Reliance Industries, the flagship company of Asia’s wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani, endured a substantial loss in its market valuation on Monday. The company, which operates in diverse sectors including retail and oil, witnessed a sharp decline in its share price, dropping by Rs 102.65 or 3.42 percent. This significant drop resulted in a Rs 70,195.32 crore erosion in the company’s market capitalization within a mere 6.15 hours, from 9.15 am to 3.30 pm, during the trading session on Monday. Following this steep decline, Reliance’s share price closed at Rs 2896 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), bringing its market capitalization down to Rs 19,58,500.25 crore.
Despite this substantial loss, Reliance still holds the top spot as India’s most valued company. The company’s stock mirrored the overall weak trend in equities, falling by 3.46 percent to settle at Rs 2,894.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Throughout the day, the share price plunged by 4.42 percent to reach Rs 2,865.80. This decline in Reliance’s stock contributed significantly to the Sensex crash, adding 307.18 points to the overall fall.
The broader Indian stock market experienced a near 3 percent crash on August 5, driven by widespread selling across sectors including banking, information technology, metals, and oil & gas. This sell-off was a reflection of the global equity rout, resulting in a loss of over Rs 15 lakh crore of investor money in a single day. The Sensex and Nifty indices had already declined by more than 1 percent on Friday, and this downward trend continued into Monday, leading to a cumulative correction of around 4 percent over the two trading sessions.
