Sterlite plunges 8.5% after HC ban on Tuticorin plant

Shares of leading copper producer Sterlite Industries today plunged 8.50 per cent on BSE, after the Madras High Court ordered the company to close its copper smelter plant in Tuticorin.

The stock started the day on a disappointing note and maintained its southward journey throughout the day to emerge as the second biggest loser among the 30-index stocks of BSE.

Sterlite tumbled by 8.50 per cent to close at Rs 161.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. During the trade, it lost 9.06 per cent to hit an intra-day low of Rs 160.50.

"The fall in the stock was mainly driven by the negative news inflow," Ashika Brokers Research Head Paras Bothra said.

Sterlite Industries was ordered by the Madras High Court to close its copper smelter plant in Tuticorin. The court held that the facility should be closed because of its proximity to an ecologically fragile area and has also faulted the company for not developing a green belt around the plant in southern Tamil Nadu.

Witnessing a similar downtrend, the stock tanked 8.85 per cent on the National Stock Exchange and settled at Rs 160.65.

On the volume front, over four crore shares of Sterlite, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta Group, were traded on the two bourses.

Other leading metal companies ended the day on a mixed note on BSE. Jindal Steel was down 0.51 per cent, while Hindalco lost 2.63 per cent. Tata Steel finished up by 0.11 per cent.

The BSE metal index was the worst performer among the 13 sectoral indices and ended the day with a loss