Shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) were trading deep in the red on Wednesday, a day after the Centre announced one of the steepest hikes in duties on petrol and diesel in the recent past, by raising it by Rs 10 and Rs 13 per litre, respectively, in a notification issued late on Tuesday.
At 09:23 am, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) was locked in the 10 per cent lower circuit at Rs 193.20 apiece on the BSE. Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), too, was trading over 9 per cent lower at Rs 314.85. It hit a low of Rs 312.15, down 10 per cent against Tuesday’s close of Rs 346.80. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was down nearly 6 per cent at Rs 74.20. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 113 points or 0.36 per cent lower at 31,340.71 levels.