Stock markets close lower amid Hindenburg-Sebi-Adani row; Pvt banks lend support

Stock markets closed marginally lower in highly volatile trade on Monday as gains in private banks helped benchmark Sensex recoup some of the early losses inflicted by allegations against Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband by the US shortseller Hindenburg ResearchThe 30share Sensex closed lower by 5699 points or 007 per cent at 7964892 with 18 of its constituents ending with losses and 12 with gainsThe index had declined by 47978 points or 060 per cent to a low of 7922613 in morning trade due to losses in Adani group shares and bluechips like Reliance Industries The benchmark later staged a sharp recovery climbing around 880 points from the days lows to hit a high of 8010618 But at the fagend the BSE benchmark slipped into the negative territory and closed lowerThe NSE Nifty dipped 2050 points or 008 per cent to 24347 Intraday it hit a low of 2421210 and a high of 2447280The Indian market concluded relatively flat with its initial path being eclipsed by the continuation of the AdaniHindenburgSEBI saga However the market tried to brush away these noises taking positive cues from global markets said Vinod Nair Head of Research Geojit Financial ServicesFrom 30 Sensex firms Adani Ports NTPC Power Grid State Bank of India Nestle Mahindra amp Mahindra Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services were the biggest laggardsAxis Bank Infosys JSW Steel Tata Motors HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the gainers from the bluechip packHindenburg Research on Saturday alleged that SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius the same entities allegedly used by Vinod Adani the elder brother of group chairman Gautam Adani to roundtrip funds and inflate stock pricesBuch and her husband issued a statement calling Hindenburgs latest tirade an attack on the credibility of SEBI and attempted character assassinationAdani Group on Sunday termed Hindenburg Researchs latest allegations as malicious and manipulative of select public information saying it has no commercial relationship with the SEBI chairperson or her husbandAll the 10 Adani group stocks declined sharply during the early trade with Adani Energy Solutions tumbling 17 per cent and Adani Total Gas dropping 1339 per cent At close eight of the group firms ended lower while two of them bounced backThe Hindenburg allegations now against a key official of the market regulator weighed on the sentiment in early trade but indices recovered soon to trade higher only to give away all their gains towards the close to end marginally lower on selective profit takingIn case the row heats up further it could impact sentiment going ahead and profittaking could continue although global cues would still determine the broader market mood Prashanth Tapse Senior VP Research Mehta Equities Ltd saidIn the broader market the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 051 per cent and midcap index went up marginally by 004 per centAmong the indices utilities declined 104 per cent FMCG by 067 per cent power by 062 per cent and services by 041 per centConsumer Durables realty oil amp gas metal and IT were the gainersA total of 2126 stocks declined while 1941 advanced and 118 remained unchanged on the BSEIn Asian markets Seoul and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Shanghai ended lower Markets in Tokyo and Bangkok were closed for a holidayEuropean markets were trading mostly higher The US markets ended higher on FridayForeign Institutional Investors FIIs turned buyers on Friday after days of offloading equities They bought equities worth Rs 40672 crore according to exchange dataGlobal oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 083 per cent to USD 8032 a barrelThe BSE benchmark bounced back 81969 points or 104 per cent on Friday settling at 7970591 The NSE Nifty soared 25050 points or 104 per cent to 2436750This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever