The Hindu Business Line : Auto shares plunge after Budget announcements

MUMBAI: An excise duty cut on big cars failed to enthuse the shares of auto firms as the scrips plunged in sync with the broader market, which nosedived on concerns of widening of fiscal deficit.

Shares of leading auto firms, including Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra & Mahindra, fell into the negative zone on the stock exchanges after Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee presented his Budget speech.

The shares of Maruti Suzuki dropped as much as six per cent to an intra-day low of Rs 991.50 on the National Stock Exchange, but was later trading at Rs 1,027, down three per cent in the late afternoon trade.

Marketmen said that the auto stocks were trading in the negative territory as the Budget proved to be a disappointment and on concerns of widening of fiscal deficit, even as the Finance Minister proposed a reduction in excise duty for large cars and truc ks.

The BSE Auto index was trading down 2.41 per cent at 4,501.74. The BSE Sensex was trading down 5.01 per cent at 14,165.36 points in the late afternoon trade, while the NSE Nifty index was also trading down five per cent at 4,202.25.

The Finance Minister in his Budget presentation today reduced additional excise duty on those with engine capacities of 2,000cc and above by Rs 5,000 per unit. It also cut the duty of petrol-driven trucks to eight per cent from 20 per cent at present. - PTI

Prev: Infra stocks plunge on Budget announcements
Next: Rupee rules steady against dollar

Business Line | NUS Index |

Copyright copy; 2009, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line