Shares sharply pare gains; HUL declines after Q2 results

The domestic equity barometers sharply pared gains in mid afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading below the 18,550 mark. Media stocks were in demand.

At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 186.61 points or 0.30% to 61,952.20. The Nifty 50 index gained 33.65 points or 0.18% to 18,510.70.

The Sensex hit a record high of 62,245.43 while the Nifty hit an all-time high of 18,604.45 in morning trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.50%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.26%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1240 shares rose and 2079 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) fell 2.67% to Rs 2,583.20. The FMCG company posted a 9% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,187 crore on an 11% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 12,516 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21. HUL said that its performance was broad based with all three divisions growing competitively.

Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and MD said, "September quarter witnessed a sequential improvement in trading conditions, albeit remained challenging with unprecedented levels of input cost inflation and subdued consumer sentiments. In this backdrop, we have delivered a strong performance growing topline in double digits and stepping up profitability sequentially.

Large parts of our business continue to gain market shares and penetration. Calibrated price increases and laser sharp focus on savings has helped us protect our business model while ensuring the right price-value equation for our consumers. Looking forward, we remain cautiously optimistic about demand recovery."

Numbers to Track:

MCX Gold futures for 3 December 2021 settlement rose 0.48% to Rs 47,520.

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper was currently at 6.389% as compared with its previous closing of 6.387%.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2021 settlement rose 38 cents or 0.45% to $84.71 a barrel.

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee rose to 74.971 from its previous closing of 75.190.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.37% to 93.61.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index rose 0.66% to 2,349.50. The index had declined by 0.72% to end at 2,334 yesterday.

T.V. Today Network (up 1.30%), Sun TV Network (up 1.08%), and Zee Entertainment (up 0.23%) advanced.

Jagran Prakashan (down 1.79%), Dish TV India (down 1.66%), D. B. Corp (down 0.72%) and PVR (down 0.34%) declined.

TV18 Broadcast advanced 3.42% to Rs 48.35. The broadcasting company posted an 86.67% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 140 crore on a 29% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1308 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21. On a sequential basis, the company`s revenue from operations grew by 13.2% while its net profit rose by 41.3% in Q2 FY22 over Q1 FY22.

Network18 Media & Investments rose 2.03% to Rs 85.45, ahead of its second quarter earnings today.

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