With trading in Chinese stock markets being suspended for the second time this week, stocks of Indian companies that have a high exposure to the world's second-largest economy got battered on the bourses.
While a plunge in Chinese benchmark indices on Thursday was due to a sharp devaluation in the yuan exchange rate, a decline in the country's manufacturing activity in December weighed on the indices on Monday.
The crash in Chinese equity markets triggered fear among investors and led to a fall in Asian stock markets and currencies. Some analysts see China intentionally devaluing the yuan to boost exports, even though its government has always maintained it as an effort towards making the country's currency dependent on market conditions.
Depreciation in the yuan is expected to have an adverse impact on the prospects of automobile-makers, commodity exports and tyre-manufacturers in India.
Among the domestic automobile companies, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki are estimated to face margin pressures from a slump in Chinese markets. As China is the largest market for Tata Motors' subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), accounting for 20% of its sales, the company is expected to see profits decline due to the ongoing turmoil in the Asia's biggest economy.
Stock prices of Tata Motors ended over 6% lower at Rs 343 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), posting a decline of 12% so far this week.
On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki, though not highly exposed to Chinese market, saw its shares beaten down due to a sharp appreciation in Japanese currency, yen. Maruti shares fell nearly 5% due to concerns over an appreciation in yen hitting its margins. Maruti imports raw materials from Japan and pays royalty to Suzuki in yen. It is estimated that every 1% appreciation in the yen has a 15-bps negative impact on Maruti's margins, moneycontrol reported.
Meanwhile, depreciation in the yuan is a double-edged sword for commodities exporters in India. Tata Steel , Vedanta and Hindalco, which are already facing trouble from a slowdown in the commodity market, will see further pressure from a devaluation in the yuan, as it makes imports cheaper for India. On the other hand, it makes commodity exports to China costlier as they are denominated in US dollars.
While stocks prices of Vedanta closed over 8% down, Tata Steel and Hindalco closed at nearly 7% and 5% lower.
Similar is the case for tyre companies such as JK Tyre , MRF and Ceat. India's steel and tyre companies are already struggling with competition from cheaper Chinese imports, and a devalued yuan is expected to put further pressure on their margins.
Banks such as Bank of Baroda , SBI , PNB and ICICI Bank, having high exposure to the steel industry, are also seen facing heat from the yuan devaluation.
