New Delhi, April 8 -- Shares of Asian Paints Ltd, Berger Paints India Ltd and Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd rallied 3-5% on Wednesday as crude oil prices eased. Following the news of a two-week ceasefire in the West Asia war, Brent crude slipped to around $93 a barrel from a closing high of $107.9 a barrel on 18 March.

Crude derivatives such as solvents, resins and binders comprise around 40% of the raw material basket for paint companies, so higher oil prices weigh on gross margins. To counter inflation in crude-oil-linked input costs, listed paintmakers recently undertook calibrated price increases.

Decorative paints giant Asian Paints announced a 6-8% price increase in two phases. In the first phase, prices in key decorative categories o...