Shares of the three listed air carriers — Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet — on Friday soared on the bourses, ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the airline chiefs on Saturday.
The rally in the aviation stocks was in sharp contrast to a broader downtrend in the stock market. Shares of Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines, which have been battered heavily in recent weeks on funding woes, rose 7.75 per cent to close at Rs.27.10.
Earlier in the day, the stock had scaled its highest level in a month at Rs.27.75, marking a significant surge from an all time low of Rs.17.55 hit on November 11. Jet Airways was the biggest gainer among the three listed aviation companies with a surge of 12.6 per cent in its share price to Rs.278.70. The stock scaled amonthly high of Rs.281.40 intra-day. SpiceJet, also saw its stock closing 8.12 per cent higher at Rs.23.30, after hitting a one-week high of Rs.23.85 intra-day.
Experts attributed the surge in aviation stocks to the hopes that some favourable policy changes for the sector might be discussed during the Prime Minister's meeting with the chiefs of all Indian airlines on Saturday.
