Jio Phone effect: Reliance Industries stock pushes Sensex, Nifty to fresh high; crosses 1,600 level
BT Online Last Updated: July 24, 2017 | 16:05 IST 
The Reliance Industries stock pushed the Sensex and Nifty to record highs on Monday, continuing its gains post its record Q1 earnings and annual general meeting which saw the unveiling of Jio Phone by Mukesh Ambani's telecom venture Reliance Jio.
The stock hit a fresh nine-year high of 1,624.80 level on Monday. It also recorded the maximum turnover with Rs 12799 lakh worth of shares traded on the BSE.
The stock opened at 1,604 level today and hit an intra-day low of 1,586 level intraday.
On the BSE, 7.93 lakh shares were traded on Monday.
The stock closed 1.89 percent or 30 points higher at Rs 1,616 level on the BSE.
Record earnings
The Mukesh Ambani-owned firm reported a 8.59 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in standalone net profit at Rs 8,196 crore for the quarter ended June 2017 against Rs 7,548 crore reported for the corresponding quarter last year.
Gross refining margin (GRM), the difference between crude oil price, a major raw material, and average selling price of refined products, came at a record $11.9 per barrel for the quarter.
The firm also announced bonus issue in the ratio of 1:1, which means every Reliance Industries shareholder will get one share for every share held.
On an year-to-date basis, the stock is up 50 percent and has risen 60 per cent on an yearly basis.
Jio phone
On Friday, Ambani announced the 4G VoLTE feature Jio Phone at an effective price of Rs Zero. However, customers first have to pay a security of Rs 1,500, which would be fully refundable after three years.
Unveiling the 'India ka Smartphone', Ambani said that the launch of JioPhone is a critical element in bridging the divide between digital India.
The 4G-enabled phone includes, a distress call system, Jio Music, Jio Cinema and Jio TV. The phone also supports 22 major Indian languages. The phone will come with unlimited 4G data. Jio customers can avail Reliance Jio's Dhan Dhana Dhan offer on their Jio phone in just Rs 153 for a month.
The phone will shake the feature devices market and will affect share of Micromax, Intex, Lava and Karbonn, and market leader Samsung.
The cheap data offering bodes well for the revenue of Reliance Jio which is yet to report profit in telecom business.
Meanwhile, global brokerage firm CLSA raised target of RIL to Rs 1,920 from Rs 1,710 due to higher Jio estimates and increase in GRMs.
