Auto stocks fall on Trump tariff Tata Motors tanks over 5.50 pc Sona BLW Samvardhana slump

     New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) Auto stocks declined on Thursday, with Tata Motors tumbling over 5.50 per cent, after the US President Donald Trump announced imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on auto imports from April.
     Shares of Tata Motors tanked 5.56 per cent to settle at Rs 668.60 on the BSE. Intra-day, it slumped 6.58 per cent to Rs 661.35.
     The stock of Ashok Leyland dropped 2.77 per cent, Eicher Motors declined 0.97 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra dipped 0.35 per cent and Apollo Tyres skidded 0.24 per cent.
     The BSE auto index ended 0.99 per cent lower at 48,220.85.
     Among auto components and equipment firms, Sona BLW Precision Forgings tanked 5.89 per cent, Samvardhana Motherson International declined 2.22 per cent, Bharat Forge dipped 2.30 per cent, ASK Automotive Ltd went lower by 1.83 per cent, Craftsman Automation Ltd (1.54 per cent) and Ramkrishna Forgings (0.40 per cent).
     In intra-day trade, Samvardhana Motherson slumped 7.59 per cent, Sona BLW plunged 6.92 per cent, Bharat Forge dropped 4.28 per cent, Craftsman Automation (2.68 per cent), ASK Automotive (2.46 per cent) and Ramkrishna Forgings (2 per cent).
     "Trump's latest decision to impose a 25 per cent duty on all car imports to the US will impact Tata Motors which exports a significant chunk of JLR cars to the US," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
     Trump on Wednesday announced imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on auto imports from April with another 25 per cent tariffs expected to be applied on imports of major automotive parts -- engines and engine parts, transmissions and powertrain parts, and electrical components by May.
     "Markets had a weak opening in the morning following overnight losses in the US after Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting next week. However, markets quickly brushed off the impact and steadily climbed higher throughout the day helped by rising domestic optimism that worst is behind with continued bargain hunting and any expectations that impact on likely reciprocal tariffs is manageable," Satish Chandra Aluri, Analyst, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.
     The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 317.93 points or 0.41 per cent to settle at 77,606.43. The NSE Nifty rallied 105.10 points or 0.45 per cent to 23,591.95.
     "Nifty held onto its recovery gains amidst fluctuating sentiments influenced by tariff concerns and renewed optimism among foreign institutional investors.
     "Leading the charge were HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj twins, Reliance Industries, and Larsen & Toubro, outweighing losses in the auto sector due to President Trump's latest tariff threats," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)