Jio Platforms shares debut on NSE, BSE today after Rs 30,213-crore IPO; Sensex, Nifty end flat

Shares of Jio Platforms are set to begin trading on the National Stock Exchange and BSE at 10 am on Wednesday, marking the market debut of the Reliance Industries-backed digital services company after one of the largest public issues in Indian history.

The issue in numbers

The Rs 30,213-crore offer was made up entirely of fresh shares, about 27 crore equity shares, with no offer-for-sale by existing investors. Shares were sold in a price band of Rs 1,065 to Rs 1,119, which valued the company at about Rs 10.3 lakh crore at the upper end. Before the issue opened, the company raised Rs 8,110 crore from anchor investors.

The IPO was subscribed about 22 times overall. Demand was led by qualified institutional buyers, whose portion was subscribed more than 70 times, while non-institutional investors bid about 14 times their quota. The retail portion was subscribed a more modest 2.72 times. According to the offer documents cited by brokers, Rs 27,500 crore of the proceeds will be used to repay borrowings of Reliance Jio Infocomm, with the rest set aside for general corporate purposes.

Markets end flat

On Tuesday, the Sensex closed at 73,598.87, down 8.08 points, while the Nifty 50 ended at 22,749.75, lower by 3.45 points. Broader markets did much better, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising about 1 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining about 2.7 per cent. Media, pharma and consumer durables stocks led gains, while the Nifty Bank index slipped about 0.7 per cent.

Analysts said high crude oil prices, a weaker rupee and caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision kept large-cap investors on the sidelines, even as strong September-quarter earnings and steady domestic flows offset continued selling by foreign investors. Among Sensex constituents, Bharti Airtel, Trent and Maruti Suzuki were among the gainers, while SBI, Axis Bank and TCS were among the laggards.

What to watch

The listing of Jio Platforms is expected to dominate trading on Wednesday, given its size and the large number of shareholders it brings into the market. Investors will also track crude oil prices, which have been elevated by tensions in West Asia, and the Fed's decision for signals on global interest rates.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.