Stock markets close lower amid Hindenburg-Sebi-Adani row; Pvt banks lend support

Mumbai: Stock markets closed marginally lower in highly volatile trade on Monday as gains in private banks helped benchmark Sensex recoup some of the early losses inflicted by allegations against Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband by the US short-seller Hindenburg Research.

The 30-share Sensex closed lower by 56.99 points or 0.07 per cent at 79,648.92 with 18 of its constituents ending with losses and 12 with gains.

The index had declined by 479.78 points or 0.60 per cent to a low of 79,226.13 in morning trade due to losses in Adani group shares and blue-chips like Reliance Industries. The benchmark later staged a sharp recovery climbing around 880 points from the day's lows to hit a high of 80,106.18. But at the fag-end, the BSE benchmark slipped into the negative territory and closed lower.

The NSE Nifty dipped 20.50 points or 0.08 per cent to 24,347. Intra-day, it hit a low of 24,212.10 and a high of 24,472.80.

"The Indian market concluded relatively flat, with its initial path being eclipsed by the continuation of the Adani-Hindenburg-SEBI saga. However, the market tried to brush away these noises, taking positive cues from global markets," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

From 30 Sensex firms, Adani Ports, NTPC, Power Grid, State Bank of India, Nestle, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services were the biggest laggards.

Axis Bank, Infosys, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the gainers from the blue-chip pack.

Hindenburg Research on Saturday alleged that SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by Vinod Adani - the elder brother of group chairman Gautam Adani - to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices.

Buch and her husband issued a statement calling Hindenburg's latest tirade an attack on the credibility of SEBI and attempted "character assassination".

Adani Group on Sunday termed Hindenburg Research's latest allegations as malicious and manipulative of select public information, saying it has no commercial relationship with the SEBI chairperson or her husband.

All the 10 Adani group stocks declined sharply during the early trade, with Adani Energy Solutions tumbling 17 per cent and Adani Total Gas dropping 13.39 per cent. At close, eight of the group firms ended lower, while two of them bounced back.

"The Hindenburg allegations now against a key official of the market regulator weighed on the sentiment in early trade, but indices recovered soon to trade higher only to give away all their gains towards the close to end marginally lower on selective profit taking.

"In case the row heats up further, it could impact sentiment going ahead and profit-taking could continue, although global cues would still determine the broader market mood," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.51 per cent and midcap index went up marginally by 0.04 per cent.

Among the indices, utilities declined 1.04 per cent, FMCG by 0.67 per cent, power by 0.62 per cent, and services by 0.41 per cent.

Consumer Durables, realty, oil & gas, metal and IT were the gainers.

A total of 2,126 stocks declined while 1,941 advanced and 118 remained unchanged on the BSE.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Shanghai ended lower. Markets in Tokyo and Bangkok were closed for a holiday.

European markets were trading mostly higher. The US markets ended higher on Friday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Friday after days of offloading equities. They bought equities worth Rs 406.72 crore, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.83 per cent to USD 80.32 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark bounced back 819.69 points or 1.04 per cent on Friday settling at 79,705.91. The NSE Nifty soared 250.50 points or 1.04 per cent to 24,367.50.