Pre-market: JP Associates, Bharat Forge, Jet Airways in focus

Markets are likely to open flat as investors will remain cautious ahead of May F&O expiry

Markets are likely to open flat, amid mixed cues from Asia, as investors are likely to remain cautious ahead of the expiry of May derivative contracts on Thursday

At 8:40AM, the SGX Nifty was up 4 points at 7,312.

Asian markets were trading mixed on Wednesday with Nikkei and Hang Seng trading with marginal gains while Shanghai Composite and Straits Times were trading flat with negative bias.

US equities ended with firm gains on Tuesday with the S&P 500 ending at a fresh record high amid merger and acquisition activities.

The Dow Jones ended up 0.4% at 16,676, S&P 500 gained 0.6% at 1,912 and Nasdaq ended up 1.2% at 4,237.

Stocks in Focus


JP Associates reported fourth quarter revenue down 10% at Rs 3,500 while net profit was down 23% to Rs 100 crore. Real Estate segment and cement volumes witnessed decline during the quarter.

Order wins across segments and geographies and strong traction in Europe and Asia Pacific regions saw Bharat Forge’s net profit double for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. The company also had a higher other income and exceptional gain during the quarter. The forging giant reported net profit of Rs 119 crore for the fourth quarter of FY14, compared to Rs 50.1 crore for the same period last year. The company’s revenue touched Rs 943.35 crore during the quarter, an increase of 34 per cent over Rs 697.52 crore posted during the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

Stung by a record Rs 2,465-crore loss in the March quarter — the biggest ever by a private Indian airline in a quarter — Jet Airways on Tuesday said it would take tough decisions and follow a three-year business plan to clean its balance sheet, beside adopting a new network-and-fleet strategy. In the March quarter, Jet Airways’ loss on a standalone basis was Rs 2,153 crore, while its subsidiary JetLite reported a Rs 312-crore loss. The parent company’s standalone loss included the Rs 700-crore impairment it took on account of JetLite’s continuing losses and networth erosion. The airline company’s consolidated loss had stood at Rs 743 crore in the same quarter the previous year.

Sun Pharma may see some action after its overseas subsidiary Taro posted robust fourth quarter earnings with improvement in operating profit margins.

JSW Steel posted robust fourth quarter earnings with a net profit of Rs 802 crore for the fourth quarter compared with Rs 573 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Total income for the quarter rose to Rs 12,567 crore from Rs 9,345 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.