Share prices of the three government-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) fell on Wednesday on pricing worries, which the government later said were baseless.
Reports suggested the three -- Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) -- might be asked to absorb the recent global hike in crude oil prices. As a result, their share prices fell 6.2%, 5.1% and 4.3%, respectively, on the BSE exchange.
The markets were worried on whether the government was going back to the regulated pricing era. However, after trading hours, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government would not