News Wrap | Nifty Hits A 3-Week High; Adani Stocks Surge On Clarification; Gig Boost For Ola Electric

Let’s start with Asian markets, where investors assessed the impact of a 10 per cent drop in China’s industrial profits in October compared to a year ago. Despite this disappointing data, China’s CSI 300 gained almost two per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by nearly two-and-a-half per cent. On the other hand, Japan’s Nikkei slipped by around one per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi was down by seven-tenths of a per cent.

While it was a mixed session across the rest of Asia, it turned out to be a day of gains for Indian equities. The Sensex added 230 points to close above 80,200, and the Nifty rose by a third of a per cent to around 24,300. With this, the Nifty has now surged to a three-week high. Of the fifty constituents of the Nifty, twenty-five advanced in Wednesday’s session, while an equal number declined. The broader markets continued to outperform the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap Index up by over half a per cent.

Shifting focus to stock-specific action, Adani Group stocks were in the spotlight once again, but this time for driving the market higher. Adani Enterprises was the star of the day among Nifty stocks, gaining a whopping twelve per cent. The flagship share of the Adani Group was followed by Adani Ports, which also rose by six per cent. Other group stocks, such as Adani Power and Adani Green Energy, hit their respective upper circuits. This surge in Adani stocks was driven by the group’s clarification that its chairman, Gautam Adani, and his nephew, Sagar Adani, have not been charged with any violations of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the alleged bribery case indictment.

More stock-specific action—shares of Ola Electric hit the upper circuit limit of twenty per cent in Wednesday’s trade to close at 88 rupees apiece. The EV maker had surged in Tuesday’s trade as well after launching new electric scooters aimed at gig economy workers. Starting at 39,999 rupees, the models under the Ola Gig range will compete directly with offerings from players like Yulu. The Ola Electric shares also received a boost from global brokerage firm Citi. The brokerage house initiated a Buy call on the stock with a target price of 90 rupees per share, stating that it prefers Ola Electric over Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors.

The big headline from the political space—Maharashtra’s Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has stated that his party will support whoever is chosen by the BJP to lead the Mahayuti government in the state. Shinde refuted rumours that he was upset due to the BJP’s plan to have its own leader as the next Chief Minister of the state. The Shiv Sena chief mentioned that he has assured PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah that there is no obstruction from his party in forming the government in Maharashtra. Shinde also thanked the duo for their support over the last two years.