HUL shares up by more than 2% today amidst increased economic uncertainty

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) shares are gaining today. At 2:35 p.m. HUL shares are up by 2.36%, trading at Rs 2,416. Nifty 50 index is down by 0.33% at this time. HUL shares are gaining today after losing around 2% over the past 5 days before today. Year-to-date in 2026, the stock has gained more than 4%. Nifty 50 is down by around 2% YTD in 2026.

HUL announced the demerger of its ice cream business, into a separated listed entity, Kwality Walls, in October last year. The ice cream business made up for around 3% of the total revenue of HUL. Shareholders of HUL have been issued 1 share of Kwality Walls for every 1 share of HUL that they held.  Main brands of Kwality Walls include Cornetto, Magnum etc. Kwality Walls shares are expected to get listed by the end of this month. The shares post listing may see some appreciation during summer months, when demand for ice cream peaks.

Increased economic uncertainty

HUL shared are also gaining because of heightened economic risks. Geopolitical uncertainty remains high. US President Donald Trump has imposed additional 10% tariff on European nations that are rallying behind Denmark on Greenland issue. These measures can have a cascading effect in the form of further slowdown in international trade and global economy.

FMCG stocks are less cyclical

FMCG stocks such as HUL are considered to be less cyclical; they are impacted less by economic downturns and economic cycles.  The results posted by many Indian companies till now for the December quarter indicate to some prevailing weakness in the Indian economy at the ground level.

In the past 1 year HUL shares have gained 3.08%. Nifty 50 index has gained around 9.07% in the past 1 years. HUL shares have underperformed the Nifty 50 index by around 6% in this period. HUL stands to gain in the foreseeable future from the GST cuts that were implemented by the Government in September last year.

Disclaimer : This content is only for informational purpose. It does not make any recommendation to act or invest.

Source: NSE