9.3 cr Reliance shares traded

The Reliance Industries stock debuted on the bourses as an oil and petrochemical company, pretty much in step with market expectations during a special trading session conducted by the exchanges this morning.

It was the most traded stock on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange with 9.3 crore shares changing hands.

In the regular market, Reliance Industries slipped to finally close the day at Rs 693.70, about 3 per cent down from the close of the special session. The stock saw an intra-day high of Rs 727 on both the exchanges.

The Reliance Industries price discovered on Wednesday was in step with expectations, and if the potential values of de-merged entities were clubbed, the combined share price would have crossed Rs 1,000, analysts said.

Based on Wednesday's closing , Reliance Industries' weighting on the Sensex is down to 9.46 per cent from yesterday's 12.20 per cent. On the Nifty, the RIL weighting was down to 7.39 per cent from 9.61 per cent.

While institutions remained active at the Reliance counter, the stock was bogged down due to bearish trends in the markets. Most Asian markets were weak on Wednesday as concerns about rising oil prices resurfaced.

While the markets in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea ended 3 per cent down, Singapore and Hong Kong shares closed the day with a nearly 1 per cent fall. The Tokyo Stock Exchange stopped trading before regular close due to panic selling.