All Adani stocks in red on report of US government widening probe

Shares of all 10 Adani group companies traded lower on March 18 after Bloomberg reported that the US government had widened its investigation of the conglomerate over suspicions of bribery.

The stock of the flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd fell nearly 4 percent in early trade, while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd shed nearly 3 percent.

At 11.03 am, Adani Wilmar Ltd and Adani Power Ltd were down over a percent, while Adani Total Gas Ltd, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, Adani Green Energy Ltd, and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd were trading 2-3 percent lower.

On March 15, sources had reported that the US government was looking into the conduct of founder and Chairman Gautam Adani, and whether Adani entities or affiliates of the company were involved in bribing Indian officials for preferential treatment on energy projects.

The US Attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York and the Department of Justice's fraud unit were handling the investigation. 

Adani said it was not aware of any investigation against the firm or its founder.

The benchmark Nifty was down 0.3 percent at 21,962.40. Of the total Nifty 50 stocks, 30 stocks were trading lower and 20 in the green.