Indian stocks slip on Adani concerns

Indian shares fell on Tuesday due to concerns about alleged bribery charges against key executives of Adani Group stocks.

The NSE Nifty 50 dropped by 0.11 per cent to 24,194.5 points, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.13 per cent to 80,004.06.

Moody’s Ratings downgraded the outlook on seven Adani entities to “negative” from “stable” following the US indictment of chairman Gautam Adani and seven others for alleged bribery and fraud.

TotalEnergies has paused its investments in the Adani Group, and Fitch has placed some of the conglomerate’s bonds under review for a potential downgrade.

Adani Group’s 10 listed companies have collectively lost around $34 billion in market value over the past four trading sessions following the US indictment. The group has refuted the allegations as “baseless.”

Adani Green and Adani Energy, the companies at the centre of the charges, saw their stocks drop by 7.25 per cent and four per cent respectively.

Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports also experienced declines of 4.74 per cent and 3.25 per cent on Tuesday, making them the top laggards in the Nifty 50 index.

“The sharp drop in Adani stocks is a kneejerk reaction to the updates coming in from rating agencies and TotalEnergies,” said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities.

Agrawal stated that only companies with strong cash flows like Adani Ports, ACC, and Ambuja Cements are likely to attract institutional interest in the near term due to the US indictment.

Eight out of the 13 major sectors experienced losses. However, the IT index increased by 1.1 per cent and emerged as the top gainer.

Swiggy, a food delivery platform, saw a 7.24 per cent increase after UBS initiated coverage with a “buy” rating.

Asian markets declined following US President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, along with an extra 10 per cent tariff on China.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: M. S. Salama