Oil and refinery stocks surged today on sustained buying support. IBP, which has been gaining ground for some time now, hit a new 52-week high in intra-day trades at Rs 473 before closing 11.62 per cent higher at Rs 458.75, amid volumes of more than 300,000 shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, which made it to the Fortune 500 list, hit a 8-year high of Rs 503.90 in intra-day trades, but closed slightly higher at Rs 496.20.
Indian Oil Corporation was another gainer on the bourses, going up 2.1 per cent to Rs 394 while touching a new high of Rs 399.80 in intra-day trades.
Further, the prospect of disinvestment in companies like Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd lent an added glow to refinery stocks, which are seen as value plays.
The surge in investors' interest in these stocks rides on expectations of excellent performance in the next few quarters as also the attractive dividend payouts from these stocks.
Investors have also been shifting their money from the out-of-favour technology stocks to other lucrative areas like energy, banking and commodity stocks. Thus, refinery stocks are getting a part of the share.
