Ashok Leyland shares gain most in six years with 13% jump, extend streak to third day

Shares of Ashok Leyland Ltd. extended their gains for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, rising over 12%. This is the biggest single-day gain that the stock has seen since September 2020.

Earlier this month, the stock had declined after the automaker's March sales data came in below estimates. This came after reporting strong numbers for the past few months, following which the stock had surged to its 52-week high in February, even crossing the ₹200 mark.

Its overall vehicle sales grew by 5% to 25,381 units from 24,060 units in March last year. However, a CNBC-TV18 poll had estimated sales to grow by 15% to 27,750 units.

The company's medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) truck sales increased 11% to 14,470 units, while bus sales declined 24% to 3,048 units from the previous year.

Ashok Leyland's growth in the truck segment was lower than the three-month average of 37%, while the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment growth was also lower than the 25% three-month average. The bus segment decline of 34% was the highest in many months.

The company's total M&HCV sales increased 3% to 17,518 units, while LCV sales rose 12% to 7,863 units in March.

Shares of Ashok Leyland had also declined in line with other Commercial Vehicle players due to the rise in crude oil prices and a sharp surge in diesel futures globally over supply fears.

Ashok Leyland shares are now 25% away from its 52-week high of ₹215.42 apiece. The stock surged 12.7% to hit an intraday high of ₹172.4 apiece on Wednesday. The stock was up 12.6% at ₹172.3 apiece at 11.25 AM.

The stock has declined nearly 7.9% in the past month but has gained 23.6% in the last six months.

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