Ambani's RIL wipes off Rs 1.1 lakh crore m-cap in 7 sessions, Adani Group Rs 66,000 crore

NEW DELHI: As Russia and Ukraine have engaged in the war with a possibility of embroiling other Western nations, fortunes of Mukesh Ambani and Adani family have also taken a hit in the last seven sessions.

Indian benchmark indices are set to fall for the seventh consecutive day on Thursday, extending the selling that began on February 15. Rising inflation and war in Europe have been the biggest drags on the market.

Overall, Adani Group stocks, which have been performing well during the year despite market consolidation, have now lost 5.86 per cent or Rs 66,328 crore off their market capitalisations since February 15.

Adani Enterprises suffered the biggest loss, knocking Rs 21,600 crore off their valuations. Adani Total Gas followed with Rs 20,143 crore loss and Adani Ports with Rs 13,241 crore.

At the same time, some of the stocks from Adani’s stable have shown resilience. Adani Green Energy has added Rs 3,810 crore during the same period.

For the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Group stocks, the loss was steeper. They staved off Rs 1,12,131 crore or 6.78 per cent from their market capitalisation in the last seven sessions. Most of the losses came from Rs 1.10 lakh crore drop in Reliance Industries. Network 18 Media & Investments followed with Rs 1,288 crore market cap loss.

In the same time frame, Nifty has fallen 6.36 per cent as well, in-line with the losses of Ambani and Adani stocks. However, the losses for both business families, and the market, could mount further if the crisis in Europe continues.

“Post sanctions, if other nations don’t attack Russia. It is possible, markets will stabilise in the next 3-4 days,” said Deven R Choksey, Managing Director of KRChoksey Shares and Securities. “God forbid if war happens, it could be a trigger point for FIIs to come back and buy in Indian equities as valuations become attractive. In either situation, don’t panic.”




On Thursday, the market reacted to the Russian announcement of a “special military operations” on Ukraine. Nifty and Sensex sank over 3 per cent. All sectoral indices were trading with cuts so was all but one Nifty stock.

The biggest impact was seen in energy prices. Crude oil prices crossed over $104 per barrel while European gas prices surged 31 per cent. Meanwhile, RTS index, which tracks Russian shares, tumbled 50 per cent within two hours of trade.

“Geopolitical events often come up with short-term reactions in the market as the dominant news flow leads to market volatility,” said Naveen Kulkarni, Chief Investment Officer, Axis Securities. “The current Russia-Ukraine crisis would lead to a rise in oil prices, higher than the current levels. High crude prices could delay the cool-off in inflation, which was expected to moderate by the second half of 2022.”

He added that investors should focus on asset allocation and use this volatility to build long-term positions in quality large and mid-cap stocks as they become attractive after the recent correction and provide a good entry point.”