RIL shares trading 37% lower from record high levels; check three factors that can boost the stock price

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) surged as much as 1.9% to ₹1,198 apiece on the NSE in the opening deals on Thursday, March 6, after Jefferies, the global investment bank and financial services company, released its report on the oil-to-telecom conglomerate.

Jefferies said that RIL’s underperformance compared to the benchmark NIFTY50 index is due to a slowdown in retail and subdued earnings in the O2C business.

In the past 12 months, RIL’s stock price has fallen 21% while the NSE’s NIFTY50 index has slipped less than 1%. Moreover, shares of the company (as of Wednesday’s close) are trading 37% lower from its all-time high level of ₹1,608.80, touched on July 8, 2024.

According to a report by The Economic Times that was published in August 2024, as many as 12 listed lifestyle, grocery retailers, and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) cut their workforce by around 26,000, reversing the hiring surge of the previous two financial years as they slowed down store expansion in response to declining demand.

According to their annual reports, this reduction was primarily driven by five major retailers—Reliance Industries’ retail division, Titan, Raymond, Page, and Spencers—which collectively saw their workforce shrink by 17% or 52,000 employees. This figure includes both permanent and contractual staff and accounts for attrition in the retail sector, the second largest employer after agriculture. The total workforce for these retailers dropped to 429,000 in FY24 from 455,000 the previous year.

Jefferies added that pessimism around RIL seems extreme, with the current market capitalisation implying a $48 billion enterprise value for retail vs. $106 billion in the last funding round, as per news reports.

Jefferies further said that the combination of same-store sales growth (SSG) and area addition should restore 15% growth in retail in FY26.

It further said that a tariff hike, listing of Jio, and improvement in O2C profitability are other potential triggers for the stock.

RIL Q3 FY25 Results

RIL reported a 7.4% rise in its December quarter (Q3 FY25) net profit as the retail business rebounded, telecom earnings surged on higher tariffs, and the mainstay oil and petrochemicals business delivered consistent performance.

Its consolidated net profit came in at ₹18,540 crore, or ₹13.70 per share, in October-December—the third quarter of the April 2024 to March 2025 fiscal (FY25)—compared to ₹17,265 crore, or ₹12.76 a share, logged in the same period a year back, according to a company statement.

Profit was also up sequentially from ₹16,563 crore in the July-September quarter.

The profit before tax (EBITDA) rose 7.8% to ₹48,003 crore. This was despite an almost 7% rise in finance cost due to higher debt (₹3.5 lakh crore as of December 31, 2024, compared to ₹3.36 lakh crore in September and ₹3.11 lakh crore in December 2023).

The oil-to-chemical business, which houses the company’s twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat and petrochemical plants, saw EBITDA rise 2.4% to ₹14,402 crore.

The refineries processed more crude, and petchem margins improved.

In the fuel retail business, Jio-bp—its joint venture with BP of the UK—posted “the highest ever quarterly sales across both petrol and diesel,” the statement said.

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Gensol Engineering denies wrongdoing, says promoter will buy shares from market

Gensol Engineering Chairman and Managing Director Anmol Singh Jaggi, in an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18 on Thursday, March 6, said that the company’s promoters will look to buy shares of the company from the open market soon.

However, he did not share a timeline as to when they plan on doing so.

“I think we will be surely doing it (buying shares from the market). I cannot confirm the timeline of doing this, whether today, tomorrow, or next week, but it will be done soon,” Jaggi said.

Jaggi also spoke of outstanding warrants that have been paid in part. These warrants were issued at ₹870 per share and promoters had committed to put in ₹130 crore through this issue. He said that 25% or close to ₹30 crore has been paid with the remaining ₹100 crore in the balance. From that price, shares of Gensol are down over 60%.

“I think either we will, to regain the trust of our customers, will go ahead with the open market purchase or we will go ahead and infuse the liquidity into the business by subscribing to our warrants. But like I mentioned, I do not have exact timeline on it as we speak, but over the weekend or over the next week, we will be taking concrete steps on this,” Jaggi added.

