ONGC done in by Q4 disappointment

DALAL STREET SPIKES

PSU oil major ONGC was under selling pressure following the company's disappointing fourth quarter results. The stock in intra-day trades touched a low of Rs 608.20 before closing at Rs 622.25, down 3.33 per cent from its previous close.

Market analysts said, "The company's Q4 results were way below the street expectations which resulted in sharp selling on result declaration."

The ONGC stock fell 5.5 per cent in intra-day trades on Tuesday, a drop seen only twice before this year, one of those occasions being the Black Monday.

ONGC for the quarter ended March 31 registered a 46 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 1,986.36 crore from Rs 3,678.46 crore. Total income (net of excise) in Q4 fell to Rs 8,787.71 crore from Rs 12,825.10 crore.

A senior analyst with a domestic fund said, "Huge positions were build up ahead of the results which possibly were squared off resulting in huge volumes at the this counter in Tuesday's trading. ONGC volume on the BSE was more than 57.9 lakh shares.