Jewellery stocks came under pressure after the Centre raised import duties on gold and silver to 15% from 6% (10% basic customs duty + 5% AIDC), aimed at curbing imports and easing pressure on the rupee. In early trade, Kalyan Jewellers slipped 5.8%, Senco Gold fell 3.4%, while Sky Gold & Diamond, P N Gadgil and Thangamayil Jewellery were down 3.6 to 4.5%; Titan eased 1.5%, even as the Nifty50 was only marginally lower.

The market’s read-through is straightforward: the duty hike mechanically pushes landed gold costs higher, keeping domestic prices elevated even if global prices cool. That is a near-term negative for organised jewellers because demand is highly price-elastic at the margin, higher ticket sizes can delay wedding/festive purchases, shift mix toward lighter/low-making designs, and raise the risk of volume softness when consumption is already weak (India’s gold jewellery consumption fell 19% YoY to 66.1 tonnes in Q1CY26, per WGC data). In other words, even if reported revenues hold up due to higher realisations, unit volumes and operating leverage can get hit, and promotions may rise to protect throughput.

The relative winner in this tape is the gold loan financiers, which typically benefit when gold prices rise because collateral values improve, supporting disbursement potential and keeping loan-to-value cushions comfortable.

Reflecting that, Muthoot Finance was up about 4%, Manappuram Finance gained 3.9%, and IIFL Finance surged 7.1% intraday, as the duty-led price uptick is seen as more supportive for secured lending momentum than for discretionary jewellery demand in the near term.