Jio Financial shares zoom 14% to hit new record high, rally 44% in last one month

Shares of Jio Financial Services (JFS), the financial arm of Reliance Industries, continued uptrend for the fifth straight session on Friday, hitting fresh all-time high on bourses. The RIL group share has risen 27% in the last five sessions and around 44% in the past one month. In comparison, RIL shares gained 12% in a month, while the BSE benchmark Sensex added over 4% during the same period.

Investors have turned bullish on Jio Financial shares after the company filed its application with the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) for opening a joint mutual fund venture with BlackRock Financial Management. The stock also gained momentum in the recent past after the Reserve Bank of India’s action against Paytm Payments Bank as the billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led company is being seen as one of the potential competitors of fintech giant Paytm.

Notably, JFS under its banner runs a joint venture (JV) called Jio Payments Bank, which was incorporated in November 2016 after requisite approvals from the RBI. The current crisis at Paytm Bank, which has been asked to close its operations like savings bank accounts, wallets, FASTag, or national common mobility cards, may play well for bigger players like RIL and HDFC, as per analysts.

Extending its gaining streak, Jio Financial Services (JFS) shares opened higher at ₹306 against the previous closing price of ₹303.05 on the BSE. In the first hour of trade so far, the counter rose as much as 14.5% to hit a new all-time high of ₹347, while the market capitalisation increased to ₹2.07 lakh crore. Meanwhile, Reliance shares were up 0.3% at ₹2,973 apiece whereas the BSE Sensex was trading higher by 62 points at 73,220 levels.

In the last four months, JFS shares have zoomed nearly 70% from its 52-week low of ₹204.65 touched on October 23, 2023. The stock, which made its debut on stock exchanges on August 21, 2023, has risen nearly 31% from its listing price of ₹265 on the BSE.

Mukesh Ambani-led newly listed entity had tied up with U.S. investment major BlackRock's India unit to form Jio BlackRock, a 50:50 joint venture (JV), to make a foray into the asset management industry in July 2023. The partnership brought a new player to the Indian asset management market, with JFS and BlackRock targeting an initial investment of $150 million each in the JV.

JFS has filed its papers with the SEBI for approvals for opening a joint mutual fund venture with BlackRock Financial Management. As per the latest update available on the SEBI, the application, which was filed by the two companies on October 19, 2023, is under review by the regulator. The company will launch operations post-receipt of regulatory and statutory approvals.

There are a total of 45 registered companies that have received mutual fund licences, which collectively manage assets worth more than ₹50 lakh crore. Bajaj Finserv, the financial arm of the Bajaj group, received the market regulator's licence to start its mutual fund business in March 2023. The company received the final registration from SEBI to start its mutual fund operations under Bajaj Finserv Mutual Fund.

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