Paint shares continue to sparkle

Shares of paints related industries continue to shine on the Street on the back of lower crude oil prices. Crude oil derivatives are used as raw materials for manufacturing paints. Given the fact that Crude Oil prices have corrected over 55 per cent in the last six months, and are now hovering below the $ 50-mark for the better-part of this month, the paint companies are likely to benefit smartly from the lower raw materials cost price. Asian Paints has soared to a fresh all-time high of Rs. 913, and is now up 2.2 per cent at Rs. 910. The stock has gained over 21 per cent so far this month. Akzo Nobel India has rallied over 3 per cent to a fresh summit at Rs. 1,495. The stock is up nearly 8 per cent this month. Berger Paints has surged nearly 5 per cent to Rs. 237, and has rallied nearly 18 per cent so far this month. Shalimar Paints has added 1.7 per cent to Rs. 165, and has gained 8.5 per cent this month. Kansai Nerolac is the major gainer among the peers this month, up sharply by almost 25 per cent so far this month. Today the stock is up 1.5 per cent at Rs. 2,479. Meanwhile, the Sensex is down 35 points at 29,536.