Voltas, Blue Star shares fall after weather department predicts below normal temperatures in summer season

Shares air conditioner (AC) makers like Blue Star and Voltas were trading lower in an otherwise strong session on Wednesday, April 1, after the meteorological department predicted below normal or normal day time temperatures in the upcoming summer season (April-June).

Shares of Tata Group owned Voltas fell as much as 2.52% to hit an intraday low of ₹1,240.70 on the National Stock Exchange. Blue Star shares dropped as much as 3.22% to hit an intraday low of ₹1,558.80.

Below normal summer temperatures would negatively impact sales of air conditioners going ahead, analysts noted.

Day temperatures this summer (April-June) will likely be below normal, or normal across most parts of India, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its updated forecast on Tuesday. It warned that many parts of the country could also see intense thunderstorms in April. While the milder weather should provide some respite to customers, and also lower power demand in the midst of an energy crisis brought about by the war in West Asia, a wet April could damage standing ready-for-harvest crops, some of which have already been impacted by western disturbances in the second half of March, Hindustan Times reported.

IMD also added that night temperatures will likely be above normal over most parts of the country except some regions of Maharashtra and Telangana where normal to below normal minimum temperatures are likely till June. Below normal day temperatures and high night temperatures are expected mainly due to likely higher rainfall, thunderstorm activity and cloudy nights and days. Cloud cover makes nights warmer by trapping heat radiating from the Earth’s surface. The weather office has predicted above normal rain, at 112% of the long period average, in April; the LPA, based on average rain from 1971-2020 is 39.2 mm, the report added.

As of 12:43 pm, Blue Star shares traded 2.54% lower at ₹1,569 and Voltas was down 1.36% at ₹1,255, underperforming the NIFTY50 index which was up 2.43%.