Oil Stocks Outlook
Rise in crude prices to weigh on downstream cos next wk
This story was originally published at 20:11 IST on 23 January 2026
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MUMBAI – The Nifty Oil & Gas sectoral index is expected fall next week as sharp rise in crude oil prices is likely to weigh down over downstream companies, according to analysts tracking the sector. Friday, the Nifty Oil and Gas sectoral index ended over 1% lower at 11306.65 points. Barring Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Petronet LNG, all other constituents in the index ended lower.
The support for the Nifty Oil and Gas is expected at 11000 to 10900 points and the resistance is pegged at 11500 to 11550 points, according Jatin Gedia, vice president of technical research at Teji Mandi Investment Technologies. For the week, the sectoral index remained weak, weighed down by earnings of oil stocks. Reliance Industries reported a subdued earnings for the December quarter, with the conglomerate posting just a 0.6% on-year growth to INR 186.45 billion in its bottom line. This was below the Street's view of INR 196.63 billion.
On Wednesday, the Nifty Oil & Gas sectoral index had hit a three-month low of 11220.75 points, the same day when the Nifty 50 ended to its lowest level in three months. At 1958 IST, ICE Brent Crude April Futures traded over 2% higher at $64.85 per barrel. The oil prices rose after US President Donald Trump gave fresh threats against Iran, heightening concerns of military action that could affect crude oil supplies, Reuters reported.
Friday, shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corp. hit a three month low of INR 413.75. The oil marketing company detailed its December quarter earnings Wednesday post market hours. The company reported a net profit of INR 40.72 billion, up around 35% on year. This was below the street's view of INR 44.40 billion. Meanwhile, the revenue of the company rose 5% on year to INR 1.24 trllion,, beating analysts' view of INR 1.05 trillion.
The gross refinery margin of the company was at $8.85 per barrel in the reporting quarter. Analysts said that the gross refinery margin of the company was impacted by the contamination of crude oil sourced from the B-80 Mumbai offshore field in October. The company saw an impact of $3.5 per barrel due to the operational disruption caused by the contamination, according analysts tracking the sector.
Friday, post market hours, Bharat Petroleum Corp. released its Oct-Dec earnings. The company posted an over 62% on-year growth in its net profit to INR 75.45 billion. This was higher than the analysts' estimate of INR 68.82 billion. The revenue of the company was at INR 1.37 trillion, up over 7% on year and surpassed the Street's view of INR 1.08 trillion.
US crude oil inventories, excluding those in strategic petroleum reserves, rose by 3.6 million barrels to 426 million barrels in the week ended Friday, the US Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report. Analysts polled by Dow Jones had estimated a fall of 500,000 barrels. US crude oil inventories were about 2% below the five-year average for this time of the year, according to the report.
TOP HEADLINES
* EIA says US natural gas stocks down 120 bcf in week ended Jan 16
* ONGC buys stake in two shipping JV firms with Mitsui for INR 40 mln
* RIL says 16 step-down subsidiaries amalgamated with arm Reliance New Energy
* PRESS: RIL resumes buying Russian crude post sanctions pause
Following are the resistance and support levels for key oil stocks for next week as per calculations based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:
| Company | Price | Week-on-week change in % | Resistance | Support |
| Bharat Petroleum Corp | 349.15 | (-)3.90 | 366.80 | 339.40 |
| Hindustan Petroleum Corp | 414.85 | (-)9.40 | 438.10 | 402.20 |
| Indian Oil Corp | 156.03 | (-)3.30 | 162.10 | 152.60 |
| Oil & Natural Gas Corp | 245.47 | (-)0.70 | 249.20 | 239.70 |
| Oil India | 435.70 | (-)2.90 | 447.80 | 421.00 |
| Reliance Industries | 1386.10 | (-)4.90 | 1417.40 | 1365.40 |
| Index | Levels | |||
| NIFTY OIL & GAS | 11306.65 | (-)3.80 | 11544.20 | 11173.90 |
| Nifty 50 | 25048.65 | (-)2.50 | 25463.30 | 24818.00 |
| S&P BSE Sensex | 81537.70 | (-)2.40 | 82886.40 | 80797.50 |
End
US$1 = INR 91.95
Reported by Adhithya Aji
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
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