Day After Budget, Stock Indices Open Lower As Financials, Adani Stocks Weigh

Indian shares opened lower on Thursday, dragged by financials on a budgetary proposal to limit tax exemptions for insurance proceeds, while Adani Group shares extended their slide.

The Nifty 50 index fell 0.47% to 17,531.45, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.31% to 59,550.50, as of 09:24 a.m. IST.

Thirty-six of the Nifty 50 constituents fell. Adani group stocks extended their slide after the group decided to call off the $2.5 billion follow-on public offering, which was fully subscribed.

India’s market regulator is said to be examining the crash in the Adani group company shares and looking into possible irregularities in Adani Enterprises’ secondary share sale.

Both Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports shed 10% and were the top losers on Nifty 50, followed by HDFC Life.

High weightage financials tumbled nearly 2%, after the Indian government proposed a tax on the total returns upon maturity of life insurance policies issued on or after April 1, 2023, if the aggregate premium is more than 500,000 rupees a year.

Wall Street equities advanced overnight after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rate by an expected 25 basis points and said it had turned a key corner in the fight against high inflation.

Asian markets advanced, with the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 0.79%.