Returns for PSU pack lag market in 2017

The Nifty Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) index, a gauge for the stock performance of state-owned companies, has severely underperformed the market in 2017. The Nifty PSE index has gained only 17 per cent this year even as the benchmark Nifty rallied 30 per cent. 

Sluggish performance of PSE heavyweights including Coal India and ONGC is the reason behind the underperformance. Shares of Coal India, are down 5.4 per cent this year, due to weak demand. ONGC, meanwhile, has gained only four per cent as global oil prices have remained soft for the major part of the year.

 

The global oil price movement and freeing up of petrol and diesel prices, meanwhile, has helped oil marketing companies (OMCs), which have emerged as the best-performing stocks in the PSE universe.

HPCL is up 55 per cent this year, while Indian Oil and BPCL have gained more than 30 per cent each. Uptick in metal prices and improved demand outlook has lifted the fortunes of Steel Authority Of India (Sail), which has gained 74 per cent, most in the Nifty PSE index. The sharp gains in share price of SAIL this year comes after several years of underperformance.