Oil cos stocks hit by bearish mkt

BPCL,which was trading 0.38 per cent up,fell by 2.19 per cent to close at Rs 686 a piece. HPCL that gained 2.62 per cent intraday fell 1.59 per cent to Rs 395.35 a day,while Indian Oil (IOC) shed its early gains of 1.57 per cent before closing 0.28 per cent lower at Rs 338.20 a piece.

Analysts said the morning rally in oil companies’ shares despite a broad bearish market was led by decline in Brent crude prices that slumped by 4.5 per cent to USD 99.06 a barrel during the day.

Commenting on the stock fall,they said that strong bearish sentiment and higher volatility in the market meant the oil marketing companies could not maintain their morning gains.

Also,the rise in Brent Crude prices to USD 104.15 a barrel by evening today further aided the downfall.

Meanwhile,the BSE benchmark Sensex continued its losses for the sixth day today,closing 132.27 points down to below the 17,000-mark at 16,857.91.