Titan Company, Sky Gold, other shares fall up to 6% on PM Modi’s second appeal to avoid gold
Jewellery stocks fell after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to avoid non-essential gold purchases. The appeal, aimed at conserving foreign exchange, follows a similar call made by Modi in May to avoid gold purchases for weddings for a year.
Shares of jewellery companies, including Titan Company, Sky Gold, and Kalyan Jewellers, experienced significant declines of up to 6% on Tuesday following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal on social media to avoid gold purchases unless necessary. Titan Company shares dropped 2% to Rs 5,015, while Kalyan Jewellers experienced a 6% decrease to Rs 578 per share. Thangamayil Jewellery shares fell 2% to Rs 5,322 on the BSE, and Sky Gold declined 6.3% to Rs 756 per share.
This is the second appeal by the Prime Minister to citizens in a short period, following one in May where he urged people to refrain from buying gold for weddings for the next year. The request was part of a broader effort to conserve fuel and foreign exchange reserves, along with advocating for remote work practices and reducing non-essential travel.
India is the world's second-largest consumer of gold, importing an average of 60 tonnes monthly during FY26, leading to a monthly import bill of nearly $6 billion. The Prime Minister's remarks hold particular significance for Indian households, as gold represents tradition, security, weddings, savings, and generational wealth.
The market reaction to the PM's appeal was swift and substantial, with shares of jewellery companies plummeting as much as 9% on Monday in a knee-jerk selloff. However, experts like Jefferies Global Head of Equity Strategy Christopher Wood and billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson view the pullback as a potential opportunity for investors to gradually accumulate gold. Both believe that gold could be at the beginning of a long-term bull run, as people lose confidence in paper currencies.
Paulson argues that fiscal and monetary stimulus following the financial crisis will weaken the US dollar, leading to gold's rise. He also highlights the growing demand from central banks and the private sector, suggesting that gold is becoming an increasingly attractive reserve currency, potentially replacing fiat currencies.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Top News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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