Mumbai: India’s stock benchmark inched higher, as energy giant Reliance Industries Ltd. climbed for a third day and most industry groups advanced.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.1 percent to 31,245.56 in Mumbai, pulling to within 0.3 percent of its record-high close, reached June 19. The biggest boost to the index came from Reliance, which rose as much as 1.8 percent after HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt. said the company’s Jio unit may introduce a low-cost mobile phone.
Rival Bharti Airtel Ltd. fell to a one-week low. Ten of 13 sector groups rose.“Bharti may see some adverse impact in the near term,” HSBC analysts Rajiv Sharma and Darpan Thakkar wrote in a note dated July 3, which was mentioned by local media yesterday.
Reliance Industries may sell the phone for Rs500 a piece, they said. The company didn’t immediately have a comment on HSBC’s note.
