Sensex, Nifty Decline As Energy Stocks Nosedive
(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended slightly lower on Friday, with oil & gas stocks taking a heavy beating after the government raised export duty on diesel and petrol by Rs 13 a litre, and Rs 6 a litre, respectively.
The govt also imposed a Rs 23,230 per ton additional tax on domestically produced crude oil to take away windfall gains accruing to producers from elevated global crude oil prices.
State-run Oil India plunged nearly 15 percent and ONGC lost 13.30 percent while private sector player Reliance Industries slumped 7.3 percent. MRPL plummeted 10 percent and Chennai Petroleum tumbled 4.7 percent.
As energy stocks nosedived, pharma, financial and FMCG stocks witnessed strong buying, helping limit the downside in broader markets. Cipla, Bajaj FinServ, Bajaj Finance and ITC rallied 3-4 percent.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended the session down 111.01 points, or 0.21 percent, at 52,907.93 while the broader NSE Nifty index slipped 28.20 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 15,752.05.
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