Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) declined by 1.34 per cent in early trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday as investors reacted to India’s most valuable company’s announcement of less-than-expected profit in the third quarter of FY2010-11.

RIL’s scrip shed 1.34 per cent to an early low of Rs 973.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Similarly, profit-booking pulled down RIL’s scrip by 1.43 per cent to a low of Rs 972.60 on the National Stock Exchange.

The company had last week reported a 28.14 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit to Rs 5,136 crore, which was below the expectations on Dalal Street.

As a result, investors’ are booking profits and are applying a cautious approach toward the stock, according to market observers.

“The markets have been eagerly waiting for a big push from Reliance, but no major trigger was seen in the numbers. The bottomline was below expectations, gas ramp-up from the KG-D6 field, which is their crown jewel, is also slow. All these factors have spoiled the investors’ sentiment,” SMC Capitals Strategist and Head of Research Mr Jagannadham Thunuguntla said. In terms of volumes, over 17 lakh shares of the company were traded on the two bourses in morning trade.

“The numbers by RIL in this quarter were not very encouraging, hit by concerns of gas production from the KG-D6 field,” an analyst said, on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading at 19,165.92 at 1120 hours, up 158.39 points from its previous close.

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