Sensex, Nifty rise on boost from Reliance

Indian shares rose on Friday and were on course to finish the week higher, boosted by a jump in Reliance shares after the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate said it had become net-debt free.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.58{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} to 10,146.75 by 0349 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.51{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} at 34,387.71.

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd rose 0.85{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} in early trade to a record high after the company said it had become net debt free after raising over 1.69 trillion rupees ($22.15 billion) over the last few weeks through stake sales in its digital arm and a rights issue.

Meanwhile, broader Asian shares were choppy, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan easing 0.06{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} as worries over spike in Covid-19 cases dampened expectations of a speedy economic recovery.

As of Thursday, Covid-19 cases in India had neared 367,000 and deaths were over 12,200.