Indian shares end lower, pulled down by Adani firms on implications of US indictment

Indian shares inched lower on Tuesday, weighed down by Adani Group stocks’ on worries about the implications of alleged bribery charges by the U.S. against their key executives.

The NSE Nifty 50 shed 0.11% to 24,194.5 points, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.13% to 80,004.06.

Moody’s Ratings cut its outlook on seven Adani entities to “negative” from “stable” on the day, citing the U.S. indictment of chairman Gautam Adani and seven others on alleged bribery and fraud.

TotalEnergies halted its investments in the group on Monday and ratings agency Fitch put some of the conglomerate’s bonds on watch for a possible downgrade.

Adani Group’s 10 listed companies have lost about $34 billion in market value in four sessions, including Tuesday, since the U.S. indictment. The group has denied the allegations, terming them “baseless”.

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Adani Green and Adani Energy - which are at the centre of the indictment charges - fell 7.25% and 4% each. Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports declined 4.74% and 3.25%, respectively, topping the list of Nifty 50 laggards on Tuesday.

“The sharp drop in Adani stocks is a kneejerk reaction to the updates coming in from ratings agencies and TotalEnergies,” said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities.

“Except for companies like Adani Ports, ACC and Ambuja Cements, which have good cash flows, other stocks are unlikely to see any institutional interest in the near term given the U.S. indictment,” Agrawal said.

Eight of the 13 major sectors logged losses.

However, the IT index rose 1.1% and was the top sectoral gainer.

Food delivery platform Swiggy gained 7.24% after UBS initiated coverage with a “buy” rating.

Other Asian markets fell after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledged a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on China.