Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel shares fall after Nigeria devalues currency

Bajaj Auto shares fell nearly 2 per cent on the bourses after Nigeria's central bank devalued the naira by 8 per cent and raised interest rates sharply on Tuesday.

Analysts say nearly 12 per cent of Bajaj Auto's revenues come from Nigeria.

Shares of the Rajiv Bajaj-led company were trading 1.67 per cent lower at Rs 2,596.80 on the Bombay Stock Exchange in noon trade. At the same time, shares of Bajaj Auto were trading 1.66 per cent lower at Rs 2,600 on the National Stock Exchange.

Global financial services major UBS has downgraded the stock to "sell" from "neutral", saying the falling emerging market currencies would impact margins for the company.

Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel too saw its shares fall over 1 per cent during noon trade.

The Sunil Bharti Mittal-led company entered Africa in 2010 by acquiring loss-making telecom operations for $9 billion, funded by debt. Nigeria is the company's biggest market in Africa.

Shares of Bharti Airtel were trading 1.76 per cent lower at Rs 396.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange and 1.88 per cent lower at Rs 396 on the National Stock Exchange in noon trade.