ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank sold foreign currency worth 132.9 billion Swiss francs ($149.51 billion) in 2023, the central bank said on Tuesday, showing its increased emphasis on supporting the Swiss franc as a shield against imported inflation.

The figure was a massive increase from 22.3 billion francs in foreign currencies sold by the SNB in 2022, when the bank started selling off some of its huge foreign currency holdings.

The SNB’s strategy has paid off, with Swiss inflation within its 0-2% target range for last nine months.

“The SNB’s foreign currency sales contributed to the Swiss franc initially appreciating roughly in line with inflation differentials against other countries,” the SNB said on Tuesday.

“In doing so, they prevented a weakening of the Swiss franc in real terms and thus helped in tightening monetary conditions,” it added. “Towards the end of the year, the inflation rate fell significantly.”

The SNB said it would no longer focus on foreign currency sales after achieving its goal. The central bank is due to announce its next monetary policy decisions on Thursday.

($1 = 0.8889 Swiss francs)

FMCG companies witnessed a sharp drop in revenue growth during the quarter ended December 2023 while their gross margins expanded on the back of falling input costs.
The Q3 revenue growth of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies was just 2.1%, decelerating sharply from around 6% in H1 and around 13% in FY23. The management commentaries, though, for most FMCG companies were optimistic about a better revenue trajectory aided by rural demand recovery.

Brokerage firm Anand Rathi estimates a 13% earnings CAGR over FY24-26 for its FMCG coverage universe, aided by gross-margin gains and recovering demand. It prefers reasonably valued stocks with growth assurance.
The brokerage firm has ‘Buy’ ratings on Hindustan Unilever, Godrej Consumer Products among large-caps and Zydus Wellness and Emami among midcap FMCG stocks. United Breweries is its sole preferred pick in consumer discretionary and has upgraded the stock to a ‘Buy’.

Here are the top FMCG stocks to buy:

Hindustan Unilever | Buy | TP: ₹3,100
With a subdued FY24 (favourable base) and early signs of demand revival in rural markets and in the non-food category, Hindustan Unilever should benefit in FY25. However, gross margin gains would be limited to 60 bps in FY25 on favourable input prices. Volume recovery and modest margin expansion should help to steady earnings growth of 13% in FY25, though intense competition (especially from small players) remains a concern, Anand Rathi said.
The valuation at 48x on FY25e versus the 10-year average of 51x is attractive, it added. The brokerage has a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of ₹3,100 per share.

Godrej Consumer Products | Buy | TP: ₹1,350
Godrej Consumer Products saw consistently better Q3 volume growth in domestic markets. This, and favourable input costs aided its strong gross-margin gains, a part of which was invested in higher brand spends.
The brokerage expects the company’s core categories’ market share to rise, aided by innovations. It believes the valuation has risen recently but is likely to stay high due to better earnings assurance under Sitapathy’s leadership.

It has a ‘Buy’ call on Godrej Consumer Products with a target of ₹1,350 per share.

Emami | Buy | TP: ₹616
Emami had a mixed Q3 with below-expectation volume recovery, mainly due to adverse weather denting its seasonal portfolio. Despite this, gross margin gains were healthy, aided by the fall in key input prices, though offset by higher brand spends.
“Even though new companies are entering its core cooling-oil category, management said it hasn’t seen any material share loss. The valuation is attractive at just 24x on a 1-year forward basis, adding lustre to the company’s steady earnings outlook,” Anand Rathi said.

It has a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a TP of ₹616 per share.
United Breweries | Buy |TP: ₹2,150
United Breweries reported a steady 8%
volume growth. Also, the gross margin and
EBITDA margin rose, bolstered by the drop in
prices of barley. The brokerage believes
concerns regarding volume decline, market-
share loss and weaker margins are largely
behind and the company should see steady
volume/earnings recovery ahead.
The stock trades at an attractive valuation of
65x versus the 10-year average of 89x. It has
upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’, with a target
price of ₹2,150 per share
Zydus Wellness|Buy |TP: ₹1,910
After a few muted quarters, hurt by adverse
summers and input cost rises, we expect a
gradual recovery with margin tailwinds from
the fall in input costs and price hikes. Intense
competition in health-food drinks and adverse
news flow/the trademark issue had a bearing
on Complan and the artificial sweetener
category, the brokerage firm said.

Domestic equities posted their biggest decline in more than a month as investors took money off the table ahead of the release of key US economic data.
The Nifty50 index ended the session at 21,951, a decline of 247 points, or 1.1 per cent, the biggest fall since January 23.

Meanwhile, the Sensex ended the session at 72,305, a 790 points or 1.08 per cent fall, the biggest since January 30.
Barring four, all the 30 Sensex stocks have taken a hit. Reliance Industries, which fell 2.1 per cent, was the biggest drag on the index.
The mid and smallcap gauges dropped by nearly 2 per cent each.
The combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell by Rs 6 trillion — the biggest single-day decline since February 12 — to touch Rs 386 trillion.
Analysts said investors are nervous ahead of the release of US consumer income and the initial jobless claims data.
Market players are grappling with the prospect of delayed rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
Investors are concerned that the resilient economic activity could lead to higher inflation and reduce the pace of rate cuts.
The domestic gross domestic product (GDP) for the October-December quarter was due on Thursday.
Economists said India’s economy will likely see a bit of slowing due to a deceleration in industrial growth, agricultural output, and consumption.
A robust macroeconomic outlook, sustained domestic inflows, and healthy corporate results led to the rally in equities last year, along with optimism about speedy rate cuts by the Fed and hopes of regime continuity after the general elections.
“Global investors are awaiting the key US economic data like personal consumption expenditure, and there is a fear that the Fed rate cut may be delayed. Turmoil in China’s property sector further impacted the Asian market trend. Profit booking weighed on Indian markets. Rate-sensitive sectors faced pressure, contributing to broader market underperformance, led by overseas investor selling,” said Vinod Nair, head of research of Geojit Financial Services.
On Wednesday, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth nearly Rs 1,900 crore.
The domestic markets were set to record their second straight month of FPI outflows. So far this year, FPIs have pulled out over $3 billion from domestic equities.
The market breadth was negative, with only 844 stocks advancing and 3,002 declining on the BSE.
The rout in the broader market comes a day after market regulator the Securities and the Exchange Board of India (Sebi) asked fund houses operating smallcap funds to put measures in place to safeguard investors. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained over 80 per cent from the March 2023 lows.
Sebi’s move comes amid a surge in inflows to smallcap schemes and growing concerns about valuations.
Apart from the key data releases, the statements of monetary policy officials this week will give investors cues about the market trajectory.
“Nifty has again reached its short-term moving average and has closed below the 21,900 mark. This could change the bias and sentiment can further deteriorate given the prevailing underperformance of the broader indices. Traders should thus plan their exit in existing longs accordingly and strictly avoid averaging to the loss-making positions. For shorting opportunities, prefer the laggards from the respective sectors,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP of technical research of Religare Broking.