D-Street Alert: Jewellery Stocks Plunge as Govt Hikes Gold, Silver Import Duty to 15%

Indian jewellery stocks faced a brutal sell-off on Wednesday after the government hiked import duties on precious metals to 15%. The move, aimed at protecting foreign exchange reserves amid the West Asia crisis, sent shares of Titan, Kalyan Jewellers, and Senco Gold tumbling by as much as 7%. While the Nifty 50 held near 23,400, the jewellery sector became the day's primary laggard as investors feared a sharp drop in consumer demand.