Activities in the Indian services sector eased in January but continued to remain above its long run average. Nifty managed to close above the resistance of 17760 and in the process registered a weekly gain of 1.42%. Now the Nifty could test the 17972-18063 band in the near term while 17542 could now act as a support," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

State-owned LIC, which is amongst the largest institutional investors in Adani stocks, owns stake in 7 Adani Group stocks. Top bets include Adani Total Gas, Adani Ports and Adani Enterprises. In the last seven trading sessions, the PSU insurer has lost Rs 38,509 crore as the value of its investments decreased to Rs 42,759 crore

The relative outperformance of the Sensex vis-à-vis Nifty50 can majorly be attributed to the fact that Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports form a part of the Nifty 50 while they are not the constituents of the Sensex index.With both these stocks witnessing a massive sell-off in the week gone by, the outperformance in the benchmark indices is more to do with stock-specific action on a shorter time frame rather than any other anomaly.

The exposure to Adani Group is primarily to the operating companies in sectors like ports, transmission, power, gas distribution, roads and airports, Axis Bank said.

Later on in the evening hours, global ratings agency S&P Global Ratings downgraded the outlook on Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Adani Electricity to “negative” from “stable”, citing that the risks and concerns triggered by Hindenburg Research report have not been factored into its ratings.

The short position put Ackman at odds with fellow billionaire, Carl Icahn, who became the companys biggest holder. Icahn went on to defend the company, which sells weight-loss shakes and vitamins, and assailed Ackman — who exited his position by 201

Adani chose to forgo the short-term victory of nailing the follow-on offer to protect his longer term relationships with marquee investors who otherwise were staring at some embarrassing mark-to-market losses on the sums they had committed.

The government hiked the National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) on cigarettes by 16%. NCCD accounts for about 10% of overall taxes on cigarettes. Analysts expect the hike in the duty to give room for ITC to raise prices by about 1-3% across categories, which will subsequently drive its profitability.

The Sensex closed at 60,841.88, up 909.64 points or 1.52% from the previous close. The Nifty advanced 1.4%, or 243.65 points, to end at 17,854.05. For the week, the Sensex rose 2.5% - the highest weekly gain in 27 weeks, while the Nifty advanced 1.4% - the highest weekly gain in six weeks.

While the stocks rout of some group companies continued, bonds got a breather with global investment banks telling clients that these papers were attractive and that the companies might be able to meet the payments.

With the Adani Group, there are added complications: the shareholding is concentrated in the hands of the Adani family and its shares do not trade on exchanges abroad

This is after a over USD 100-billion rout in value of group stock since the US short seller Hindenburg Research accused Adani group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Adani Group has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has threatened to sue Hindenburg

The company has responded to the allegations and also decided to return funds from a fully subscribed $2.4-billion offer of shares in the promoters' flagship company Adani Enterprises Ltd due to market volatility

"Increasing foreign fund outflows and the withdrawal of Adani Enterprises' $2.5 billion follow-on public offer (on Wednesday) dampened market sentiment, weakening the rupee against the dollar," said Ritesh Bhansali, vice president at Mecklai Financial Services

To safeguard investors from the sharp volatility in stocks of Adani Group companies, NSE has moved Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, and Ambuja Cements under the short-term additional surveillance measure (ASM) framework. Traders are now required to pay 100% upfront margin even for intraday trades

Adani Enterprises' shares were down 35 percent on February 3, marking their biggest intraday before showing a slight recovery

The selloff deepened after Bloomberg reported this week that units of Credit Suisse Group AG and Citigroup Inc. have stopped accepting some securities issued by Adanis companies as collateral for margin loans to wealthy clients.

The meltdown in share prices marks a dramatic turn of fortune for Adani, who in recent years forged partnerships with, and attracted investment from, foreign giants as he pursues global expansion in sectors as varied as ports and power.

The NSE Nifty index was trading 20.7 points up at 17631.1

The NSE Nifty index was trading 26.3 points up at 17636.7

During the day, Adani Enterprises was the top loser in Adani's group of stocks as the Nifty50 stock was locked in 20% lower circuit at Rs 1251.80. The stock is down over 70% from its 52-week high. The company's Rs 20,000 crore FPO, which was withdrawn earlier in the week, was priced at Rs 3,112-Rs 3,276.

The Hindenburg report warned investors of heavy leverage and fraudulent practices in Adani Group companies. The conglomerate responded with a strong rebuttal, but it failed to comfort investors.

Adani stocks have been in a freefall and so have eroded over 40% of investor wealth ever since American short-seller made multiple allegations in its report last week. With a view to safeguard investors from the sharp volatility in stocks of Adani Group companies, the National Stock Exchange has moved Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, and Ambuja Cements under the short-term additional surveillance measure (ASM) framework.

Reuters calculations show that interest payments of a total of around $24 million were due on Feb. 2 on three bonds issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone due to mature in 2031, 2032 and 2041.

During the ban, traders are not allowed to take fresh positions in stocks but can start reducing their positions. The F&O ban rule helps reduce speculation in stocks.

On Thursday, Adani Ports fell 6.1%, Adani Power and Adani Wilmar declined 5% each, Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy and Adani Total Gas dropped 10% each. ACC ended almost unchanged over the previous day and Ambuja Cements jumped 5.3% after the Adani Group clarified that no shares of either of the companies have been pledged by promoters and they have only provided so-called, non-disposal undertakings.

The shares have been on a freefall after an attack last week by short-seller Hindenburg, accusing the group of stock price manipulation. On Wednesday, a day after the successful closure of the FPO, AEL shares lost 28.2% in market value after reports emerged that global banking major Credit Suisse had stopped accepting Adani Group bonds as collateral. The company announced the decision to withdraw the FPO on Wednesday night.

Further, market participants looking to pledge Adani shares with brokers as collateral for trading are being asked to take a bigger haircut in the value of the loans. A haircut is the worth ascribed to an asset by a lender for calculating the collateral value. These steps are part of brokers' attempts to reduce risks for clients and for themselves.

Exchanges is in the process of putting together the trading activity that has happened in Adani companies over the last few days. They will submit their findings to the regulator. "Any unusual trading will be examined by the stock exchanges," said the person quoted above.

Prices of multiple bonds issued by different companies of the Adani Group fell sharply on Thursday, a day after flagship Adani Enterprises dramatically announced the withdrawal of its follow-on public offer (FPO) worth ₹20,000 crore late Wednesday. The issue got full subscription, although the stock has since plunged nearly 50% below the lowest issue-price threshold.

NSE noted that applicable rate of margin shall be 50 percent or existing margin, whichever is higher, subject to maximum rate of margin capped at 100 percent w.e.f. February 6, 2023 on all open positions as on February 3

The sell-off in Adani group companies intensified, with most stocks hitting the lower circuit. ITC, Britannia Industries, IndusInd Bank, HUL and Infosys were among the biggest gainers on the Nifty

Currently, the rating agency has assigned ratings to 23 infrastructure and financial sector-linked entities of the Adani Group

European shares climbed on Thursday, led by technology and real-estate stocks, with focus squarely on the European Central Bank's interest rate decision a day after the Federal Reserve acknowledged its progress on curbing stubborn price pressures.

We would like to clarify that none of the shares of Ambuja or ACC has been pledged by Promoters. The Promoters have only provided a non-disposal undertaking and accordingly, there is no requirement of providing any top-up of shares of Ambuja and ACC or cash top-up under the acquisition financing raised last year

Since Jan 25, Adani Enterprises share value has more than halved, and Adani Ports has shed more than 39%. Today, Adani Enterprises shares ended 27% lower in the cash market at Rs 1,565.25, and those of Adani Ports settled 7% down at Rs 462.45

Adani said the decision to withdraw the FPO will not have any impact on the group's existing operations and future plans. "We will continue to focus on timely execution and delivery of projects."

The NSE Nifty index closed 5.9 points down at 17610.4

The NSE Nifty index closed 5.9 points down at 17610.4