MARKETS ON THURSDAY: Nifty ends at 10,717, Midcaps slip; Realty stocks hit

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,246, down 73 points. Realty stocks were among the top losers, followed by pharma scrips.

1:00 PM

Jindal Steel & Power falls 8% on profit booking post Q4 results

Shares of Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) have declined 8% to Rs 241 per share on the BSE in noon deal trade on profit booking after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 4.26 billion for the last quarter of financial year 2017-2018 (Q4FY18). This is over four times the net loss of Rs 983 million reported by the company in the corresponding quarter of financial year 2016-2017 (Q4FY17). READ MORE

12:43 PM

MANAGEMENT SPEAK We are on a good wicket; have home-grown advantage: MD, Sundram Fasteners

81-year-old Suresh Krishna recently stepped down as the Managing Director of Sundram Fasteners, part of $7.5 billion TVS Group, paving way for his two daughters Arathi Krishna and Arundathi Krishna, as MD and JMD respectively, to take over the day-to-day affairs of the Rs 39 billion auto components major.

 

In their first interview, the sisters spoke to Gireesh Babu and T E Narasimhan of Business Standard about their vision and strategy. READ MORE

12:36 PM

ICICI Securities on Federal Bank

We believe federal Bank is headed in the right direction with focus on building retail business (planning to launch retail unsecured and CV) and improving CASA ratio. During the past few years, it has invested heavily on technology and people, which we believe should give positive results in coming years in terms of higher-than-industry growth and improved core fee income. We maintain BUY with revised target price of Rs140 valuing the stock at 2.0x FY20E BV.

12:35 PM

ICICI Securities on ABB India

Strong order book provides growth visibility and base order traction is expected to continue driven by F&B, cement, steel and state utilities. Hence, we maintain ADD rating with a revised target price of Rs1,378 (Rs1,362 earlier).

12:34 PM

Anand Rathi on Phillips Carbon Black

Carbon black volume growth will be largely in line with the tyre industry growth, ie ~8-10%. In specialty carbon, the company has increased capacity to ~24,000 tons and expects to raise that to 56.000 by end-FY19. This should help it generate sales of up to ~27,000 tons in FY19. We expect specialty carbon volumes to grow further in FY20, to ~45,000-50,000 tons.

The greater revenue from specialty carbon will allow the company to reduce the cyclical nature of its profitability. We expect earnings to clock a 44.5% CAGR over FY18-20. We maintain a Buy with a revised target of Rs 407 (10x EV/EBITDA – FY20e)

12:32 PM

Realty stocks trade weak

12:30 PM

Pension funds are fleeing emerging markets: Mark Mobius

You wouldn’t expect pension funds to sell in a hurry. But that’s exactly what they’re doing now in emerging markets, according to Mark Mobius. Patient as they are, pension funds are also famously risk-averse, said the 81-year old investor who set up Mobius Capital Partners LLP after leaving Franklin Templeton Investments this year. That’s pushed them to cut risk all around, selling in both developed and developing countries, he said in a phone interview. READ MORE

12:13 PM

High base effect catching up with Eicher

Eicher Motors’ March 2018 quarter (Q4) results were largely on expected lines, except for a one-time loss of Rs 1.9 billion due to closure of its joint venture, Eicher Polaris. Thus, consolidated net profit came flat year-on-year (y-o-y) at Rs 4.62 billion.

 

However, excluding the loss, net profit surged 38 per cent y-o-y in Q4, a tad ahead of estimates, supported by a 53 per cent jump in profit of VE Commercial Vehicle (VECV), a joint venture of Eicher with the Volvo Group. READ MORE

12:01 PM

Market Check

 

S&P BSE Sensex	35,375.07		0.16%
Nifty 50	10,747.25		0.05%
S&P BSE 200	4,683.11		-0.11%
Nifty 500	9,401.15		-0.19%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,394.17		-0.82%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	17,989.85		-0.53%

11:45 AM

Ambuja Cements hits 52-week low, falls 11% so far in May

Shares of Ambuja Cements hit a 52-week low of Rs 222 per share, down 1%, falling 11% thus far in the month of May in otherwise firm market. The S&P BSE Sensex was up nearly 1% so far in the current month.
 

In past one week, the stock declined 7% after the company reported lower than expected 3% year on year (YoY) volume growth in March quarter (Q1CY18) against industry volume growth at 8% YoY. READ MORE

11:32 AM

Lights turn dimmer at JSW Energy

The JSW Energy stock has given up most of the 19 per cent gains it saw from the March low, following a weak March quarter (Q4) performance and worry over a surge in capital expenditure (capex). Earlier, a spurt in merchant power demand and rates had boosted sentiment on the power producer, which sells a large chunk of its output in the short-term market.

 

In Q4, as rising energy costs affected profit, low utilisation (plant load factor or PLF) has brought back focus on unused capacity. This is leading to uncertainty on earnings, and keeping analysts bearish on the stock. READ MORE

11:17 AM

Future group shares in focus; Future Consumer surges 9%

Shares of Kishore Biyani-led Future Group companies have rallied by up to 9% after the world's biggest retail company Walmart Inc sealed a deal worth $16 billion for a majority of stake of 77% in India's e-commerce giant Flipkart on Wednesday. Future Consumer has surged 9% to Rs 61.95 on the BSE on back of three-fold jump in trading volumes. READ MORE

11:05 AM

Nalco to cut aluminium cost by 25% after Utkal D block becomes operational

State-owned National Aluminium Company (Nalco), which made windfall gains from booming metal prices at LME, is looking to improve its profitability further after a captive coal block allotted to it starts operation shortly.

 

With energy cost accounting for 40 per cent of the aluminium production cost, use of coal from captive mine is estimated to cut costs by a whopping 25 per cent with savings of $500 around Rs 35,000) per tonne of aluminium churned out at Nalco’s 0.46 million tonne smelter at Angul. READ MORE

10:50 AM

Share of MF assets under direct plans drops for the first time since 2013

The proportion of mutual fund (MF) assets held under direct plans dropped at the end of 2017-18 for the first time since 2013, when the mandatory direct category was introduced.

 

Data from MF tracker Value Research reveals the share of direct assets, up from 15 per cent to 40 per cent between FY13 and FY 17, had dropped to above 38 per cent. READ MORE

10:38 AM

Federal Bank plunges 10% on weak Q4 results

Federal Bank has plunged 10% to Rs 90.65 on the BSE in early morning trade, after the private sector lender reported weak set of numbers with assets quality worsens in March 2018 quarter (Q4FY18). The stock was trading close to its 52-week low of Rs 87.50 touched on February 6, 2018 on the BSE in intra-day trade.
 

The bank’s net profit during the quarter under review fell by 43.5% to Rs 1.44 billion on higher provisioning for bad loans. It had posted a net profit of Rs 2.56 billion for quarter ended March 2017 (Q4FY17). READ MORE