Stock Market Today: Indian benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex took a sharp dive, weighed down by intense selling pressure amid fresh bribery allegations against Gautam Adani. The market opened sharply lower following a New York court's indictment of Adani and seven others on charges of bribing Indian officials to secure solar energy contracts.
By the close of trading, the Sensex had fallen 422.59 points, or 0.54 per cent, to settle at 77,155.79, while the Nifty lost 168.60 points, or 0.72 per cent, ending at 23,349.90. Market breadth was heavily negative, with 1,179 stocks advancing, 2,606 declining, and 89 remaining unchanged.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Power Grid, Ultra Tech, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, and TCS emerged as gainers. On the downside, Adani Ports, NTPC, SBI, ITC, and Asian Paints settled in the red.
The fallout from the Adani news spread across various sectors, with public sector banks among the hardest hit, experiencing significant losses. Additionally, Adani Group stocks plummeted by as much as 20 per cent in intraday trading, erasing a staggering Rs 2.2 lakh crore in market value.
Sectoral indices painted a grim picture, with Nifty Energy, Metal, FMCG, Infra, and Bank indices slipping by up to 2 per cent. The energy sector was hit hardest, weighed down by heavyweights like Adani Green, IOC, and Adani Power. Auto stocks also faced profit booking, with leading players like M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, and Bajaj Auto all seeing around 1 per cent declines.
In contrast, Nifty IT, which had opened the day with over 1 per cent gains, lost momentum by the afternoon, closing up just 0.5 per cent. Tech giants such as Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, TCS, and Infosys shed much of their early gains, leaving the index clinging to modest gains.
Despite a brief recovery of nearly 500 points, the broader market largely followed the negative trend. Mid-cap and small-cap indices fell by 0.3 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively. However, market experts remain hopeful for a rebound in these segments, pointing to oversold conditions that could trigger a near-term recovery.