More pain may be left for auto stocks after $42 billion loss
Live MintIndia’s auto stocks have lost $42 billion in value in the last 16 months, and some analysts say the rout may not be over. A gauge of automobile companies has fallen 30 percent since reaching a record in December 2017, and is the worst-performer among 19 sector indexes in the nation’s equity market this year. A slowdown in consumption amid a cash crunch in the banking system has left carmakers with a pile of unsold vehicles in what was one of the world’s fastest-growing auto market until last year. “Most companies in the sector have further earnings risks due to weaker-than-expected demand.” Passenger vehicle growth in the financial year ended March was the slowest since 2014, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Only two of the 16 companies on the S&P BSE Auto Index have held their heads above water this year: Tata Motors Ltd., the maker of Jaguar Land Rover, rebounded last month after declining to its lowest level since 2011 in February.