PSU stocks’ m-cap zooms by Rs 15,400 crore

From a recent low of Rs 665.30 touched on February 25, the ONGC stock has risen nearly 28 per cent. The rise in the ONGC indicates that investors who bid in the ONGC IPO will get a bonanza later. “They need to keep the ONGC shares at a high level for a couple of weeks. Big funds are behind the manipulation in shares. It always happens in book-building issues,” said a BSE dealer.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex soared by 54.84 points to close above the 5900 level at 5935.19 on Monday. “Though we continue to expect the Sensex to decisively cross the recent peak, the index could face resistance around 6000 levels in the near term,” says BSE broker Motilal Oswal.

The full market cap of the BSE shot up by Rs 22,000 crore to Rs 12,17,351 crore on Monday.

HPCL surged by 6.32% to Rs 530.30 on an apparent re-rating of PSU – notably oil and gas – stocks following overwhelming response to the ONGC public offer. From a recent low of Rs 438.35 touched on February 26, the HPCL stock has risen 21 per cent.

Indicating the surge in PSU stocks, the BSE PSU Index spurted 174.88 points, or 4.48%, to end at 4,082. In fact, from a recent low of 3,536.93 touched in intra-day trades on February 25, the BSE PSU Index has risen 545.07 points, or 15.41%.

Gail India (up 7.20% to Rs 230.15) firmed up after the government priced its public offer at Rs 195 a share. Gail India’s public issue closed on Friday.

Among other oil and gas sector PSUs, Chennai Petroleum (up 6.44% to Rs 109.10), Indian Oil (up 6.06% to Rs 526.75), Bongaigaon Refinery (up 2.67% to Rs 76.90) and Kochi Refineries (up 2.32% to Rs 180.80) shot up. “The growth prospects of the oil & gas sector and the solid response to the ONGC issue have boosted activity in oil and gas stocks,” said BSE dealer Venkat Aiyar.