Tata Steel vs JSW Steel vs SAIL: As Metal Stocks Surge On Safeguard Duty Update, Which Stock Should You Buy?

Metal Stocks: Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), and several other metal stocks sparked investors' interest, a day after the central government announced a 12% provisional safeguard duty on multiple steel product categories. The news is likely to benefit most metal sector companies, which are looking for decent Q4 earnings in the coming weeks.

Nifty Metal surged and ended Tuesday's trading session after gaining over 0.18%. The NSE index had touched an intraday high of 8,783,4 points. JSW Steel share price jumped over 1.05% and ended the session at Rs 1,044.90 per share on NSE. However, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Tata Steel shares ended Tuesday's trading session nominally lower at Rs 115.82 per share and Rs 137.97 per share on NSE.

Government Announces 12% Safeguard Duty on Steel

Indian government on Monday brought a 12% provisional safeguard duty for 200 days on five steel product categories amid a surge in steel imports. The move, reportedly came, as an attempt to shield India's domestic steel industry from a deluge of cheap shipments, mainly from China.

The safeguard duty has been imposed on five steel product categories, ie hot rolled coils, sheets and plates, to protect domestic players from rising steel imports, reported news agency PTI on Monday.

The decision follows a recommendation for the same by the Commerce Ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). Last month, the DGTR suggested imposing the duty."...the Central Government, after considering the said findings of the Director General (Trade Remedies), hereby imposes...a provisional safeguard duty at the rate of twelve per cent ad valorem," according to a notification of the Department of Revenue.

A day after the development, Nifty Metal made some positive gains on Tuesday. "Nifty Metal made modest gains as the Indian government imposed a 12% provisional safeguard duty for 200 days on five steel product categories to protect domestic players against surge in cheap imports. The IT index declined by 0.6%, tracking losses in the US tech-heavy Nasdaq index. We expect the gradual up-move to continue in the market on hopes of a Bilateral Trade Agreement between India and US," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Amid expectations of decent Q4 earnings due to healthy volume, steel demand and consumption, most of the steel sector companies including JSW Steel, SAIL, and Tata Steel may see an upside in coming months, according to experts.

JSW Steel vs SAIL vs Tata Steel: Which Stock To Buy?

Citing DGTR's proposed 12% safeguard duty, brokerage form Antique broking noted on April 17, "the proposed imposition of 12% safeguard duty on flat steel products by the GoI is expected to support domestic steelmakers' volume outlook with spot HRC prices improving ~12% from the lows in early January'25."

It also added that the steel companies' performance is likely to be supported by lower coking coal prices and strong domestic volumes.

Metal Stock	CMP	TP (Rs)	View
JSW Steel	1,044.90	870	Hold
Tata Steel	137	152	Buy
SAIL	116	118	Hold

"We prefer steel companies with strong market presence, greater raw material integration, low leverage, and higher exposure to the domestic market. Tata Steel recently announced an optimization plan for its Netherland operations targeting sustained profitability aimed at reducing support from Indian operations, and is ramping up production at its Kalinganagar blast furnace, JSPL is targeting an exit crude steel capacity of 15.9 MT p.a. and finished steel capacity of 13.8 MT p.a. by FY26 end with the completion of the Angul expansion project," noted Antique Stock Broking Limited. The firm had picked Tata Steel and JSPL as its preferred stocks and provided ratings to JSW Steel and SAIL.

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