Metal scrips tank post SC order; Usha Martin, JSPL top losers

Metal stocks, led by Usha Martin and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, today tumbled as much as 10 per cent after the Supreme Court quashed allocation of 214 out of 218 coal blocks which were alloted to various firms since 1993.
Following this, shares of Usha Martin declined 10.03 per cent to Rs 30.05, while JSPL tumbled 9.99 per cent to Rs 189.70 on the BSE.
Among others, shares of Prakash Industries tanked 8.20 per cent, Monnet Ispat & Energy plunged 6.58 per cent, Bhushan Steel (4.96 per cent), Tata Steel (2.63 per cent), Sarda Energy & Minerals (1.63 per cent), Hindalco Industries (0.48 per cent) and NMDC (0.21 per cent).

The BSE metal index fell by 0.02 per cent to settle at 11,717.49.
"As the Supreme Court in another verdict once again declared allocation of most of the coal blocks as illegal, high volatility was seen in the index (Sensex)," said Nidhi Saraswat, Senior Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio.
In a major blow to the corporate sector, the Supreme Court today quashed allocation of 214 out of 218 coal blocks which were alloted to various companies since 1993 and in which it was claimed that around Rs 2 lakh crores were invested.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha, saved only four blocks--one belonging to NTPC and SAIL each and two allocated to Ultra Mega Power Projects--from being cancelled.

The bench, also comprising justices Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, granted six months breathing time to mining companies to wind up their operations in the coal blocks.
The apex court had on August 25 held that all coal blocks allocation since 1993 by various regimes at the Centre have been made illegally and arbitrarily.
Meanwhile, shares of Reliance Power climbed 5.34 per cent and NTPC rose by 0.91 per cent on the BSE.
In the broader market, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended 31 points lower at 26,744.69.