Indian stocks duck Asia rout, Adani buoyed by strong results

By Ambar Warrick

Investing.com -- India’s benchmark stock indexes ducked a rout in their Asian peers on Wednesday, with support coming from stocks linked to conglomerate Adani Group after the firm’s flagship company logged a large jump in its quarterly earnings.

The BSE Sensex 30 and Nifty 50 indexes rose about 0.1% each. Local stocks were steady while most Asian bourses fell sharply on concerns over a more hawkish Federal Reserve, following stronger-than-expected consumer price index inflation data. 

Adani Enterprises Ltd (NS:ADEL) and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (NS:APSE) were among the best performers on the Nifty 50, rising over 3% each.  

Adani Enterprises swung to a third-quarter profit and logged a 42% jump in its revenue from operations, and said it had made “no material financial adjustments” in the aftermath of a short-seller report that battered its shares. 

The strong report helped ease some concerns over the conglomerate’s stretched financials, which were raised by short-seller Hindenburg Research in January. The report saw the value of Adani’s listed firms tumble by a cumulative $120 billion, although they have since clawed back some lost ground. 

Gains in Adani also spilled over to related bank and industrial stocks, with State Bank Of India (NS:SBI) and several other lenders with exposure to the conglomerate logging gains on Wednesday. 

But losses in heavyweight technology stocks held back broader gains on Indian indexes, with local majors largely tracking a rout in Asian technology stocks. The tech sector was battered by the U.S. inflation reading, which pushed up Treasury yields with the prospect of more interest rate hikes by the central bank. 

Infosys Ltd (NS:INFY) and Wipro Ltd (NS:WIPR) fell about 0.3% each.

Indian consumer stocks also sank as stronger-than-expected Indian inflation data pointed to more pressure on retail spending in the near-term. ITC Ltd (NS:ITC) and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (NS:HLL) were the worst performers on the blue-chip index, down nearly 2% each.