Paint, airline stocks surge as crude prices slump; IndiGo, SpiceJet, Asian Paints gain up to 8%

The domestic benchmark indices were in an upbeat mood on Thursday as market sentiments were boosted by state assembly elections results which showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in four out of five states. The firm trends in global markets ahead of the planned Russia-Ukraine diplomatic talks and sharp retreat in crude oil prices also injected positivity in the domestic bourses.

The BSE benchmark Sensex and the 50-share Nifty gained more than 2% during the day’s trade so far. The stocks of paints and aviation companies also rose up to 8% intraday as investors cheered the slump in crude oil prices overnight.

Among paint companies, shares of Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Indigo Paints, Kansai Nerolac Paints, and Shalimar Paints rallied up to 8% on BSE amid ease in crude prices. The raw material-intensive paints sector, which uses crude derivatives and other petroleum-based products, benefits from softening crude prices.

In a similar trend, shares of airline companies InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of low-cost carrier IndiGo and SpiceJet rallied up to 6.6%, tracking a fall in crude prices. Last week, the jet fuel or Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices, which make up for almost 40% of the running cost of an airline, were hiked by 3.3% to all-time high levels across the country. This was the fifth hike in jet fuel or Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices this year following a record rally in international crude prices.

The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped more than 12% overnight from a 14-year high of $130 a barrel touched in the previous session after the U.S. and UK announced bans on Russian oil imports. The crude oil prices registered the biggest one-day percentage drop in almost two years, following reports the U.S. was moving to find oil from other countries, such as Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. The market sentiment was also boosted after the UAE urged major oil producers to increase production in the backdrop of Russia's energy sanctions.

In the overnight trade, the Brent crude oil ended 13% lower at $111.14, while the U.S. benchmark oil, West Texas Intermediate crude oil, nosedived 12.5% to $108.70.

Meanwhile, during Asian trading hours on Thursday, the U.S. WTI crude futures for April contracts were up 1.6% at $110.48 a barrel, while the Brent oil futures for May contracts rose 3% to $114.5 per barrel.