Hindenburg effect! Adani stocks rise up to 9% as U.S.-based short-seller announces shut down

The shares of all Adani group companies extended rally for the third straight session on Thursday, rising between 3-9% in intraday trade, pushing the cumulative market capitalisation of the group entities above ₹14 lakh crore. The sentiment was lifted after the U.S.-based short seller Hindenburg Research, which had previously published adverse report against billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate, announced that it would be shutting down.

In a social media post on “X,” Hindenburg Research founder Nate Anderson declared his intention to disband the business, without citing any major specific reason.

The U.S.-based short-seller had published a comprehensive report against Adani group companies in January 2023, which resulted in the conglomerate losing billions of dollars and Gautam Adani, the group's promoter, witnessing a sudden reduction in his net worth. It also released a follow-up report in 2024, alleging nexus between Adani and Securities and Exchange Bureau of India (SEBI) chief Madhabi Buch, which was strongly denied by both Adani and Buch.

Extending gains for the third straight session, all 11 listed Adani group stocks opened higher, with flagship Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, NDTV, and Adani Total Gas emerging as top gainers among peer companies.

NDTV shares top the chart with 10% gain, followed by Adani Green Energy, which rallied nearly 9% after it released business update for the December quarter. The green energy company reported a 37% YoY growth in operational capacity in Q3 FY25, touching 11,609 MW. The company expanded with greenfield additions of 2,693 MW in solar and 438 MW in wind power plants across Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Adani Enterprises shares surged up to 7.7%, while Adani Total Gas, a joint venture between France’s TotalEnergies and Adani group, climbed 7% in intraday trade.

Among others, Adani Energy Solutions surged 6.6%, while Ambuja Cement and ACC shares increased up to 4.5%. Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Power, Sanghi Industries, rose in the range 1-3%.

Meanwhile, Adani Wilmar was the least gainer, rising up to 0.5%, as it remained under stress after Adani Group announced to sell its entire 44% stake in the edible oil maker. The stock has lost over 11% in market value since December 31, 2024, after Singapore-based Wilmar International proposed to buy 31.06% stake owned by the Adani Group in Adani Wilmar, an equal joint venture between the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate and Wilmar. It has been agreed between the parties that Adani Enterprises will divest 13% of shares in Adani Wilmar to achieve compliance with minimum public shareholding requirements.

The move is being seen as part of the ports-to-power conglomerate’s strategy to focus on core business and repay debts. The company intends to use funds to turbocharge its investments in the core infrastructure platforms in energy & utility, transport & logistics and other adjacencies in primary industry.

Hindenburg's impact on Adani group

In January 2023, Hindenburg Research published an adverse report against Adani group companies, alleging that the group had participated in decades of “accounting fraud schemes” and “stock manipulation” worth about ₹18 lakh crore ($218 billion), which was refuted by the conglomerate. In a follow-up report in 2024, the short seller accused the SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband of having held “stakes in both the obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.”

The allegations wiped off over $135 billion in market value of the conglomerate. The market capitalisation of Adani Group dropped from its peak of over ₹19 lakh crore in January 2023 to around ₹9 lakh in the next two months by mid-March 2023. Even flagship Adani Enterprises had to call off the ₹20,000-crore follow-on public offering (FPO), the biggest in India's history.

Despite the Hindenburg setback, Gautam Adani-led group showed resilience to get back on the growth track. Investors showed faith in the group companies and as a result, the valuation of Adani Group companies rounded to over ₹14 lakh crore.

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