Asian equities declined, following an unimpressive start to the earnings reports from the "Magnificent Seven" megacap technology companies.

Stocks in Japan, South Korea and Australia declined.

US stock indices were muted on Tuesday amid mixed second quarter earnings and ahead of results from Alphabet and Tesla.

Here's a table showing how US stocks performed on Tuesday:

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 110 points lower and NSE Nifty is trading 35 points lower.

Tata Motors, ITC, and NTPC are among the top gainers today.

HUL, Nestle, and Britannia the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index is trading 1.4% higher and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.6% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed today, with stocks in the telecom sector, capital goods sector, and power sector witnessing the most buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the metal sector and IT sector witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.7 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.5% higher at Rs 68,888 per 10 grams today.
 

HUL Q1 Results

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on Tuesday reported a 3% year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit at Rs 25.3 billion (bn) for the quarter that ended 30 June 2024, which was in line with the Street estimate of Rs 25.4 bn.

The company's revenue from operations for the reported quarter stood at Rs 151.7 bn, rising 2% YoY against Rs 149.3 bn recorded in the 2023 June quarter.

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) margin as a percentage of the turnover stood at 23.8%, which was up by 1.7%.

The total expenses incurred by the company in the reported quarter stood at Rs 12,116 crore versus Rs 119.3 bn in the year-ago period, rising 1.5%.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter was Rs 36.1 bn versus Rs 35.2 bn reported in the year-ago period. It recorded a 2% growth. EBITDA margin at 23.8% increased by 0.2% versus Q1FY24.

Profit after tax before exceptional items for the quarter at Rs 25.7 bn, which grew by 3%. Exceptional items in the April-June quarter include restructuring expenses of Rs 480 m.

Vedanta to Consider Dividend

Vedanta board on Tuesday announced that it would consider a second interim dividend for FY25 in its upcoming board meeting to be held on 26 July, for which the record date has been fixed as 3 August.

The meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is proposed to be scheduled on Friday, 26 July 2024, to consider and approve the Second Interim Dividend on equity shares, if any, for the Financial Year 2024-25.

The amount of the interim dividend has not been determined yet and is said to be subject to approval.

The company has already declared its first interim dividend of Rs 11 for the financial year 2024-25.

These included interim dividends of Rs 11 in December 2023, Rs 18.5 in May 2023, and Rs 20.5 in February 2023.

The mining conglomerate recently raised Rs 85 bn through qualified institutional placement (QIP) of 19.3 m equity shares at an issue price of Rs 440 apiece. The issue, which closed on 19 July, implied a discount of 4.61% to the floor price of Rs 461.26 per equity share.
 

Dr Reddy to Consider Stock Split

The board of directors of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories will meet on Saturday, 27 July to consider a stock split proposal.

Currently, shares of Dr Reddy's have a face value of Rs 5 each.

This is the first instance that the company will be carrying out a split of its equity share as a public company. It added that these will also include the American depository shares (ADRs). The same will be subject to the approval of the company's shareholders.

Last month, the company said its subsidiary Dr. Reddy's Laboratories SA, has signed a definitive agreement with Haleon plc and its associate companies to acquire the global portfolio of consumer healthcare brands in the Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) category, excluding the United States.

This acquisition includes the purchase of shares of Northstar Switzerland SARL, a Haleon group company. Dr Reddy's will acquire the share capital of Northstar Switzerland SARL for a total consideration of GBP 500 m with an upfront cash payment of GBP 458 m and performance-based contingent payments of up to GBP 42 m, payable in 2025 and 2026.

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