Five Adani Group firms settle higher; Adani Total Gas soars nearly 16%

New Delhi: Shares of five of the 11 listed Adani Group firms ended higher on Thursday, with Adani Total Gas soaring nearly 16 per cent, in an otherwise bearish stock market.

The stock of Adani Total Gas surged 15.69 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions zoomed 10 per cent, Adani Green Energy soared 10 per cent, Adani Power jumped 6.95 per cent, and Adani Enterprises climbed 1.63 per cent on the BSE.

Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green Energy hit their highest trading permissible limit for the day.

However, shares of Adani Ports declined 2.73 per cent, NDTV went lower 2.03 per cent, ACC skidded 0.75 per cent, Ambuja Cements dipped 0.48 per cent, Adani Wilmar (0.44 per cent) and Sanghi Industries (0.17 per cent).

The BSE benchmark Sensex tanked 1,190.34 points, or 1.48 per cent, to settle at 79,043.74 and the NSE Nifty declined 360.75 points, or 1.49 per cent, to 23,914.15.

On Wednesday, shares of all Adani Group firms ended sharply higher, with Adani Total Gas and Adani Power soaring nearly 20 per cent.

Embattled billionaire Gautam Adani and his aides have not been charged under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an Adani Group entity said on Wednesday, adding that they faced three other charges, including securities and wire fraud that are punishable with monetary fines.

The US Department of Justice's (US DOJ) indictment filed in a New York Court last week does not mention Gautam Adani, founder chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate, his nephew Sagar, or Vneet Jaain in any count related to conspiracy to violate the FCPA, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) said in a stock exchange filing.

AGEL is at the heart of the allegation of USD 265 million bribes being paid to Indian officials to secure solar power sale contracts that could bring in USD 2 billion of profits over a 20-year period to the firm.

The three -- executives at AGEL -- have only been charged with securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud, the company said. In general, the penalties for such charges are less severe than bribery.

Adani Group had last week denied all allegations as baseless, and said it would seek legal recourse to defend itself.

Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company (IHC), one of the largest sovereign funds that manages assets close to USD 100 billion, has reaffirmed its support to the Adani Group, saying its outlook on investments in the group remains unchanged despite the US indictment of the conglomerate's Founder-Chairman Gautam Adani.

"Our partnership with the Adani Group reflects our confidence in their contributions to the green energy and sustainability sectors," IHC, one of Adani Group's key foreign investors, said in a statement.