ONGC hits 52-week high, Oil India jumps as crude oil soars amid Red Sea crisis

Domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services upgraded state-run OMC HPCL to ‘buy’ with a target of Rs 530, after the company reported its December quarter results.

Oil marketing companies were also in demand, with shares of Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL trading around 1.5-3 per cent higher each.

Oil-linked stocks, including explorers Oil India and ONGC, rose on Monday on the back of a surge in benchmark crude oil prices amid supply disruption-related worries following a missile strike on a Trafigura-operated fuel tanker in the Red Sea. The stocks of ONGC and Oil India, both upstream oil companies, jumped 6.1 per cent to a 52-week high of Rs 248.3 apiece and 3.6 per cent to Rs 417.3 apiece, respectively.

At 10:50 am, ONGC shares were up 6.0 per cent at Rs 248.1 apiece while the Oil India stock was up 3.2 per cent at Rs 415.8 apiece. Oil marketing companies were also in demand, with shares of Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL trading around 1.5-3 per cent higher each.

Exports of Russian refined products were also set to take a hit with various oil refineries undergoing repair work post-drone attacks, according to news agency Reuters.

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Global crude oil benchmark Brent futures climbed by 83 cents to $84.4 a barrel at the last count, after rising to an intraday high of $84.8 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were higher by 78 cents at $78.8 a barrel.

Commodities trader Trafigura said on Saturday that it was assessing the security risks of further Red Sea voyages after firefighters put out a blaze on a tanker attacked by Yemen's Houthi group a day earlier, according to Reuters.

"Disruptions to supply have been limited, but that changed on Friday after an oil tanker operating on behalf of Trafigura was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen," Reuters quoted ANZ analysts as saying.

"With oil tankers linked to the US and UK now under threat of attack, the market is likely to reprice the risk of disruptions."

Last week, crude oil prices hit their highest level in nearly two months, building on to a rising spree over the past few sessions, as positive economic growth in the US and signs of Chinese stimulus boosted demand expectations.

What analysts make of oil stocks

Domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services upgraded state-run OMC HPCL to ‘buy’ with a target of Rs 530, after the company reported its December quarter results.

According to Motilal Oswal Financial Services, among OMCs, HPCL has the highest leverage to marketing and would benefit the most due to an uptick in marketing margins, analysts at the brokerage wrote in a research report dated January 27

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