Sensex Opens 500 Points Higher As Adani Stocks Advance

Indices opened higher today after U.S. investment firm GQG Partners’ almost-$2 billion investment in Adani stocks helped lift sentiment and turned foreign investors into buyers after a six-session hiatus.

The Nifty 50 index rose 0.76% to 17,454.40, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.74% to 59,343.50 as of 9:44 a.m. IST.

Twelve of the 13 major sectoral indexes advanced with high weightage financials and information technology adding 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.

Metal index advanced 2%, aided by a 10% jump in Adani Enterprises. The flagship Adani firm has over 10% weightage in the metal index.

All the Adani stocks surged after U.S. boutique investment firm GQG Partners Inc bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four of the group companies, the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller’s critical report sparked a stock rout.

Two analysts said the investments will help investor sentiment in the Adani Group in the short term.

Broader Asian markets were also up on Friday, following a higher overnight close in Wall Street equities after Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he favoured a “slow and steady” quarter-point U.S. rate hike in the upcoming policy meeting.

The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.65%.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought a net 127.71 billion rupees worth of Indian equities on Thursday, aided by investment in Adani group companies.

Among individual stocks, MOIL rose over 2% after reporting a 10% jump in the production of manganese ore in February.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)