Reliance Industries shares jump 11.6%, boosting Mukesh Ambani's net worth by $8.5 billion

Reliance Industries' shares surged 11.64% to Rs 1,299 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, marking the company's strongest single-day gain in more than six years. The rally followed the release of July-September results that showed a 40.6% rise in profit attributable to shareholders, reaching Rs 25,548 crore and beating analysts' forecasts.

The earnings lift was driven by higher refining margins, increased crude processing volumes and better profitability in the oil-to-chemicals segment, while the telecom arm, Jio Platforms, posted nearly 14% growth in quarterly profit on subscriber additions and improved margins.

"The strength of the refining operations and continued growth in telecom underpin our positive outlook for Reliance," analysts at Goldman Sachs said, maintaining a buy rating and a target price of Rs 1,840. Nomura also kept its buy rating with a target of Rs 1,560.

The stock's rise helped Reliance become the biggest contributor to the benchmark Nifty 50 index on the day. Despite the jump, the shares remained about 19% below their 52-week high of Rs 1,611.20. Analysts noted that sustained recovery would depend on improvements in the retail business and clearer returns from new-energy investments.

Forbes' real-time billionaire tracker, which bases wealth estimates on market values of publicly traded holdings, recorded Ambani's net worth at $88.8 billion, a 10.6% increase that placed him 23rd on the global rich list.