Adani Group shares were off their highs of the day. Still, it continued to rise after the Supreme Court asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to investigate whether the conglomerate violated any securities laws.
The Supreme Court said SEBI would file its report within two months.
Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, welcomed the order, saying on Twitter, “This will bring about the final result within a certain period. The truth will prevail.”
The stocks also saw strong interest in the block trade window, although the group denied reports of a $3 billion credit line from the sovereign wealth fund.
On March 2, about 3.9 million shares, or a 3.5% stake in Adani Enterprises, changed hands. The deal is worth Rs 5,520 crore. Adani Ports, Adani Transmission and Adani Green Energy secured block deals at 4.1%, 2.5% and 3.5%, respectively.
Adani Green and Adani Transmission Shares opened in the green after the block traded and touched the upper 5% in early trade. Adani Enterprises started trading with heavy losses but quickly recovered from its opening low of Rs 1,407.
The stock was quoted at Rs 1,607 a share on the NSE at 12 pm, up 2.7% from the previous close. It touched an intraday high of Rs 1,646 at 10:30 am.
Meanwhile, Adani Ports was quoted at Rs 606.15 on the NSE, up 0.6% from the previous close. It touched an intraday high of Rs 617 and pared some gains after the SC order.
On March 1, the group denied receiving any $3 billion in loans from the Middle East-based sovereign wealth fund, Reuters reported. It told Bloomberg, “This is completely false and untrue.”
On January 24, Hindenburg Research accused the power conglomerate of “stock manipulation” and “accounting fraud.” Since then, the group has lost more than Rs 11 trillion in market value.
Adani Group has been prepaying loans to release pledged shares and conducting investor roadshows to allay concerns about its finances and corporate governance.