The BSE Sensex pared most of its losses to end modestly lower on Friday, pressured by a sharp decline in index heavyweight Reliance Industries after the government imposed an export tax on petroleum products.
The 30-share benchmark dived over 900 points in early trade, but clawed back lost ground on fag-end buying. It finally ended 111.01 points or 0.21 per cent lower at 52,907.93, marking its third straight day of loss.
On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty dipped 28.20 points or 0.18 per cent to 15,752.05.
The Government on Friday slapped an export tax on petrol, diesel and jet fuel (ATF) while also joining nations like the UK in imposing a windfall tax on crude oil produced locally.
The export tax is to deter companies such as Reliance Industries and Rosneft-based Nayara Energy from preferring overseas markets over domestic supplies.
The levy on crude, which follows record earnings by state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) and private sector Cairn Oil & Gas of Vedanta Ltd, alone will fetch the government over Rs 7,000 crore annually on about 30 million tonnes of crude oil produced domestically.
Reliance Industries was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, dropping 7.14 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank and Dr Reddy’s.
ITC topped the gainers’ chart with a jump of 3.99 per cent. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, HUL, HDFC and Nestle India were among the other major winners.