Reliance Industries Shares Close 1.68% Lower, Drag Markets Down

Reliance Industries Ltd. closed 1.68% lower, with shares at Rs 2,475.80 apiece, and contributed a little over 35 points to the NSE Nifty fall on Thursday.

The stock saw profit-booking in the last hour of trade. Nearly 70.70 lakh shares were traded on the NSE after the board announced a fund infusion of nearly $1 billion by the Qatar Investment Authority for a 1% stake in the retail business—Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.

The stock has fallen nearly 3% this week so far. If the downtick continues, it could be the worst week for RIL in over five months.

The stock has also underperformed benchmark indices in the last year. RIL has fallen 3% in the last year as against an almost 11% jump in the Nifty.

"While the deal reaffirmed the retail unit's robust valuation, it would lead to a slight reduction in the parent's sum-of-the-parts valuation to Rs 1,485 vs. Rs 1,500 earlier," according to analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

From hereon, all eyes will be on the annual general meeting, which is on Aug. 28.