Covid-19 outbreak drags aluminium prices by 16%, zinc by 23%, copper by 20%
With the demand likely to remain tepid even after the lockdown is lifted, analysts suggest picking stocks from long-term perspective and focus on firms with low debt levels and a healthy order book
Amid FII sell-off, contribution of financials to the index dips to 37.8%
Among individual stocks, SAIL soared 6.7 per cent to Rs 29.10 on the NSE, followed by gains in Vedanta, Jindal Steel, and Tata Steel.
At the bourses, the Nifty Metal index has cracked 12 per cent year-to-date (YTD), as against a 3 per cent dip in the benchmark Nifty50 index till February 25
The IMF has predicted the epidemic would shave 0.1 percentage points off global growth
Hindustan Copper Limited climbed 4.8 per cent, followed by Vedanta Limited (4.37 per cent), Tata Steel (3.8 per cent), SAIL (3.6 per cent), and Jindal Steel (3.4 per cent)
Last year, Washington had imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium on national security grounds.
The American and Chinese leaders spoke about their desire to sign an initial trade deal to defuse a 16-month tariff war, boosting financial markets.
Investor sentiment perked up after US national security adviser Robert O'Brien on Saturday said an initial trade agreement with China was still possible by the end of the year
Steel companies witnessed a contraction in margins, dragged down by lacklustre demand and lower global commodity prices
Metal stocks gained after China said it will hold trade talks with the United States in early October, raising hopes they can de-escalate their trade war.
Tata Steel, Vedanta and SAIL have seen sharp fall in their stock prices in the recent months.
The Nifty Metal index was the top sectoral gainer on NSE, with 14 constituents trading in the green and 1 in the red.
From an investment perspective, analysts caution against the steep valuation at which some of these stocks are trading at.
JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Jindal Stainless (Hisar), NMDC and Hindalco Industries from the Nifty Metal index were down over 3% on the National Stock Exchange