Shares of Vedanta Ltd fell nearly 7 per cent on Wednesday after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the rating of its parent firm Vedanta Resources Ltd.

The stock plunged 6.74 per cent to settle at Rs 208.95 on the BSE. During the day, it declined 7.16 per cent to hit its 52-week low of Rs 208.

At the NSE, it fell 6.69 per cent to settle at Rs 209.

In traded volume terms, 44.86 lakh shares of the company were traded at the BSE and over 3.55 crore shares at the NSE during the day.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the rating of Vedanta Resources Ltd (VRL) because of the elevated risk of debt restructuring over the next few months, as the firm has not made progress on refinancing its upcoming debt maturities.

Moody's said it has downgraded the corporate family rating of VRL to Caa2 from Caa1.

At the same time, Moody's has maintained a negative outlook.

"The downgrade reflects the elevated risk of debt restructuring over the next few months because VRL has not made any meaningful progress on refinancing its upcoming debt maturities, in particular the USD 1 billion bonds maturing each in January 2024 and August 2024," Kaustubh Chaubal, Moody's Senior Vice President and lead analyst on VRL, said.

VRL's credit quality is constrained by its weak liquidity because of large refinancing needs and interest expenses amid tightening financing conditions in global capital markets, the agency noted.

"The company continues to face challenges in refinancing its debt, a reflection of reduced appetite from the lending community, and a key credit concern," the rating agency said.

In August 2023, VRL sold a 4.3 per cent stake in key subsidiary Vedanta Ltd for around USD 500 million to stave off some of the pressure arising from the holding company's imminent cash needs.

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