Shares of metal companies have under pressure on the bourses in noon trades on concerns of a dip in demand from China. LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fall over 2% on Friday.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), metal index, the largest loser among the sectoral indices, has tanked almost 3% or 310 points as compared to 1.5% or 240 points fall in benchmark Sensex at 1420 hours.
Among the individual stocks,Sterlite Industries has dipped 5%, followed by Hindalco Industries and Sesa Goa (down 4% each), Jindal Steel and Power, JSW Steel, Hindustan Zinc and Tata Steel (down 3% each) on the BSE.
A Chinese central bank adviser predicted the nation's expansion may cool to 7.4% this quarter, adding to concern that the world's second-biggest economy and largest metal consuming country has yet to bottom out.
“Copper prices retreated on Monday amid growing concerns of a spreading debt contagion in the euro zone as Spain risks becoming the fourth country in the bloc to seek a sovereign bailout, denting the outlook for metals demand worldwide,” the Reuters report suggest.
