Markets@10: Adani case hits stocks, Nifty drops, rupee weakens

The criminal case filed against Gautam Adani in the United States caused a stir in the Indian stock market. The market began trading lower and then continued to fall. The Nifty index dropped to 23,263.

Adani Group's momentum from the previous day was broken, with all Adani Group stocks falling. Most of them hit the 20% lower circuit limit. Later, some of the stocks recovered. This decline is reminiscent of the market reaction to the Hindenburg report in January 2023.

The case involves allegations that investors were misled with promises of making a profit of 200 crore dollars by bribing officials with 25 crore dollars to secure a government solar energy contract. The indictment was filed in a Brooklyn court in New York, but the trial date has not been set. Adani Green Energy's defence has been weak, stating that while they introduced the project, they did not sell bonds for it. Legal experts suggest there may be a settlement in the case.

In addition to Adani Group stocks, public sector banks, including SBI, also saw a significant drop today. The Nifty Bank index fell to just above 50,000 after dipping as low as 49,787.

All sectors, except IT, were down, with metals and oil and gas sectors seeing the biggest losses.

The rupee remained weak today, with the dollar starting at Rs 84.40 and rising to Rs 84.42.

Gold update

In the global market, gold was priced at 2,659 dollars per ounce. In Kerala, the price of gold rose by Rs 240, reaching Rs 57,160.