Aviation stocks surge up to 12% as oil prices fall

Airlines' stocks on Friday witnessed brisk buying and rose by up to 12 per cent on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) boosted by a fall in crude oil prices.

Shares of Jet Airways settled 11.87 per cent higher at Rs 491.55 on BSE. In intra-day trade, the scrip shot up by 13.56 per cent to Rs 499 a piece.

Similarly, low-fare airline SpiceJet's shares surged by 10.72 per cent to Rs 44.40, while Kingfisher Airlines jumped 10.46 per cent to Rs 44.35 a piece.

"Decline in crude oil prices and short-covering are the main reasons behind the good performance by the aviation companies in today's trade," Geojit BNP Paribas Research head Alex Matthews said.

London Brent crude lost nearly 9 per cent yesterday as well as today when it was down $2.6 to $108.22 a barrel.

The price of US sweet, light crude oil this morning slid by 5.5 per cent to $94.63 a barrel, before recovering during the day at above $97.

This in contrast to last few months when global crude oil prices had risen, fuelling inflation pressures.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark index Sensex today gained 308.23 points at 18,518.81 level.