PSU shares recover from sharp correction, but pressure remains on some stocks

Stocks of state-run companies advanced on February 13, recovering from a sharp correction seen in these scrips, including banking and railway shares, in the previous session. At 11am, the BSE PSU Index was trading at 17,851, around 1.6 percent higher. On February 12, the index fell by 1.7 percent, recording its steepest drop since January 23.

Follow our market blog for live updates

Kranthi Bathini of WealthMills Securities told Moneycontrol that profit-booking was inevitable in PSU stocks after the rally through the last one year. He sees ample opportunities still in the counter on a medium to long term basis. "They are in momentum in nature, one need to exercise strict stop-losses when trading in these stocks in the short term. But going ahead, we can see some kind of value in the defence and railway stocks."

PSU stocks, including Life Insurance Corp of India, Indian Oil Corp Ltd and NHPC, NTPC and ONGC, saw major impact on February 12. A day later, LIC was trading at Rs 1,012.55 (-0.89 percent), Indian Oil Corp Ltd at Rs 175.70 (+0.17 percent), NHPC at Rs 86.25 (+6.4 percent) and ONGC at Rs 261 (+1.2 percent).