Shares of Maruti Suzuki fell by nearly 3 per cent in the morning trade on the BSE today amid concerns that the powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last week may hurt its imports from the country.

After opening the session on a weak note, the scrip went down by 2.74 per cent to an early low of Rs 1,218.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It emerged as the worst performer among the 30-Sensex stocks in the early trade.

In a similar fashion, the scrip shed 2.62 per cent to a low of Rs 1,218.05.

“The fall in the stock was due to worries that... last week’s earthquake would hurt the car maker’s margins this year, which can also see a fall in imports,” an expert said.

Weakness was also seen on the counters of other auto companies. Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Hero Honda were reeling under pressure. Bajaj Auto slipped by 1.25 per cent, while Tata Motors 0.92 per cent and Hero Honda 0.33 per cent.

Led by a decline in these stocks, the BSE Auto index suffered a loss of 60.4 points or 0.69 per cent to 8,707.13 in the early trade.