Market movers: Are UP polls hurting BPCL, Indian Oil on Dalal Street?

NEW DELHI: The unofficial ban on raising pump prices of petrol and diesel in India is set to hurt oil marketing companies especially at a time when crude oil prices have rallies non-stop.

Due to ongoing elections in five states in India, including Uttar Pradesh where a lot is at stake for every political party, if oil marketing companies were free to raise pump prices, inflation would have surged even more, becoming a problem for the ruling government.

But the embargo means oil marketing companies are forced to buy crude oil at ever higher prices but selling at low prices, eventually subsidising a part of the price.

On Tuesday, Indian investors expressed their displeasure with this policy in more than words. Bharat Petroleum ended the day down 4 per cent while Indian Oil fell 2 percent and Hindustan Petroleum 1 per cent.

Clipping wings
On the other hand, rocketing air turbine fuel (ATF) prices, on which there is no embargo on raising prices, is clipping wings of airline companies who are already coming out of forgettable two years of business.

Now that Brent crude oil prices are inching closer to $100 per barrel figure, they are staring at further rise in fuel prices. Expensive fuel prices for them means even lower margins for airline companies.

InterGlobe Aviation, which runs IndiGo, ended the day down 1.3 per cent on NSE. Its rival SpiceJet slumped over 4 per cent to close at Rs 60.80.

This is when reports have suggested that India may allow foreign travel now that the pandemic is very much under control. This will reopen a new revenue stream for the carriers.

Up, up and away!
Shares of Jagsonpal Pharmaceuticals surged 20 per cent on Tuesday after Infinity Holdings, which is in process to acquire the company, announced an open offer to acquire a further 26 per cent stake in the firm.

Infinity Holdings had earlier announced acquiring 43.73 per cent stake in the drugmaker.

The open offer has been launched at a price of Rs 235. The stock is already trading above that price. It ended the day at Rs 246.45.