Hind Lever hit by a downgrade

DALAL STREET SPIKES

FMCG major Hindustan Lever (HLL) witnessed renewed selling after a leading broking firm yesterday downgraded the stock. The counter in a subdued market ended 0.29 per cent lower to close at Rs 118.75.

The stock had touched an intra-day low of Rs 118.50 on Tuesday with volumes accounting for more than 4.7 lakh shares on the BSE.

The broking firm in its research report said, "Deteriorating fundamentals, continuing stiff competitive pressures, increasing choices to invest in the Indian consumer space are some of the key reasons for the stock to be downgraded. Further, dividend yield on the stock is not attractive," the report added.

Apart from a brief respite in yesterday trading when the stock gained over 2 per cent, the counter has been reeling under selling pressure over the past few months on concerns of increased competition from smaller players and recent price war in the detergent segment with other MNC companies.