** Shares of Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto BAJA.NS
fall 10% to 10,401 rupees; set for their worst day since March
2020, if losses hold
** Fall after BAJA's weak festive sales growth outlook at
just 3%-5% against industry expectations of at least 8%
** BAJA top pct loser on Nifty auto index .NIFTYAUTO and
Nifty 50 index .NSEI , which are down 2.8% and 0.5%,
respectively
** Forecast drags rivals Hero MotoCorp HROM.NS and TVS
Motor TVSM.NS down 3.7% and 4.7%, respectively
** Nifty auto index set for worst day since early Aug
** Tyre-makers CEAT CEAT.NS , MRF MRF.NS and Apollo Tyres
APLO.NS fall between 0.4% and 2%.
** Battery makers Exide Industries EXID.NS and Amara Raja
Energy & Mobility AMAR.NS fall ~2% each
** Auto-focussed lender Shriram Finance SHMF.NS falls 1.6%
(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru)
((dimpal.gulwani@thomsonreuters.com))