By Hritam Mukherjee
(Reuters) -Indian shares fell for the third straight session on Thursday as motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto’s warning of weak festive period sales rippled through the markets, adding to the pressure of high stock valuations and the exodus of foreign funds.
The Nifty 50 index dropped 0.9% at 24,749.85 points as of 3:30 p.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.6% to 81,006.61.
Twelve out of the 13 major indexes ended lower.
Bajaj Auto slumped nearly 13% in its worst day since March 2020, after it said it expects festive season sales growth of just 3%-5%, well below expectations of at least 8%.
The warning from Bajaj dragged down rivals and also weighed on tyre and battery makers.
Bigger peers Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor fell 3.4% each, while CEAT and Apollo Tyres dipped 2% and 3%, respectively. Exide Industries shed 3% and Amara Raja Energy and Mobility dropped 2%.
Bajaj’s forecast added to worries that inflation-hit buyers are limiting expensive purchases this festive season and has fuelled concerns for other sectors like property where ticket sizes are even bigger, said Rupesh Sankhe, a research analyst at Elara Capital.
Property firms shed 3.8% and was the top sectoral loser by percentage, followed by a 3.5% drop in autos.
Consumer firms declined 1.6%.
Nestle India fell 3.4% after its quarterly profit slid on weak demand and higher costs.
Lacklustre large-cap earnings and diversion of foreign funds to China after announcements of economic stimulus have also hit overall sentiment.
Foreign outflows totalled $8.1 billion so far in October, the highest since March 2020.
The more domestically-focussed small- and mid-caps awere down 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively.
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Savio D’Souza and Sonia Cheema)
