Oil stocks suffer major setback, IPCL crashes 32 pc

Though the benchmark Sensex rose 15 points, stocks of public sector oil companies suffered a sharp setback on the Bombay Stock Exchange on heavy sell-off triggered by the government’s decision to defer a Cabinet meeting on privatisation to September 7. IPCL too crashed by about 32 per cent to Rs 74.10 following the end of the disinvestment process in the company. With this fall, IPCL has crashed by 50.71 per cent from Rs 150.35 in the last nine sessions.

Following reports of serious differences among members of the Union Cabinet over privatisation of the two oil PSUs as indicated by postponement of the Cabinet meeting for the fourth time in a row, investors heavily unloaded stocks of HPCL, BPCL, IOC and ONGC. Oil stocks like HPCL dipped by 13.10 to 266.65, BPCL by 15.70 to 269.90, IOC by 9.45 to 238.35, Kochi Refineries by 2.35 to 49.15 and ONGC by 11.25 to 359.35.

IPCL stock had crashed by 17.86 per cent to Rs 123.50 from Rs 150.35 last week, that too at a time when Sensex gained 1.73 per cent. Reliance which acquired the government stake in IPCL completed the open offer for another 20 per cent stake last week.

Meanwhile, ITC Ltd, the biggest cigarette maker in the country, rose 3.17 percent to Rs 703.30 following reports that British American Tobacco is tying up with India’s Nusli Wadia group to buy 12 per cent ITC stake held by the UTI.