Adani group shares continue to take a beating, lose Rs 9.5 lakh cr in m-cap

Shares of most of the Adani group firms ended lower on Monday, with the group companies' combined mcap witnessing a sharp fall of Rs 9.5 lakh crore after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research's adverse report.

Forex traders said the Hindenburg Research report has soured market mood towards Adani Group stocks, leading to a sharp decline in the stock prices.

At the end of Monday's trading session, six of the 10 Adani group companies ended in the negative territory, with Adani Transmission slipping 10 per cent, while the shares of Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Green Energy and Adani Wilmar declined 5 per cent each.

Shares of Adani Enterprises closed for the day at Rs 1,572.40, down 0.74 per cent over its previous close.

Four of the Adani group companies defied the trend and settled in the positive territory with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone closing higher by 9.46 per cent, Ambuja Cements (up 1.54 per cent), ACC (up 2.24 per cent) and NDTV (up 1.37 per cent).

"The Adani group stocks (including Ambuja, ACC and NDTV) have lost around Rs 9.5 lakh crores or about 49 per cent of their combined market cap in the last nine trading sessions (from January 24 to February 6 2023)," said Manish Chowdhury, head of research at Stoxbox.

"Adani group stocks faced a selloff over the last few sessions following the report by short-seller Hindenburg. The calling off of the Adani Enterprises FPO also added to the volatility.

"News of the promoter taking steps to unwind the pledge of their shareholding in some of the companies seems to have stabilised sentiments in some companies," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

The Adani group on Monday said that the promoters will pre-pay USD 1,114 million for the release of pledged shares of its firms ahead of the maturity in September 2024.

These shares belong to Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission, a statement said.

"This is in continuation of promoters' assurance to pre-pay all share-backed financing," it said.

Meanwhile, equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, ended in the red on Monday.

The 30-share BSE index settled 334.98 points or 0.55 per cent lower at 60,506.90. During the session, the index touched its intra-day low of 60,345.61.

The broader NSE Nifty dipped 89.45 points or 0.50 per cent to end at 17,764.60 as 34 of its stocks dropped.

Meanwhile, markets regulator Sebi on Saturday said it is committed to ensuring the stock market's integrity, and all necessary surveillance measures are in place to address any excessive volatility in individual shares.

The Reserve Bank on Friday said India's banking sector is resilient and stable, and the central bank maintains a constant vigil on the lenders.