Tale of the Tape 

Hi y'all. Markets sadly snapped their 7-day winning streak!

Nifty (-0.3%) and Sensex (-0.4%) ended in the red as rising border tensions with Pakistan dented sentiment. Midcaps and Smallcaps ended with very minor cuts. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of the bears (3:2). Here’s the Nifty500 heatmap:

Most sectors ended in the red. Real Estate (-1.4%) was the top loser, followed by FMCG (-1.1%).  Pharma (+1.1%) saw strong buying, while Metals (+0.2%) saw minor gains.

Are global investors betting on India over the US? Read our top story to understand the global shift towards diversification. 

Syngene cracked -13% after signalling a weak FY26. Meanwhile, HUL was the top Nifty loser after disappointing margin guidance. More details below.

Divi’s Labs, Thyrocare Technologies and Samhi Hotels saw big moves. Check out their charts below.

Bharti Airtel (-2%) was in focus after reports said the firm had written to the GOI asking it to convert dues into equity.

Waaree Energies cracked -6% after Jefferies downgraded the stock. PS - the brokerage still upped its target price to Rs 2,100 p/sh.

Devyani International will buy an 80% stake in Biryani By Kilo for Rs 419 cr.

Results reaction. Adani Energy Solutions ( +2%) Net Profit rose 79% YoY. Elecon Engineering reported its highest ever quarterly PAT.

Bharat Forge (-2%) was down after the Trump administration launched a probe into truck imports.

Here are the closing prints:

Earnings
Earnings Roundup

Hindustan Unilever (-4%) was the top Nifty loser after the company indicated that they would prioritize sales growth over profits in FY26! Consequently, they expect operating margins to drop to 22%-23% vs earlier estimates of 23%-24%. 

We know, this does not look huge but there are only two instances when a company does this: a) when the demand environment is rough and b) competition is tough. What’s worse is HUL’s profits have been down in three out of the last five quarters. So it’s clear this pain isn’t going away any time soon & the market absolutely hates it. 

In other news, its Q4 numbers were mostly in-line with Street estimates. Its food & skincare/make-up businesses were under pressure but growth in homecare products helped domestic volumes grow +2% YoY (beating estimates of 0%-1%).

Here’s HUL’s Q4 report card:

• Revenue: Rs 15,213 cr; +2% YoY

• EBITDA:  Rs 3,466 cr; +1% YoY

• EBITDA Margin: 22.8% vs 23.1% YoY

• PAT: Rs 2,493 cr; +4% YoY

HUL is +3% over the last year.

Syngene (-13%) was the top NSE 500 loser on weak FY26 guidance! Sygene estimates FY26 revenue growth in the mid-single digits (vs expectations of +15% YoY) after accounting for inventory destocking due to global uncertainty (aka Trump tariffs). If you thought this sucks then wait there’s more! 

They also forecast operating margins to fall to “mid-twenties” from the current ~30% as a new manufacturing facility becomes operational. This will result in a drop in the profitability next year! Whew.

To cap things off, its Q4 results were just okay-ish: the biologics CDMO biz saw decent growth, helping lift the topline. But higher employee expenses impacted margins & profits.

Here are its key stats:

• Revenue: Rs 1,018 cr; +11% YoY

• EBITDA: Rs 363

• EBITDA Margin: 35% vs 35.7%

• PAT: 183 cr; -3% YoY

Syngene is -26% YTD.

Specials
Vijay Kedia Portfolio Changes

Who doesn’t want to know which stocks legendary investor Vijay Kedia is currently holding? In this video, we cover his top holdings and latest portfolio updates along with fundamental and technical views on the same.