NEW DELHI: Stock markets ended only marginally lower in a volatile trading session on Monday as investors grew cautious about potential disruptions stemming from a US short-seller Hindenburg Research report. The report raised concerns about SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband’s undisclosed investments in offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius.
The 30-share Sensex closed down by 56.99 points or 0.07 percent, settling at 79,648.92 after a tumultuous day. The index had initially dropped by 479.78 points or 0.60 percent to a low of 79,226.13 in morning trade, but later staged a recovery, gaining as much as 400.27 points or 0.50 percent to touch 80,106.18 before closing slightly down.
“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 at Geojit Financial Services.
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Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, noted, “The Hindenburg report may create some tremors in the market, but it is not going to have a greater impact. This is because it’s not related to the earnings of the companies.”
This comes as a surprise following Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s speculations over the market crashing instead of the Hindenburg report targeted at Adani Enterprises and SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. BJP MP Ravishankar Prasad had earlier condemned Gandhi for trying to “crash the entire stock market”.
The Sensex and Nifty indices saw early losses due to a sharp decline in Adani Group shares, triggered by the Hindenburg allegations. Adani Energy Solutions led the declines with a 17 percent drop, followed by Adani Total Gas at 13 percent, and NDTV and Adani Power both down by 11 percent. Other Adani-linked stocks, including Adani Ports and Adani Wilmar, also faced declines. However, the stocks later recovered, with losses narrowing to between 1 percent and 5 percent.
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The Indian REITs Association on Monday dismissed claims by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research, which alleged that SEBI’s REIT framework benefits a select few, as “baseless and misleading.”
The association instead praised SEBI and its leadership for establishing a “rigorous regulatory environment” with comprehensive periodic reporting requirements, mandatory independent valuations, and strict governance standards.