Shares Of Indian Oil Majors Rebound

Gains in consumer goods and financial stocks helped India's blue-chip share indexes recover sharply on Friday, after government export duties on oil products triggered a plunge in energy majors Reliance Industries and ONGC.

The NSE Nifty 50 index ended 0.18% lower at 15,752.05 on the first trading day of the second quarter and the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.21% to 52,907.93, after falling up to 1.7% each earlier in the session.

The indexes, which on Thursday capped their worst quarter since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, managed to close the week marginally higher after last-hour buying in FMCG and financial stocks.

India introduced export duties for gasoil, gasoline and jet fuel to help maintain domestic supplies, and imposed a windfall tax on oil producers that have benefited from higher global crude oil prices, sending energy stocks into a spiral.

The measures "highlight the tightening energy market outlook," Morgan Stanley wrote in a note, adding the announcement was incrementally negative for sector valuations.

Morgan Stanley said ONGC would be most negatively impacted, while Reliance could manage the changes better.

Reliance, India's most valuable company, shed around $16 billion in market value as its stock plunged 7.2%, marking its worst day since November 2020.

The Nifty Energy index fell 3.9%.

State-owned oil producer ONGC plummeted 13.5% - its biggest slide since pandemic-wrecked March 23, 2020. Oil India slid 15%, while Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical slumped 10%.

Meanwhile, the Nifty FMCG index jumped 2.8% on its best day since mid-March, helped in part by a slump in palm oil prices.

Non bank lenders Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv climbed 4% and 3.6%, respectively, leading the recovery in the Nifty.

The rupee hit a record closing low of 79.05 against the dollar, versus Thursday's close of 78.97. [INR/]