Nifty Metal Plunges By Over 4%: 8 Constituents Dive To Fresh Low

Markets are trading largely flat with Nifty maintained at above 15,300 levels, while there is seen Nifty Bank and broader markets slumping with the highest brunt of over 2% seen in the case of Nifty Small cap index.

Likewise, within the sectoral indices, Nifty metal has plunged by a sharp over 4%, while some other indices like FMCG, financial services and IT are still in the green.

Of the 15 stock Nifty metal index, the maximum fall of over 5% is seen in the case Sail, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Jindal Stainless, Nalco, Hindustan Copper and Vedanta. Further some 8 stocks from the pack have hit fresh 52-low including stock of Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Steel, NMDC, SAIL, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Hindustan Copper and Vedanta.

Notably last month, in a bid to curb inflationary pressure and at the same time increase supply for domestic industries, the government levied 15% export duty on steel. Also, at the same time, a steep export duty was levied in case of iron ore. Further, to reduce the production cost for steel making entities, the government slashed the import duty on coal.

"This will have a negative impact on the steel industry. However, the auto, construction, and property sectors, as well as many other industries, will benefit from this because prices will be significantly reduced. As we can see, Indian steel manufacturers are still not competitive with global manufacturers, which may lead to increased dumping in the future. Also, China is still under martial law, so it will take some time. However, demand remains high, so the market can only have a 10% impact", views on the move as shared by Ravi Singhal, Vice Chairman, GCL securities Limited.