Metal shares shine, index surges 2%

Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Sesa Goa and Hindalco Industries are trading higher by more than 2% each on the BSE.

Shares of metal companies are trading higher by up to 3% on reports of higher demand from China, the world's largest consumer of copper and aluminum.

Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Sesa Goa and Hindalco Industries are trading higher by more than 2% each, while JSW Steel, SAIL and Jindal Steel and Power are up 1-2% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The BSE metal index, the largest gainer among the sectoral indices, is up nearly 2% or 158 points compared to 0.3% or 52 points rise in benchmark Sensex at 10:32 hours.

The preliminary results from a factory survey showed that China's vast manufacturing sector saw expansion accelerate in November for the first time in 13 months.

 

”There could be a short-term rally on likely improvement in China data, but are cautious on the sector from a 12-18 month perspective,” Religare Institutional Research said in its recent report.

The research firm expects the current global steel price recovery to sustain in the short term, led by improving Chinese data and currency support for domestic prices.