Oil & gas index hits fresh high

STOCK REPORT

The Bombay Stock Exchange's oil and gas index closed an all-time high of 7,401.56, a gain of 1.52 per cent (110.78 points) over its previous close of 7,290.78. The Sensex gained 1.42 per cent (197.98 points) to close at 14,127.31 (13,929.33).

The robust financial results for the quarter ended March, 2007 followed by a decline in crude oil prices lead the rally in refinery stocks. Since April, 2007 the sectoral index appreciated by 20 per cent compared with the 13.4 per cent rise in the Sensex.

Most oil and gas stocks on Wednesday gained in the range of 1 per cent to 5 per cent.

Castrol India was the largest gainer, up 4.80 per cent to Rs 286.90 on Wednesday against its previous close of Rs 273.75 on the BSE. Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.90 per cent to Rs 493 (Rs 479.10) and Reliance Industries up 2.3 per cent to Rs 1,634.10 (Rs 1,597.85).

ONGC, Petronet LNG, Bongaingaon Refinery, Reliance Natural Resources and IBP gained more than 1 per cent each.

Gujarat Petronet (Rs 60.45) and Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 32.45) are trading at their lifetime highs, while Reliance Industries, Castrol India and Gas Authority of India (GAIL) are hovering around their all-time highs on the BSE.

Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals (MRPL) and Essar Oil turned into black in March, 2007 quarter against reported losses in previous year quarter.

MRPL posted a net profit of Rs 181.88 crore against a net loss of Rs 29.50, Essar Oil posted Rs 99 lakh net profit against a net loss of Rs 37.84 crore, while Chennai Petroleum net profit increased by more than six-fold to Rs 189.09 crore (Rs 29.26 crore) during the March quarter.

NewsWire18 adds: The mid-cap segment was active on bout of positive news from companies. The CNX Midcap Index and the S&P CNX 500 Index ended over 1.2 per cent up. Key Asian indices reversed losses on higher-than-expected Jan-Mar earnings from corporate majors thus giving a boost to sentiment.

Chinese stocks ended over 2 per cent higher as analysts said the market is still in a bull run and it is too early to worry about a bubble. "Short covering aided the upward move. But market may take a breather now, as there will be some profit booking. We are advising investors to cut positions as Nifty has touched 4170," a dealer said.