividend-paying companies in 2021-22 (FY22) include Vedanta, Tata Consultancy Services, HZL, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil), Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Reliance Industries (RIL), and Bajaj Auto, among others.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Thursday reported a 10.7 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2,100 crore for the first quarter ended June, 2021 led by a volume-based growth despite challenging circumstances due to the second wave of the pandemic. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,897 crore in the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal. Net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 11,996 crore, up 13.49 per cent, as against Rs 10,570 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said in a regulatory filing.
Some analysts see more upside in FMCG stocks given the performance gap between the sector and the market.
At the same time, seven companies from the coveted list witnessed a decline in their market valuation last week, but their cumulative loss of Rs 37,701.1 crore was less than the total gain made by three firms.
Leading FMCG firm HUL on Thursday said it has switched to green fuel alternatives such as biomass and biodiesel and has eliminated the usage of coal across its operations. The company has collaborated with biomass suppliers and local farmers to ensure sustainable supply of green fuel and has made the necessary changes for the renewable transition in its coal-fired boilers, said an HUL statement. Besides, the shift from coal to renewable energy sources has also resulted in savings for the company, it added.
There are multiple near-term worries for the stock of India's largest listed consumer company, Hindustan Unilever (HUL). While inflationary pressures will weigh on its profitability, demand pressures - especially in the rural market - are expected to hit the firm's revenues. This is why brokerages have cut the earnings estimates for financial year 2022-23 (FY23) by 7-10 per cent.
Nine of the top-10 most valued domestic companies together added a whopping Rs 2,22,591.01 crore in market valuation last week, with heavyweights RIL, TCS and HDFC twins gaining the most. During the last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex rallied 1,690.88 points or 3.21 per cent. The index reached its all-time high of 54,717.24 on August 5. Barring Bajaj Finance, rest nine companies -- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), ICICI Bank, HDFC, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank -- logged gains.
Quarterly earnings and global cues will be the major sentiment driver for the equity market this week, according to analysts. Of late, Benchmark indices have been on a record-breaking run. "Quarterly results will dictate market sentiment and will be the talk of this week as they pick up the pace. "D-Street will be all ears to any management insights to forecast the future earnings trajectory.
A few days ago, Reliance Retail surprised the market by acquiring the Campa brand from Delhi-based Pure Drinks Ltd for Rs 22 crore. A successful cola brand in the eighties, especially in North India, Campa Cola thrived when Coke exited India in the late seventies. When the Atlanta-based major returned and PepsiCo set base in India, it went down fighting.
Reliance Industries accounted for Rs 6.3 trillion in wealth created since 1995; closest rival was Hindustan Unilever which was at Rs 4.9 trillion.
The market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday breached the Rs 13.5 lakh crore mark -- the second company after Reliance Industries Ltd to achieve the feat. At close of trade, the market valuation of TCS stood at Rs 13,53,667.85 crore on BSE. The company had touched the Rs 13 lakh crore valuation level on August 17, when its market capitalisation (m-cap) stood at Rs 13,14,051.01 crore.
PowerGrid was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Reliance, L&T, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finance.
'With the ease of access, we have seen an increased participation from tier-2, tier-3, and tier-4 cities/towns.'
The BSE Metal index surged 1.6% to 12,364. The BSE Bankex, Consumer Durables, FMCG, Oil & Gas and Auto indices advanced over 1% each. The market breadth was marginally negative - out of 2,725 stocks traded, 1,411 declined, 1,212 advanced and 102 were unchanged on Friday.
FMCG distributors on Thursday said it has suspended their boycott of certain products of oral care maker Colgate after talks with the company representatives over the issue of the price disparity between the traditional distributors and organised business-to-business channel. A day after a virtual meeting with Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd (CPIL) representatives, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) called off its stir to boycott certain products of the company starting from January 1, 2022. "From today, the movement against Colgate is postponed till further notice," the AICPDF said in a statement.
The Netherlands has emerged as India's fifth-largest export destination in 2021-22 (FY22), jumping from its 10th position a year ago. Exports to the fifth-largest economy in the European Union (EU) bolted 94 per cent to $12.5 billion in the financial year ended March 31. In FY22, the Netherlands surpassed Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, Germany, and Nepal to become India's largest export destination in the EU. Germany, which was earlier India's top European export destination (eighth position), has now dropped two ranks to 10th place.
Axis Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 4 per cent, followed by Asian Paints, SBI, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC and Reliance. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Bajaj Finserv and Infosys were the gainers.
The first quarter earnings season will dictate the trend in the equity markets in this holiday-shortened week amid absence of major macroeconomic drivers, say analysts. Besides, lacklustre global markets may increase volatility in the market, they added. Equity markets would remain closed on Wednesday for Bakri-Id.
From the enactment of the capital control Act to the recognition of the BSE as a stock exchange and the infamous Harshad Mehta scam, here are the 18 biggest events for stock markets from 1947 to 1993.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances