Equity indices volatile, Reliance plunges 3.7 pc

Mumbai, Jan 25: Equity benchmark indices swayed between gains and losses during early hours on Monday while their Asian peers were on an upward trajectory.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 46 points or 0.09 per cent at 48,833 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 13 points or 0.09 per cent to 14,359.

Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty PSU bank, IT and realty dipping by 0.8 per cent each, auto by 0.7 per cent and metal by 0.5 per cent.

Among stocks, Reliance Industries cracked by 3.7 per cent to Rs 1,973.90 per share after reports said the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate has spined off of the oil-to-chemical business into a new unit that will help it pursue growth opportunities with strategic partnerships.

At the same time, it saw its profit jump 12.5 per cent to Rs 13,101 crore during the quarter ended December.

The other prominent losers were Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Nestle India, ITC, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank and Eicher Motors.

However, Grasim gained by 4.5 per cent to Rs 1.049.35 per share. UPL, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance and JSW Steel too trade with a positive bias.

Meanwhile, Asian shares rose as concerns over rising Covid-19 cases and delays in vaccine supplies were eclipsed by expectations of a 1.9 trillion dollar fiscal stimulus plan to help revive the US economy.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose slightly. Japan's Nikkei rebounded from falls in early trading to be up by 0.36 per cent.