India's lagging automobile stocks face risk of festival season fizzle

Investors counting on India’s upcoming festival season to help revive the fortunes of the nation’s automobile stocks could be in for a disappointment.
 

Below-normal monsoon rains that have impacted rural demand and the risk of an impending third coronavirus wave are posing a challenge for Indian vehicle makers. That’s in addition to the problems of rising input costs and a semiconductor shortage the global auto industry is faced with.

A gauge of Indian automobile shares has lost 2.5% so far this quarter, the only loser among the BSE Ltd.’s 19 sector groups. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex has rallied 12%