Market News Wrap: Adani Group stocks continue to sulk; SENSEX, NIFTY settle in the red

At close, the benchmark S&P BSE SENSEX stood at 80,004.06, down 106 points, or 0.13%, while the NSE's NIFTY50 index settled at 24,194.50, down 27 points, or 0.11%. 

Top gainers and losers on NIFTY50

More pain for Adani Group stocks

Ratings agency Moody's said on Tuesday that it had cut the outlook on the ratings of seven Adani entities to 'negative' from 'stable,' citing the US indictment of Chairman Gautam Adani and others on alleged bribery charges, which could likely weaken the group's access to funding and increase its capital costs.

Moody's also affirmed the ratings on all seven entities, which include Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited and two limited restricted groups of Adani Green Energy.

Earlier, Fitch put some of Adani Group's bonds on watch for a possible downgrade after some of the firm's key executives were indicted by US authorities on bribery charges.

Telecom stocks buzz

Telecom stocks witnessed a stellar rally amid news reports that the Union Cabinet has approved the waiving of bank guarantees for telecom operators on spectrum purchased before 2022.

The move has come as a relief to Vodafone Idea (Vi), which owes the government over ₹24,700 crore on bank guarantees (BG).

Market Statistics

The market breadth was in favour of bulls, as out of 4,031 scrips traded on the BSE, 2,277 advanced and 1,644 declined, while 110 stocks remained unchanged. 

As many as 215 stocks hit their 52-week highs on the BSE while 53 hit their 52-week lows. 

Broader Market

The BSE MidCap index was trading at 45,800.47, up 47 points, or 0.10%, while the BSE SmallCap index ended at 53,923.24, up 334 points, or 0.62%.

Sector Watch

Utilities stocks were the biggest losers on the BSE, while IT stocks were the top gainers. 

The BSE Utilities index ended 1.77% lower at 5,499.41, while the BSE Information Technology index settled at 43,611.48, up 1.11%.