Adani Shares Rebound After Group Rebuts Short-Seller Report, Chinese Stocks Head For Bull Market

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly lower on Monday, with shares of Adani Group remaining volatile after the conglomerate rebutted accusations of embezzlement and fraud from short seller firm Hindenburg.
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The Nifty 50 Index in India traded lower by 0.3% after hitting three-month lows last week. This was due to the rout of Adani shares.
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The Shenzhen Component and the Shanghai Composite both rose today, bucking the trend in the wider region. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded 2.37% lower, with property and technology stocks leading the losses.
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In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.2% while the Topix was just below the flatline. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.26% while the Kosdaq also shed 0.38%.
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The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.16%. This was despite positive trade data from New Zealand, which showed an increase in exports.
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Stocks ended the week on a high note last Friday, with gains in Tesla shares and a better-than-expected GDP report on Thursday. All major averages posted positive gains for the week and are on track for a month of gains.
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Adani Enterprises shares rose 10% after seeing sharp losses in the previous sessions, with the company's Chief Financial Officer expressing confidence in its follow-on public offering, which is due to close on January 31.
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The stock is still down more than 20% in the first month of the year. This is a significant drop, and it shows that investors are still cautious about the company's prospects.
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Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone saw modest gains of 9% in India's first hour of trade. However, it remains 23% lower year-to-date.
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Adani Green Energy was very volatile and ended the day 10% lower. Adani Power also lost 5% and Adani Transmission lost 17%.
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India's Nifty 50 Index traded higher on Monday, recovering from last week's rout of Adani shares. The index had hit three-month lows last week, but has since regained some ground.
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It could take a decade for China to catch up on advanced chip tech, as The Netherlands and Japan join the U.S. in enforcing curbs, Daniel Newman, founding partner and principal analyst of Futurum Research, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” Monday. Newman said that the U.S. is currently leading the way in terms of chip technology, but China is quickly catching up. However, he added that it could take up to 10 years for China to reach the same level as the U.S.
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Advanced semiconductor equipment makers have agreed to restrict exports of some chipmaking machinery to China, Bloomberg reported. This will help the United States maintain its technological advantage.
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One of the top suppliers of lithography systems for advanced chip manufacturing is ASML, a Dutch company. ASML's deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems are used by many of the world's leading chipmakers.
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Its CEO Paul Wennink said that China would account for around 15% of sales in 2022.
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According to Newman, ASML's advanced lithography machines are some of the most advanced in the world, and it would probably take another company at least a decade to catch up if they really dedicated themselves to it.
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Adani Group's CFO, Jugeshinder Singh, stated his confidence on Monday that Adani Enterprises' follow-on public offering will reach its full subscription.
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The $2.5 billion secondary share sales were overshadowed by a rout of roughly $48 billion as the conglomerate’s affiliates stock prices plunged for a second consecutive session after short seller firm Hindenburg accused the group of being “engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades.”
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In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Adani Enterprises Chairman Gautam Adani said that the value of the company has not changed simply because of share price volatility.

He added that the company's value lies in its ability to incubate new businesses.
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He said that the Hindenburg's report is "simply a lie," and that its timing was "malicious."
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The Adani Group has published a response to Hindenburg's report, saying that it will take action to protect its stakeholders. The response is over 400 pages long.
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Hindenburg on Monday morning called the group's response to the allegations "bloated" and claimed it ignores every key allegation raised against the conglomerate.
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This week, a batch of economic data will be released in the Asia Pacific as the U.S. Federal Reserve begins its two-day FOMC meeting. The central bank will announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday when the meeting concludes.
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China's National Bureau of Statistics will release its Purchasing Managers' Index on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters expect to see a reading of 49.8, slightly below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
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Japan and South Korea are both scheduled to release data on unemployment and industrial production on the same day. This will give insight into the health of both economies and how they are faring compared to one another.
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On Wednesday, Malaysia will be observing a market holiday, while Indonesia is set to release its latest inflation data.
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Australia's building approvals data and South Korea's inflation reading will be released on Thursday.
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This Friday, Hong Kong will release its latest retail sales data. This data will give us a better idea of how the retail sector is performing in the city.
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According to RBC Capital Markets’ Michael Tran, oil prices could approach $100 per barrel in the second half of the year. This would be a significant increase from the current prices, and could have a major impact on the global economy.
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"China is going to be buying a lot of crude over the next several months," he said.
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Brent crude futures were last traded at $86.85 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose by 0.09% to $79.75 a barrel.
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Investors and OPEC+ will be closely watching to see if the EU's embargo on Russian oil products, which goes into effect this Sunday, causes any major disruptions. The oil cartel is not expected to make any significant changes to their quotas or production guidance at an upcoming meeting, according to Tran's forecast.
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China’s CSI 300 index opened up 2% today, with consumer cyclicals, basic materials, and industrials leading the way, according to Refinitiv data.
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BYD's mainland-listed shares rose by more than 6%, while Lens Technology and Yunnan Energy New Material gained more than 15% and 10%, respectively.
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Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. saw a 5.9% increase, while Kweichow Moutai rose 1.65%.
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The CSI 300, which tracks the largest mainland-listed stocks, is poised to enter a bull market as trade resumes later in the day. This is good news for China, as a bull market indicates that stock prices are on the rise. This means that investors are confident in the Chinese economy and are willing to put their money into it.
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The CSI 300 index rose by 19.18% from its lows in October 31, according to data from Refinitiv. It ended its last trading session at 4,181.53 on January 20.
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A bull market is a market where stocks have increased by at least 20% from their recent lows.
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The ChinaAMC CSI 300 Index ETF has surged 23% from its October lows, tracking the performance of the index.
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The major averages all posted gains for the week on Friday. This was a positive week for the markets overall.
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The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.95% to settle at 11,621.71 during the session, while the S&P 500 gained 0.25% to close at 4,070.56. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 28.67 points, or 0.08%, to finish at 33,978.08.
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The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for January came in stronger than expected, indicating that consumers are feeling more confident about the economy. This is good news for businesses, as consumer spending is a key driver of economic growth.
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January's reading of 64.9 on the economic index was slightly higher than the consensus estimate of 64.6 from economists polled by Dow Jones. The index is used to quantify the view of current and future economic conditions.
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Almost two thirds of the 13 stocks in the S&P 500 that touched 52-week highs in early Friday trading were also trading at all-time highs. This broad list includes stocks from a variety of sectors, not just energy/materials/resources. Caterpillar, which is also in the Dow Industrials, is one of the 13 stocks trading at an all-time high.
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Other notable highs outside the 500 include the following:
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Tesla shares have surged more than 33% this week, putting the electric vehicle stock on pace for its best weekly performance since 2013. This surge is a positive sign for the company, which has been working hard to ramp up production of its new Model 3 sedan.
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If Tesla ends the week at these levels, it would be the stock's second-best weekly performance ever. As of 12:40 p.m. EST, shares were up about 33.8% for the week.
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Tesla shares surged more than 11% Friday following the company's latest earnings report, which showed record revenue and an earnings beat.
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Tesla's stock has rebounded sharply after a steep decline in 2022. The stock suffered its worst month, quarter and year on record, but has since recovered some ground.
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Tesla's gains also boosted the S&P 500's consumer discretionary sector by more than 2%.