RIL shares extend rally to third day

New Delhi: Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) extended their gains to the third straight session on Thursday amid reports that social media giant Facebook is reportedly planning to buy a 10 per cent stake in the country’s biggest telecom company Reliance Jio.

RIL had set a target to make its telecom services arm Jio debt-free by March 31, 2020. According to Financial Times, Facebook is looking at buying a multibillion-dollar stake in Reliance Jio which has been valued at $60 billion by analysts at Bernstein.

The scrip jumped as much as 1.72 per cent to Rs 1,100 in Thursday’s trade, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was up 2.27 per cent at 29,182. Shares of the company had already jumped over 22 per cent during the past two trading sessions.

Brokerage firm Kotak Securities reiterates buy rating on the stock notwithstanding a bleak downstream outlook, as the company may benefit meaningfully from plausible consolidation in telecom, culmination of key transactions, rising free cash flow (FCF) trajectory and sustained growth in the retail segment.