Shares of oil marketing companies IOC, HPCL and BPCL recorded smart gains in the morning trade today despite the overall weak trend in the broader market.
The rise of these stocks was in sharp contrast to the massive losses suffered by the overall market in the early trade.
The benchmark Sensex was down by 248.20 points at 16,741.98 at 11.00 am due to the US downgrade crisis.
Analysts said the oil marketing company stocks were moving up amid optimism that sharply lower crude oil prices will help these state-run firms cut their losses on the sale of fuel.
Indian Oil Corp went up by 1.57 per cent to touch an early high of Rs 344.50, while HPCL gained 2.62 per cent to trade at Rs 407.45. BPCL was trading at Rs 704, up 0.38 per cent from its previous close.
Public sector energy major ONGC, too, was trading higher by 0.76 per cent at Rs 284.75.
Airline stocks also gained after a steep fall in crude oil prices, as jet fuel prices may fall. Jet Airways was trading up 0.48 per cent at Rs 432.95, Kingfisher Airlines went up by 1.11 per cent to Rs 31.85, while Spicejet dropped by 1.24 per cent to Rs 27.85.
Brent crude oil, the major oil price benchmark, slumped 4.5 per cent to $99.06 a barrel today.