Jaggi also denied any wrongdoing in response to ratings agency ICRA’s allegation of falsification of loan repayment documents.

“There has been zero wrongdoing, as far as we are aware, and we will continue to work with high ethical standards,” Jaggi said, adding that an independent committee has been formed to verify the allegations. “We are committed, we are strong and we will bounce back,” Gensol’s Chairman & MD said.

Despite the clarifications from Jaggi, shares of Gensol Engineering continue to remain in a 10% lower circuit. The stock was down in a 10% circuit on Wednesday as well after its circuit limit was revised down from 20% earlier.

Shares of Gensol Engineering are down 70% from their peak of ₹1,124.

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Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Deepak Nitrite, Alkyl Amines, IndiGo shares rise as brent crude falls to four-year low 

Shares of paints, chemicals and aviation companies were trading in the green today after brent crude oil prices fell to their four-year low. Brent crude oil prices declined to their lowest level today since January 2021. Brent crude oil slipped to $69.4 per barrel, boosting sentiment around paints, chemicals and aviation stocks. Meanwhile, the price of the main US crude contract, fell four percent to $65.53.

Crude oil and crude oil derivatives are key raw materials used in the paints, chemicals and aviation industries.

Here’s a look at stocks that majorly benefited from the fall in crude prices in today’s session.

Paints stocks

Shares of market leader Asian Paints Ltd rose 4.5% intraday to Rs 2,259 against the previous close of Rs 2,65.25 on BSE. The large cap stock opened higher at Rs 2192.95. Market cap of the firm climbed to Rs 2.16 lakh crore.

Berger Paints India Ltd shares climbed 3.51% intraday to Rs 501.20 against the previous close of Rs 484.20 on BSE. The large cap stock opened higher at Rs 485.05. Market cap of the firm climbed to Rs 58,259 crore.

Kansai Nerolac Paints stock too climbed 3.16% to Rs 236. The paints stock opened higher at Rs 236 today. Stock of the new entrant in the industry IndiGo Paints gained 3.23% intraday to Rs 1052.50 on BSE today. Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 4,944.46 crore.

Chemical stocks

Shares of Deepak Nitrite surged 1.5% intraday to Rs 1966 against the previous close of Rs 1,935.65. The large cap stock opened higher at Rs 1949.95 today. Stock of another specialty chemical maker NOCIL gained 5% to Rs 190 in today’s trade. It opened higher at Rs 183.35 on BSE.

Similarly, Alkyl Amines stock climbed 1.43% intraday to Rs 1700 on BSE. It opened flat at Rs 1676.90 today. Balaji Amines stock rose 3.28% to Rs 1353.55 on BSE. Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 4313 crore.

Aarti Industries stock climbed 4.52% to Rs 412 against the previous close of Rs 401.95 on BSE.

Aviation stock

Shares of InterGlobe Aviation rose nearly 2% to Rs 4,776 today amid a fall in brent crude oil price. The stock opened higher at Rs 4,776.95 today.

Meanwhile, Nifty rose for the second straight session on Thursday after closing lower for ten straight sessions. Sensex rose 493 pts to 74,223 and Nifty gained 170 pts to 22,507 in the afternoon session today.

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BEL share price rises over 3% on ₹1.5 interim dividend announcement; check record date

Shares of state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd rose on Wednesday, March 5, after the company announced an interim dividend for the financial year 2024-25.

The stock was trading 3.32% higher at ₹273.49 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) at 2:00 pm.

BEL interim dividend announced: Check record date

In an exchange filing, BEL said its Board of Directors has declared an interim dividend of ₹1.50 per share of ₹1 each fully paid up for FY25. The dividend will be paid within 30 days from the date of declaration.

The record date for the payment of the BEL interim dividend on equity shares for the current fiscal year has been fixed as March 11, 2025.

Bharat Electronics Ltd is a public sector undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Defence.

