India's biggest IPO debuts hot: Jio Platforms jumps nearly 27% on day one, gains over 5% on day two

Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital services arm of India's Reliance group, made a blockbuster stock market debut on October 28 in India's largest-ever initial public offering. The stock opened at 1,358 rupees on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange, a 21.36% premium to its 1,119-rupee issue price, and closed at 1,419 rupees, up 26.81%. At the close, its market value was about 13.1 lakh crore rupees, making it India's second-most valuable listed company, behind only its parent Reliance Industries.

Record first-day trading

Trading was exceptionally heavy: combined turnover on the two exchanges reached 26,571 crore rupees, about 88% of the combined turnover of Nifty 50 constituents, with around 19.4 crore shares changing hands. Jio Platforms raised about 30,200 crore rupees through the IPO by selling approximately 27 crore shares. Reliance Industries holds about 66.4% of the company, and existing shareholders sold no shares in the offering.

Second day extends gains

On October 29, the stock extended its gains, rising as much as 5.13% intraday on the BSE to 1,490 rupees before trading at 1,472.80 rupees, up 3.91%. Investors who bought at the IPO price were sitting on gains of more than 33%, and the company's market value rose to about 13.5 lakh crore rupees. Analysts cited strong investor demand and limited free float, with only about 2.9% of the company's shares available for trading after the IPO.

What to watch next

Jio Platforms is India's largest telecom operator, spanning mobile, broadband and digital services. The market will now watch its first results as a listed company, and whether average revenue per user, 5G earnings and fibre broadband growth can support the current valuation. One or two strong sessions do not settle a stock's long-term path.