Vedanta shares slide amid large deals, snap three-day winning run

Vedanta shares succumbed to selling pressure despite a broad-based rally on Dalal Street on Friday — the last day of the financial year, amid a string of large deals in the stock of the mining major. Vedanta shares finished the day weaker by Rs 7.1 — or 2.5 per cent — at Rs 274.7 apiece on BSE, having recovered only a fraction of its intraday losses.

During the session, the Vedanta stock dropped by as much as Rs 8.8 — or 3.1 per cent — to hit the level of Rs 273 apiece on the downside. 

The stock halted a winning streak that lasted three back-to-back trading sessions, a period in which it grew 4.5 per cent in value.

A total of 3.8 crore Vedanta shares changed hands on the bourse on Friday, as against a daily average of 7.6 lakh recorded in the past two weeks, according to provisional exchange data. 

As many as 5.2 crore Vedanta shares — equivalent to 1.4 per cent of the company's total equity — changed hands, according to Zee Business research.

Earlier in the day, Citi maintained a ‘neutral’ rating on Vedanta but reduced its target price for the metal stock by Rs 70 — or 20.9 per cent — to Rs 265 apiece.

Vedanta dividend

This week, Vedanta's board announced a dividend of Rs 20.5 per equity share of face value of Re 1, making it a dividend payout of 2,050 per cent. The dividend amounted to Rs 7,621 crore, according to a company statement. 

ALSO READ: Seven companies that have rewarded investors hefty dividends recently

The board had earlier fixed April 7 as the record date for any such dividend. 

Vedanta share price: Historical performance

Vedanta shares have lost about 13 per cent of their value so far in 2023, sharply underperforming the overall market given the Nifty 50 headline index's decline of 4.6 per cent. 

Catch highlights of the March 31 session in the Indian share market here. For all other news related to business, politics, tech, sports and auto, visit Zeebiz.com.