Shares of Maruti Suzuki fell by nearly 3% in 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 trade on a weak note, the stock went down by 2.74% to an early low of Rs 1,218.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The stock emerged as the worst performer among the 30-Sensex stocks in early trade.
In a similar fashion, the stock took a beating on the National Stock Exchange, where it shed 2.62% 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%, while Tata Motors fell by 0.92% and Hero Honda by 0.33%.
Led by a decline in these stocks, the BSE Auto index suffered a loss of 60.40 points, or 0.69%, to 8,707.13 in early trade.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex was quoting at 18,234.78, up by 60.69 points at 1032 hours.
