Reliance shares jump 3%; mcap zooms Rs 45,887.8 cr

New Delhi: Shares of Reliance Industries jumped nearly 3 per cent on Friday, adding Rs 45,887.8 crore to its market valuation and helping equity benchmark indices end the day with sharp gains.

The stock of the country's most valued firm by market capitalisation (mcap) climbed 2.79 per cent to settle at Rs 2,506.55 on the BSE. During the day, it rallied 2.93 per cent to Rs 2,510. At the NSE, it advanced 2.80 per cent to end at Rs 2,508.80. The company's market valuation zoomed by Rs 45,887.8 crore to Rs 16,95,833.65 crore. The rally in the stock was also instrumental in triggering a surge in equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty.

In terms of traded volume, 2.61 lakh shares of the firm changed hands at the BSE and over 5.80 crore shares at the NSE during the day. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance is the best-positioned player in the $150-billion Indian e-commerce market ahead of Amazon and Walmart due to its potent combination of the largest retail store network, dominant telecom operations and strong digital media, an analyst said.

In a new report, Bernstein Research said India is evolving into a three-player market with Amazon, Walmart and Reliance. "Given distribution challenges and India's propensity to 'skip a generation' in most technologies, we believe the Indian e-commerce market will be different. An integrated model (offline plus online plus prime), strong distribution capability and superior cost advantage (against online players) are required from the start," it said.

Meanwhile, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) on Thursday said its arm has completed the acquisition of a 51 per cent controlling stake in Lotus Chocolate. RRVL is a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and the holding company of all the retail businesses under the RIL group.