Metals shine as trade war fear eases

The metal index gained 2 per cent on Monday as base metal prices increase in the global markets following the cautious optimism that the US and China will resolve their trade conflict soon.

The base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were higher during on Monday morning with zinc and nickel gaining the most.

On the domestic front, there was good news for Vedanta as its subsidiary Sterlite Copper can now be re-opened after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruled shutdown by the state government of Tamil Nadu was invalid.

The BSE Metal, and Nifty Metal index traded and closed up more than 2 per cent. The biggest contributors were Hindustan Copper and Jindal Steel gaining 6 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. Vedanta, SAIL, Hindalco, Tata Steel, MOIL, Coal India were all up more than 2 per cent on Monday.

The uptick in metals, banking and media stocks amid fresh inflows from foreign funds helped the benchmark indices make handsome gains on Monday. BSE Sensex closed at 36,270.07, up by 307.14 points or 0.85 per cent, while Nifty50 closed at 10,888.35, up by 82.90 points or 0.77 per cent.