Bad turned worse on Wednesday for the already-weak stocks of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group when they plunged further on rumours about the company's alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam.
ADAG stocks fell between 8.9 per cent and 18.8 per cent. Since January 1 they have fallen by 26.13 to 43.72 per cent.
The company called the rumours “completely baseless and motivated” and that they had been spread by “our unscrupulous corporate rivals”.
The stocks saw a sudden drop post 2 p.m.. The highest fall was in the case of Reliance Infrastructure, which lost 18.8 per cent to end the day at Rs 534.70. Next came Reliance Mediaworks, which fell 16.11 per cent.
Reliance Communications, hit a new 52-week low of Rs 90.80, closing down by 14.32 per cent. Reliance Capital, Reliance Broadcast Network and Reliance Power fell by 14.05 per cent, 9.83 per cent and 8.93 per cent, respectively.
‘Nervous mood'
“The markets are in a nervous mood right now. Any bad news can trigger a panic sell-off which is what we are seeing in this case. But it is too early to comment on this issue,” said Mr Jagannadham Thunuguntla, Head of Research, SMC Capital.
Analysts also believe that margin calls could also have been triggered. “It is a possibility as many counters have seen a decline of 10-20 per cent, or in some cases even up to 25 per cent in their trades,” said an analyst.
A margin call is a demand made by a broker from the investor when one or more of the securities bought by the investor falls below a certain point. In such a case, the investor has to either deposit more money or sell some shares.