Markets ride Reliance rally; Sensex shoots up 646 points

Mumbai: Markets roared back to life on Thursday after two days of declines as Reliance Industries ratcheted higher on reports that the company is offering to sell a substantial stake in its retail arm to Amazon.

The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 646.40 points or 1.69 per cent to finish at 38,840.32.

The broader NSE Nifty rallied 171.25 points or 1.52 per cent to close at 11,449.25.

Following the upbeat sentiment, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies gained Rs 2,20,928.11 crore to Rs 1,55,21,743.23 crore.

Market heavyweight Reliance Industries surged to its lifetime high during the session after reports said the company has held discussions with Amazon for the retail arm stake sale.

The Mukesh Ambani-led firm is reportedly offering as much as 40 per cent stake in its retail subsidiary to Amazon, which is seeking to expand its presence in the Indian market.

On Wednesday, Reliance had announced that US private equity firm Silver Lake Partners would buy 1.75 per cent stake in its retail arm for Rs 7,500 crore.

During the day, its market valuation jumped to Rs 15,84,908 crore ($215.75 billion) on the BSE.

The stock of the country's most valuable firm rose by 7.10 per cent to close at Rs 2,314.65 on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 8.45 per cent to a record high of Rs 2,343.90.

On the NSE, it gained 7.29 per cent to close at Rs 2,319 after hitting a lifetime high of Rs 2,344.95, up 8.49 per cent during the day. In the previous session too, it had closed with nearly 3 per cent gain. At close of trade on the BSE, RIL's market valuation rose to Rs 14,67,350.26 crore ($199.74 billion).

Asian Paints, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the other index gainers, spurting up to 4.25 per cent.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank, Titan and HDFC Bank closed in the red, shedding up to 2.24 per cent.

BSE energy index rallied 6.26 per cent, followed by oil and gas, basic materials, industrials, finance and capital goods.

On the other hand, telecom and metal fell up to 1.42 per cent.

Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices surged up to 1.27 per cent. On the BSE, 1,789 companies advanced, while 922 declined and 165 remained unchanged.

In rest of Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the red, while Seoul and Tokyo closed higher.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note ahead of the European Central Bank's policy decision.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.27 per cent lower at $40.27 per barrel. agencies