Rs 11,000 cr boon! Not only videshi, but even desi investor bet big in 5 Adani cos March qtr

But this certainly did not mean a goodbye to the group, as retail investors used the correction

to buy into the stocks. Retail investors bought Adani Group stocks worth Rs 11,292 crore in the quarter ended March, according to data shared by PRIME Database.

Retail investors bought shares of Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, and Ambuja Cements.

The US-based short seller made several allegations against the Gautam Adani empire, including stock price manipulations through shell companies, corporate misgovernance, and high leverage.

This saw several group stocks hit multi-month and multi-year lows. In the quarter, shares of Adani group companies net lost 23-76% in the March quarter.

The company later issued several clarifications and even took steps to reduce debt and pledged shares of promoters to ease investor concerns. In March, the group got a lifeline of Rs 15,000 crore from global investment firm GQG Partners, which picked up stakes in 4 Adani Group companies.

This further soothed Dalal Street investors and brought in some stability in the stocks.

From the lows touched in February, most of Adani group shares have rebounded sharply.

Besides Adani Group companies, retail investors also bet their money on Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, and Mahindra & Mahindra among largecap stocks.

They net bought shares worth Rs 4,334 crore in RIL and Rs 1,608 crore in SBI. But their biggest bet during the quarter was on automaker M&M.

Retail investors net bought shares worth a whopping Rs 8,823 crore in M&M in the March quarter.

The share of retail investors (individuals with up to Rs 2 lakh shareholding in a company), increased to an all-time high of 7.48% as of March 31, from 7.23% as of December 31, PRIME Database said.

All the top 10 stocks that retail investors put their money into were laggards in the March quarter.

Shares of RIL net lost more than 8% and M&M shed 7%. SBI shares fell nearly 15% as the banking crisis in the US and Europe had a sentimental impact on the financial sector across the globe.

However, investors used the dip to accumulate stocks from a long-term investment horizon.

“There is a lot of positive news flowing around our economy, while the economic indicators are also reflecting strength. We are definitely seeing more conviction coming from investors. We have also seen good top ups coming in from our investors over the last few months,” said Divam Sharma, smallcase manager and co-founder, Green Portfolio.

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