Vedanta shares plunge nearly 11%; mining major denies arbitral award claim

Shares of Vedanta Ltd fell 10.89 per cent on Friday to close at Rs 682.70. The sharp decline followed a media report claiming that the mining conglomerate had approached the Delhi High Court over an arbitral order. Both BSE and NSE sought clarification from the company on a news report dated January 30, 2026, titled "Vedanta moves HC over 2011 arbitral award declaring Balco shares transfer as void."

In response, Vedanta refuted the report, stating, "We wish to clarify that the news report is incorrect. There is no arbitral award declaring any BALCO share transfer as void. The matter pertains to a long-standing dispute with the Government of India regarding the 'call option' under the Shareholders' Agreement, which has already been disclosed in the Notes to Accounts of our Financial Statements forming part of the Annual Report."

The company further said it had approached the Delhi High Court in the normal course of legal proceedings and that there was no new material development requiring disclosure. "As on date, there is no information or announcement pending to be disclosed by the Company to the stock exchange(s) which may have a bearing on the price or volume behaviour of the scrip," Vedanta added.

On the earnings front, Vedanta posted a strong performance, reporting a 60 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in Q3 net profit to Rs 7,807 crore, compared with Rs 4,876 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations increased 19 per cent to Rs 45,899 crore in Q3 FY25, from Rs 38,742 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

Meanwhile, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOFSL) has retained a 'Neutral' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 810. "The stock currently trades at 7x EV/EBITDA and 4.4x P/BV based on FY27 estimates. We reiterate our Neutral stance with a sum-of-the-parts (SoTP)-based target price of Rs 810," the brokerage said.

From a technical standpoint, some analysts noted that the counter looked 'weak' on charts.

Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Mastertrust, said Vedanta appeared bearish on charts and can slip towards Rs 650, adding that immediate resistance would be at Rs 720.

Jigar S Patel, Senior Manager – Technical Research at Anand Rathi, said immediate support for the stock is seen at Rs 670, while resistance is placed at Rs 720. He noted that a clear move above Rs 720 could push the stock towards Rs 740, with the expected short-term trading range seen between Rs 670 and Rs 740.