Indian shares slide on growth fears; Adani group stocks fall

Wednesday,   25-Jan-2023   10:05 AM (IST)

Indian stocks opened lower on Wednesday on weak economic data from the United States that hinted at a possible recession, and downbeat growth outlook from companies. The Nifty 50 index was down 0.39% at 18,047.50 as of 9:25 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.32% to 60,783.21. Most of the major sectoral indexes declined with the high-weightage financials and information technology losing 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. Auto stocks advanced 0.2% on the back of strong third-quarter earnings from Maruti Suzuki, and ahead of the results from Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto, scheduled to be reported later in the day. Thirty-seven of the Nifty 50 constituents declined, with Adani Ports and Adani Enterprises among the top losers. The slide comes after short-seller Hindenburg Research said it holds short positions in the Adani Group companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments, and flagged risks to the financials of key companies. Overnight, the S&P Global's Flash Composite Output index in the U.S. rose to 46.6 in December, official data showed. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in business activity, signalling the possibility of a near-term recession in the world's largest economy. Wall Street equities ended mostly lower with S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite logging losses.