Reliance Industries Ltd became the first Indian company to cross Rs 20 lakh crore (trillion) in market capitalisation on Tuesday as its shares hit a record high on optimistic views of brokerages and expectations of a greater unlocking of value in the company.

Shares of the conglomerate that has interests in oil exploration to organised retail and telecom rose almost 2 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 2,957.80 in intra-day trades which resulted in its market cap rising to Rs 20,01,279.72 crore.

The stock gave up part of the gains and settled 0.90 per cent higher at Rs 2,928.95 on the BSE as the market cap settled at Rs 19,81,635.72 crore at the close.

In August 2005, the market capitalisation of the company crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, while it moved past Rs 10 lakh crore in November 2019 and Rs 15 lakh crore in early September 2021.

The movement from Rs 19-20 lakh crore was been swift with Rs 1 lakh crore added after January 29, 2024.

The Mukesh Ambani-company is far ahead of TCS, which holds the second spot in market cap at Rs 15.1 lakh crore, followed by HDFC Bank, Rs 10.5 lakh crore, ICICI Bank, Rs 7.15 lakh crore, Infosys Rs 6.99 lakh crore and Life Insurance Corporation of India, Rs 6.38 lakh crore.

The RIL scrip has accelerated almost 27 per cent in three months and over 12 per cent since the start of 2024.

Though its third quarter results did not contain any fireworks, brokerages remain positive about its prospects.

Market circles said expectations of a tariff hike by Jio post the general elections also pushed up the stock.

“Reliance is in transition. Over the next two years, we expect earnings growth will be driven by retail and telecom, while O2C (oil-to-chemicals) will see consolidation with profit growth.’’

Meanwhile, India’s weight in MSCI’s emerging market index rose to a high of 18.2 per cent from 17.9 per cent, while China’s weight fell to 25.4 per cent from 26.6 per cent.