Adani stocks gain after multiple block deals, SC order

SC directs for Sebi to probe Adani

Adani group stocks came off day's high but continued trading in the green after the Supreme Court asked the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to probe whether the conglomerate has violated any securities law.

SEBI will submit its report within two months, said the apex court.

Welcoming the order, Adani group chairman Gautam Adani tweeted, "It will bring finality in a time bound manner. Truth will prevail."

The shares also saw heavy interest in the block deal window, even as the conglomerate denied reports of the $3-billion credit line from a sovereign wealth fund.

About 3.9 crore shares, amounting to 3.5 percent equity of Adani Enterprises, changed hands on March 2. The deal was worth Rs 5,520 crore. Additionally, Adani Ports, Adani Transmission and Adani Green Energy saw block deals of 4.1 percent, 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent stake, respectively.

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After the block deals, Adani Green and Adani Transmission shares opened in the green and hit the 5 percent upper circuit in early trade. Adani Enterprises started trading deep in the red but quickly bounced from the opening lows of Rs 1,407.

At 12 pm, the stock was quoting at Rs 1,607 apiece on the NSE, higher by 2.7 percent from the previous close. It had touched an intraday high of Rs 1,646 at 10:30 am.

At the same time, Adani Ports was quoting at Rs 606.15 on the NSE, higher by 0.6 percent from the previous close. It touched an intraday high of Rs 617 and wiped off some gains after the SC order.

On March 1, the group denied having secured any $3 billion loan from a Middle East-based sovereign wealth fund, as claimed by a Reuters report. It told Bloomberg, "This is totally false and untrue."

On January 24, Hindenburg Research alleged the ports-to-power conglomerate of "stocks manipulation" and "accounting fraud". Since then, the group has cumulatively lost over Rs 11 lakh crore in market capitalisation.

To ease concerns about its financial health and corporate governance, Adani group has been pre-paying loans to release pledged shares as well as conducting investor roadshows.