Reliance Industries share price took a beating on Dalal Street today on the back of crude oil prices that nose-dived by as much as 31 per cent. As Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) share price fell 13 per cent on S&P BSE Sensex, the market capitalisation of the firm tanked below Rs 7 lakh crore, taking away the crown of the most-valuable firm on S&P BSE Sensex and placing it on the head on Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), with a market capitalisation of Rs 7.3 lakh crore. RIL shares were trading at Rs Rs 1,102 at 1:30 PM on Monday.
Although it became the most valued firm on BSE Sensex, TCS share price was down 8 per cent to trade at Rs 1,949 per share. Domestic markets were trading deep in the red as S&P BSE Sensex tanked 2,198 points or 5.85 per cent at 35,378 points; while the broader NSE Nifty 50 was at 10,382 points down by 607 points. Shares of RIL were the down most in 11 years. The market capitalisation of RIL was above Rs 8 lakh crore at the end of trading on Friday evening.
Crude oil prices were at their lowest since February 2016, and saw their biggest percentage drop since the gulf war in 1991. Brent crude futures were down by 29 per cent, at $31.98 a barrel. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 32 per cent, to $27.99 a barrel. Price tanked after Saudi Arabia announced a plan to increase output as it waged a price war with Russia. The move is a fall-out of Russia’s refusal to cut production in order to maintain price stability in a demand starved market.
Reliance Industries is not the only big-name loser, as the share price of Saudi Aramco share price opened 10 per cent lower on Monday morning to trade at 27 riyal. The current trading price of Saudi Aramco is 15 per cent below its initial public offer price.
