Market in the red; Sensex down nearly 300 pts after Hindenburg report on Sebi chief

Indian equities started Monday's session on a subdued note amid the latest Adani-Hindenburg row. At the open, Nifty began to trade on a weak note with a drag of 0.29 per cent or 71.65 at 24,295.85, while the Sensex was down 284.6  or 0.36% at 79,421.31.

Meanwhile, the broader markets outperformed the headline indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 down just 0.14 per cent. Furthermore, the Bank Nifty index also traded in the red, with a cut of 0.42 per cent or 210 points.

Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "Global as well as domestic factors are likely to influence the market this week. Globally stock markets will be keenly watching the US consumer data and the core CPI numbers which will indicate the strength/ weakness of the US economy. Stability in the yen indicates that the fears surrounding the yen carry trade are behind us. Therefore, the likely trends in the US macros and the Fed rate cut expectations are likely to influence markets much more than any other factors."

Domestically, there is the Hindenburg report and its likely fallout. It appears that this “revelation” is unlikely to impact the market meaningfully. The buy-on-dips strategy which has been working well in this bull run is likely to work again, he added.

Sectorally, all the sectors barring Consumer Durables and Realty traded in the red, with the most cut seen in the PSU Banking pack, followed by metal and auto packs.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities said, “In Friday’s trade, Nifty staged a strong recovery following recent losses, marking a significant rebound. Despite the improved market sentiment, investors remain cautious about potential disruptions, especially with the looming Hindenburg Research report from the US. Friday's bullish trading suggests opportunities for long-term positions, particularly on any dips. 

Looking ahead, the week promises volatility, driven by key events like the US CPI and retail sales reports, he added.

Describing the turn of events so far as a "serious matter for the market", Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi said that "market participants will be closely tracking headlines on the matter as transparency is very important for the market". 

The US-based short seller Hindenburg Research alleged Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch's connections with the alleged money siphoning, fraud, and financial irregularities by the Adani group, the husband-wife duo denied the charges, describing them as "baseless" and "devoid of any truth", and vowing to disclose "any and all financial documents to any and every authority that may seek them", including those that "relate to the period when we were strictly private citizens".