India's Tata shares extend losses after Chandrasekaran resigns

Chandrasekaran said on Wednesday he would not seek reappointment when his term ends in February due to a lack of backing from the board, following months of tensions with Tata Trusts, the charity arm that owns 66% of Tata Sons.

Tata Group shares, which were already trading lower on reports about Chandrasekaran's possible departure, fell more.

"It's a knee-jerk reaction as Chandra has been at the helm for a long time, however, once the new chairperson is announced, it would be back to business as usual," said Ambareesh Baliga, a Mumbai-based market analyst.

"We have witnessed such uncertain periods for Tata Group, when Ratan Tata had taken over in early 1990s and more recently during the Cyrus Mistry imbroglio, but it has always managed to steer through. So this time it shouldn't be any different."

Tata Sons controls more than 30 companies in the conglomerate, including TCS, Tata Motors and Air India.

Over the past year, the conglomerate has had to grapple with regulatory scrutiny of Air India following a fatal crash, pricing pressure at TCS and a cyberattack at JLR that disrupted production and weighed on Britain's economic output.

Chandrasekaran and Tata Trusts have disagreed over a potential listing of Tata Sons, losses at Air India, the planned exit of a minority shareholder and board representation.

A source with direct knowledge of Chandrasekaran's decision told Reuters the disagreements were the sole reason for his resignation.

So far in 2026, TCS shares have dropped 26.55%, Tata Motors is down 8.5% while Tata Steel has gained 2.6%. Titan shares are 23.7% higher this year.