After opening the day in green, share markets in India witnessed choppy trades and are presently trading marginally above the dotted line. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note, with stocks in the energy sector and the healthcare sector witnessing maximum buying interest. Stocks in the realty sector and the power sector are trading in the red.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 80 points (up 0.3%) and the NSE Nifty is trading up 30 points (up 0.3%). Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading lower by 0.1%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.2%. The rupee is trading at 64.11 to the US$.

In news from the oil and gas sector, Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and ONGC share price are in focus today after ONGC’s board gave ‘in-principle’ approval to acquire government’s 51.1% stake in HPCL.

The government last month had approved the sale of its 51.1% stake in oil refiner HPCL to India’s largest oil producer ONGC.

Prior to the merger, HPCL is likely to take over Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) to bring all the refining assets of ONGC under one unit. ONGC currently owns 71.6% of MRPL, while HPCL has 16.9% stake in it.

ONGC will not have to make an open offer to minority shareholders of HPCL as the government’s holding is being transferred to another state-run firm and the ownership isn’t changing.

Reportedly, the deal will be completed within a year and will see HPCL become a subsidiary of ONGC and remain a listed company post the acquisition.

To help achieve its fuel and energy goals, the government has been mulling over consolidating all the major oil players into an integrated public sector ‘oil major’. 

HPCL will add 23.8 million tonnes of annual oil refining capacity to ONGC’s portfolio, making it the third-largest refiner in the country after IOC and Reliance Industries.

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