Reliance Industries shares fall 3%; here’s why

Shares of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) tumbled over 3% in early trade on Wednesday, with the share price slipping to two-month low amid spurt in volume trade. The sharp sell-off in shares of the country’s most valued firm was triggered by huge volume with 23.76 lakh shares changing hands over the counter on the BSE as compared to two-week average volume of 2.09 lakh stocks.

Early today, RIL shares opened marginally lower at ₹2,422.95 against Monday’s closing level of ₹2,436 on the BSE. Extending opening losses, the Sensex heavyweight declined as much as 3.05% to hit a two-month low of ₹2,361.60, while the market capitalisation dipped to ₹16.21 lakh crore.

RIL's share price touched a 52-week high of ₹2,635.17 on June 19, 2023, while it hit a 52-week low of ₹2,012.14 on March 20, 2023.

The index heavyweight has underperformed the BSE Sensex in the one year period by delivering a negative return of 4.3% in the last 12 months as compared to over 13% rise in the 30-share barometer. In the calendar year 2023, RIL shares slipped 6% versus 10% growth in the Sensex, while it lost over 6% in three months as against around 6% rise in the BSE benchmark during the same period.

The sell-off in RIL shares was in sync with the broader market. The BSE Sensex declined as much as 708 points, or 1%, to slip below the crucial level of 67,000, and the NSE Nifty also fell below the 20,000 mark.

RIL shares remained under pressure this week after the government raised the windfall tax on the sale of domestic crude oil last week to ₹10,000 per tonne. The sharp rise in Brent crude prices to a 10-month high of $95 per barrel also dented sentiments.

In a separate development, RIL on Tuesday informed exchanges that its subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm, launched Jio AirFiber Services across eight cities, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. At RIL's 46th annual general meeting (AGM) on August 28, chairman Mukesh Ambani had announced the launch of Jio AirFiber on Ganesh Chaturthi.

The integrated internet solution promises high-speed internet, better connectivity, and a digital experience. Jio AirFiber will use Jio's pan-India 5G network and wireless technologies to bypass the need for last-mile fibre.

The integrated end-to-end service will provide solutions for home entertainment, smart home services, and high-speed broadband, says Jio. The Jio AirFiber plans start from ₹599 for 30 Mbps internet speed and will go up to ₹1,199 for 100 Mbps data speed. The AirFiber Max plan starts from ₹1,499 for 300 Mbps speed; ₹2,499 for 500 Mbps speed; and ₹3,999 for 1,000 Mbps speed.

Reliance Jio says its optical fiber infrastructure spans over 1.5 million kilometers across India, putting it in close proximity to over 200 million premises. 

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