- Shares of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum rose nearly 2% on May 21
- Crude oil prices dropped sharply after US-Iran talks raised hopes of ending the conflict
- Brent crude and WTI prices fell over 5.6% but rebounded modestly in early Thursday trade
Shares of India's state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) Indian Oil Corp Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, gained nearly 2% to trade in green on Thursday, May 21, after global crude oil prices dropped sharply in the previous session and keep steady on hopes of an end to the US-Iran war. This comes after OMC stocks held a positive momentum earlier this week on a second straight hike in domestic petrol and diesel prices to offset the losses in margins amid the geopolitical conflict.
Shares of IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL opened nearly 1% higher each and trade in green amid a largely volatile sentiment across the domestic frontline indices. On the NSE, shares of IOCL last traded 1.54% higher at Rs 140.17, BPCL traded 1.11% higher at Rs 297, and HPCL shares were last up 1.78% lower at Rs 389.95 apiece on the NSE. Indian benchmark indices pared some early gains after a firm start driven by positive global cues. Nifty 50 traded up 0.26% at 23,721.30, while Sensex gained 0.15% to 75,433.77. Earlier in the session, Nifty rose as much as 0.9% to 23,859 and Sensex gained 627 points to 75,945.
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Benchmarks Brent crude and US West Texas Intermediate dropped more than 5.6% on Wednesday to their lowest in more than a week after US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were in the final stages, but also threatened further attacks if Tehran did not agree to a peace deal. Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as investors weighed the possibility of a breakthrough in negotiations between the US and Iran that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore disrupted crude supplies.
In early trade, Brent crude hovered above $105 a barrel, recovering modestly after tumbling 5.6% in the previous session. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate hovered near $99 per barrel. The rebound came after Trump said Washington was in the "final stages" of talks with Tehran, raising hopes that a deal could be reached to end the most severe oil supply disruptions in modern history. Crude oil prices have surged by over 50% since the start of the US strikes over Iran in February 2026.
In afternoon trade, oil prices gained more than 1% as investors monitored peace talks between the two nations while both sides warned of further attacks. Supply tightness and US inventory drawdowns provided some support. Brent crude futures last rose $1.27, or 1.21%, to $106.29 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.29 cents, or 1.31%, at $99.55.
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Days after announcing a standard Rs 3 per litre price hikes in diesel and petrol, Indian oil marketing companies had introduced another hike of 90 paise on Tuesday, taking the total price hike in fuel prices to Rs 3.9 per litre. The hike in retail prices come as OMCs have been bearing the brunt of elevated crude oil prices over supply disruptions due to the Strait of Hormuz bloackade that has destabilised global energy markets. Earlier this month, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that Indian OMCs are incurring losses of up to Rs 1-1.2 lakh crore in Q1FY27 amid the Middle East conflict.
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