Contrary to expectations that the latest report of US short-seller Hindenburg Research which questioned the conduct of the Sebi chairperson while inspecting the Adani Group for manipulating stock prices would have a wider impact on the Indian equity market, the bulls of Dalal Street sidelined all the concerns. And, the local benchmark indices closed the Monday session with just minor cuts.
At close, the BSE Sensex was down only 56.99 points or 0.07% at 79,648.92, and the NSE Nifty declined 20.50 points or 0.08% to settle at 24,347.00. In the broader market, the mid and smallcap index showed resistance and closed in green.
"The Indian market exhibited a mild optimism, although the initial path was eclipsed by the continuation of the Adani-Hindenburg-SEBI saga. However, the market brushed away these noises, taking positive cues from global markets,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
He added, “Moreover, the domestic market is anticipating ease in CPI inflation, which is going to be further supported by a good monsoon. Yet, the upside risk remains still, given firm oil prices and volatility in food inflation.”
Adani Group stocks, which is again named by Hindenburg in its recent disclosure, had a tough day. Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Adani Power, Adani Energy Solutions, and other shares fell sharply when the session started but managed to recoup most of the losses. While two stocks-- Adani Green Energy and Ambuja Cements closed with mild gains, the remaining eight fell up to 4%.
Hindenburg Research on Saturday alleged that current SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had hidden stakes in the exact same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, found in the same complex nested structure, used by Vinod Adani, elder brother of billionaire Gautam Adani, in what it calls the money siphoning scandal. Hindenburg added that it is due to this reason that India’s capital market regulator was not interested in inspecting the Adani Group
Buch and her husband issued a statement on Sunday calling Hindenburg's latest tirade as an attack on the credibility of Sebi and attempted "character assassination".
Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates, said that domestic benchmark indices opened lower on Monday due to uncertainty stemming from Hindenburg's allegations against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband. He added that despite this uncertainty, Indian markets displayed resilience
“Technically, on a daily scale, Nifty50 index formed a green candle with shadows on both sides, signaling uncertainty. If the index sustains above 24,480, it could trigger a fresh rally toward the 24,600-24,700 levels. Therefore, a buy-on-dips strategy should be adopted for Nifty. On the downside, support from the 34-day Exponential Moving Average (DEMA) is near 24,240, making the 24,200-24,240 range a key support zone for Nifty in the short term,” said Yedve.
Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank, FMCG and Energy index were the top laggards. Nifty Metal and Realty rose 0.8% and 1.2%, respectively. From the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, NTPC, Power Grid, State Bank of India, Nestle, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services were the biggest laggards.