₹1 Lakh Crore Wiped Out! Reliance Clarifies, Shares Fall 5%

New Delhi: Shares of India and Asia’s wealthiest industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) tumbled over 5% today, erasing nearly ₹1 lakh crore from the company’s market capitalization. The sudden drop followed a Bloomberg report claiming that three Russian oil tankers were en route to Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery—a claim the company has strongly denied.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), RIL shares fell sharply to ₹1,497.05 from Monday’s close of ₹1,577.45. The stock opened at ₹1,575.55, but selling pressure remained high throughout the trading session, with volumes surging significantly.

Company Response
In a statement, Reliance clarified that it does not expect any deliveries of crude oil from Russia in January and has not received any cargoes in the past three weeks. The company refuted Bloomberg’s report suggesting that three Russian oil shipments were heading to the Jamnagar refinery.

The clarification comes amid renewed U.S.-India trade tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump recently warned that tariffs on India could increase if the country does not reduce its Russian oil purchases.

Share Performance and Market Impact
RIL’s stock emerged as the largest contributor to the Nifty 50 index’s decline, accounting for 72.5 of the 91-point drop. Other major contributors included HDFC Bank and Trent. Despite today’s fall, the stock has gained 25.8% over the past year and reported a robust quarterly profit growth of 11.45%.

Technically, RIL shares remain above mid- to long-term exponential moving averages. According to Trendlyne data, the stock’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 59.8, indicating a neutral zone. RSI values below 30 signal oversold conditions, while values above 70 indicate overbought territory. As of 11:52 AM, RIL was trading at ₹1,513, down 4.09% from its previous close.