Indian shares are likely to open lower following negative global cues as trade tensions escalated between the US and China. Asian shares tumbled, oil prices plunged as US President Donald Trump said trade talks were proceeding “too slowly”, and that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion of goods to 25 percent on Friday from 10 percent.

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On Friday, benchmark indices ended flat, with the Nifty holding above 11,700, while Sensex closing above 39,000. The Sensex was down 18 points at 38,963, while Nifty was down 12 points at 11,712.

Among brokerages, Jefferies has a "hold" rating on Hindustan Unilever but raised the stock's target price. CLSA rated the stock "outperform" but cut its target price. Morgan Stanley remained "underweight" on Indiabulls Housing. Citi was "neutral" on Federal Bank.

Here are the top brokerage calls for today:

Jefferies on HUL

- "Hold" rating, target raised to Rs 1,820 from Rs 1,770 per share

- Q4 results better than peers but not good enough

- 7 percent volume growth on a high base was a positive surprise

- valuation remains rich at 45x FY21 PE

- Cut estimates in the base business by 3 percent

CLSA on HUL

- "Outperform" rating, target cut to Rs 1,950 from Rs 2,010 per share

- Volume growth of 7 percent looks good in the context of peer performance

- Marked shift in near-term outlook as growth rates have moderated

- From current levels, margin gains will be relatively modest

- Slightly tweak EPS to factor in higher tax rate

- Yet to build in upgrade from GSK acquisition

Morgan Stanley on Indiabulls Housing

- "Underweight" call, target at Rs 600 per share

- Will be open to merge company into Lakshmi Vilas Bank if required

- Other proposed terms with respect to effective swap ratio remain unchanged

Citi on Federal Bank

- "Neutral" call, target raised to Rs 110 from Rs 90 per share

- Healthy loan growth; margin outlook stable

- RoA expansion will need sustained low credit cost and better fees/opex

- Negative net slippages led to 3 percent QoQ decline in gross NPA

- Meaningful stock re-rating unlikely RoA is seen above 1.1-1.2 percent

Jefferies on LIC Housing

- Q4 PAT beat our estimates on stronger NIMs and lower provisions

- Core home loan disbursal growth was strong, which is encouraging

- Margin stabilised and could edge higher

- Rising fross NPA, especially in the retail segment, is a concern

- Raise FY20-21 EPS estimates by 2-5 percent

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