The company reported a 47.33% increase in its consolidated Profit after tax (PAT) to ₹1,316.06 crores in the third quarter of the current fiscal year. The net profit was ₹893.3 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Consolidated revenue from operations climbed 38.6% to ₹5,770.69 crore, as against ₹4,162.16 crore in the same period of the previous financial year.

For the nine-month period ended December 2024, BEL recorded a turnover of ₹14,173.68 crore, compared to ₹11,484.92 crore a year ago. The post-tax profit advanced 42.3% to ₹3,183.47 crore in 9M FY25, as against ₹2,236.48 cr in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The order book of the company as of January 1, 2025, stood at ₹71,100 crore.

On February 20, the company received orders worth ₹1,292 crore, including ₹1,034 crore order for the supply of software-defined radios (SDR) and Data Communication Terminals (DCT) for the Indian Coast Guard.

On February 8, BEL secured orders worth ₹962 crore, including an Electro-Optic Fire Control System (EOFCS) supply order from the Indian Navy.

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Markets on brink of worst disruption since 2008 financial crisis: Analysts

Global economy and markets are on the brink of the worst disruption since the 2007 – 08 global financial crisis, besides the Covid pandemic, believe analysts. The belief stems from the likely global trade war that could be triggered by the imposition of universal and reciprocal tariffs by the US president Donald Trump. 

US President Donald Trump, according to Nigel Green, chief executive officer of deVere Group, a global consulting firm managing nearly $12 billion in assets under management (AUM), doubled down on the most aggressive tariff policies seen since the 1940s in some respects, delivering a speech that, despite its rhetoric of economic strength, is set to cause concern through financial markets.

“The global economy and markets could now be on the brink of its most severe disruption since the 2007-08 financial crisis, besides the pandemic. This (tariff threat) is no longer just a warning, but is seemingly turning into an all-out trade war. The true extent of the fallout, however, has yet to be fully realised, especially as wider reciprocal tariffs are set to be rolled on April 2. Emerging markets, already grappling with tighter financial conditions, will be particularly vulnerable,” Green said.

The uncertainty unleashed by Trump tariffs, analysts believe, is reigning supreme now, which is weighing on the markets. In the ongoing chaotic scenario, they suggest, new news and developments can trigger wild market moves.

Thus far in calendar year 2025 (CY25), the Sensex and Nifty have slumped around 5 per cent each. From their peak levels, both these indices have cracked around 13 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. Losses in the mid-cap (down nearly 20 per cent) and smallcap (down 23 per cent) indexes on the NSE from their peak levels have been deeper. 

That said, analysts believe it would be difficult for the US to get away unscathed from the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China, Canada and Mexico. As a result, inflation in the US will rise and the Fed will sound hawkish. 

“A sharp correction in the US stock market is likely. This will hurt Trump’s popularity and the negative wealth effect of a sharp market correction can aggravate the growth slowdown in the US. Soon the Trump regime will realise this. It is better for investors to wait and watch for the events to unfold,” said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services. 

Purely from a market standpoint, the nervousness in the markets due to tariff uncertainty also got coupled with the emerging market versus the developed market attractiveness, China’s attractiveness amid policy changes, and tepid corporate results for the December 2024 quarter (Q4-FY25) back home. 

Foreign investors have pulled over Rs 1 trillion from the Indian equity markets in the last few months. These investors, according to Vaibhav Sanghavi, chief executive officer at ASK Hedge Solutions, kept moving flows at the margin, depending on the relative attractiveness of the investible markets. The convergence of the above-mentioned factors, he said, exacerbated the pain from FII flows perspective.

The fall in the Indian equity markets, analysts say, has made valuations relatively attractive. Fairly valued growth stocks, particularly those focused on domestic consumption like financials, telecom etc, and exports to non-US markets like segments of autos, Vijayakumar said, can be slowly accumulated for the long-term.

Stock correction till now, according to Sanghavi, is likely to sow the seeds of reasonable gains over the next 24 months. “As the large-cap valuations have turned reasonable, this correction offers for nibbling in for fresh investments,” he said.

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