BPCL shares tumble after privatisation move

New Delhi: Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Shipping Corp of India (SCI) tumbled on Thursday after the Cabinet approved sale of government's stake in these companies.

Shipping Corp stock dropped 6.29 per cent to close at Rs 64.05 on the BSE. During the trade, it declined 7 per cent to Rs 63.50.

The scrip of BPCL plunged 5.66 per cent to close at Rs 513.80. During the day, it tanked 6.15 per cent to Rs 511.10.

Both BPCL and Shipping Corp had hit their respective 52-week highs in early trade. Container Corp stock fell 0.49 per cent to Rs 575.15.

In intra-day, it dipped 0.78 per cent to Rs 573.45. During the early trade these scrips had shown mixed trend.

In the biggest privatisation drive ever, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved sale of government's stake in blue-chip oil firm BPCL, shipping firm SCI and cargo mover Concor as well as decided to cut shareholding in select public sector firms below 51 per cent to boost revenue collections that have been hit by slowing economy.

CCEA approved sale of government's entire 53.29 per cent stake along with transfer of management control in the country's second-biggest State-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd after taking out Numaligarh refinery from its fold, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters on Wednesday.