Indian stock markets slipped back into the red on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex sliding 0.54% to 77,155.79 points and the broader Nifty-50 hitting a fresh five-month low, after bribery and securities fraud charges figured in a U.S. Court indictment against Adani group promoter Gautam Adani and others.
The group’s flagship company Adani Enterprises crashed 23.4% closing at ₹2160 a share. Adani Green Energy, the company named in the New York Eastern district court indictment that was unsealed on November 20, indictment fell 18.95% to ₹1145 a share.
Adani Total Gas dipped 10.4% to ₹602 per share, while Adani Energy Solutions fell 20% and closed at ₹697.25 apiece on the National Stock Exchange. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones plummeted 13.23% to nearly ₹1,119 per stock, and Adani Power Limited stocks fell 9.62% to ₹473 apiece.
The apples to airports conglomerate’s consumer goods stock Adani Wilmar also took a beating closing around ₹295 a share, 10% below the previous trading session. The stocks of cement companies acquired by the Adani group, including ACC and Ambuja cements, also felt the pain. ACC Ltd fell 8% closing at ₹2011 and Ambuja Cements Ltd at ₹480 , 12.6% below the previous close.
The Nifty-50 fell 0.72% to close at 23,349.9 points, with SBI Life Insurance (-3.15%) and State Bank of India (-2.75%) hit the most after the Adani group flagship and its ports entity.
“Indian stock indices experienced a significant decline today, pressured by bribery charges against Gautam Adani, which further weakened already fragile investor sentiment amid unfavourable global conditions,” remarked Devarsh Vakil, HDFC Securities’ deputy head of retail research, on the broad-based meltdown.
Published – November 22, 2024 01:03 am IST
