Coronavirus impact: RIL's stock pricing in a worst-case scenario

Higher telecom earnings can help amid fears of weak refining & petrochemical margins

Not long ago, Reliance Industries (RIL) was the most fancied stock among investors. It was the first Indian company to touch a market value of Rs 10 trillion on November 28, 2019. But a chain of recent events, many of which impacted the broader markets as well, led to a sharp correction of 40 per cent in the stock from February highs.

Concerns on margins in its refining and petrochemical businesses, the potential impact of Covid-19 on retail sales, and a possible delay/call-off of its deal with Saudi Aramco and hence debt reduction are the key reasons for the fall. Analysts