Gems and jewellery shares fall after govt keeps import duty unchanged

PC Jeweller, TBZ, Gitanjali Gems, Titan Company, Shree Ganesh Jewellery House and Tara Jewels are down 1-3% on the NSE.

Gems and jewellery stocks are trading lower by up to 3% in otherwise firm market after the federal government kept gold import duty unchanged at a record 10% in the budget.

P C Jeweller, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ), Gitanjali Gems, Titan Company, Shree Ganesh Jewellery House and Tara Jewels are down 1-3% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) compared to 1.76% rise in the benchmark CNX Nifty at 1410 hours.

Industry officials were expecting a reduction in import duty to arrest a rise in smuggling of the precious metal since last year, the Reuters report suggests.

Among the individual stocks, PC Jeweller has dipped 3.4% to Rs 125, while Gitanjali Gems and TBZ are down 3% each to Rs 84 and Rs 181 respectively.