PSU stocks Coal India, ONGC end up to 7% higher amid tepid stock market; Sensex slumps 80 pts

PSU stocks ONGC, Coal India, BPCL, IOC ended up to 7% higher on Thursday even as the headline indices Sensex and Nifty saw another tepid session in the stock market. Coal India shares were the biggest gainers in Nifty PSE Index ending 7.3% higher at Rs 195.45 on NSE. Shares of ONGC, BPCL, National Aluminium, IOC, NTPC, GAIL were the other major gainers, closing up to 5.3% higher. Taking stock of the gains in state-run firms’ stocks, Naveen Kulkarni, Head of Research, Reliance Securities, said that the shares have seen heavy correction in recent times.  “PSU companies have seen consistent declines because of lot of supply from the government. However, the government’s current stance of not willing to sell at distress valuations is a significant positive and that has been the reason for the interest in state-run stocks,” he said.

Track live stock price:  ONGC, BPCL, National Aluminium, IOC, NTPC

Also read: PSU bank stocks mixed: PNB shares jump on Moody’s upgrade; OBC, BoB, Syndicate Bank down

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex closed 80 points down at 36,644.20 as losses in banking and IT counters offset the gains in auto stocks. The broader Nifty, ended 3.25 points higher at 10,847.90. Shares of HDFC, ICICI Bank, TCS, HCL Tech, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, TechM and HUL, ended up to 2.7% lower. Tata Motors, ONGC, Yes Bank, NTPC were among the biggest gainers in the Sensex pack, ending up to 7% higher. Among the various sectors, BSE Oil & Gas index Metal, Auto and Utilities index ended up to 2.5% higher. BSE Realty and Finance index emerged among the worst performers.

Auto stocks gained on Thursday after Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Narendra Modi-led government will provide the slowdown-hit auto industry all possible support, including taking up the demand of GST reduction with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, M&M ended up to 7% up.  Meanwhile, the Indian rupee gained 23 paise to 71.88 against the US dollar.