Nifty edges up; metal, bank stocks in focus

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The NSE Nifty was trading flat on Monday as metal firms such as Tata Steel and lenders rallied after the government set minimum import prices for steel products to help a heavily indebted sector struggling to compete against shipments from abroad.

India set the floor prices for imports on Friday, the first time it has taken such a step in over 15 years, to deter countries such as China from undercutting local mills.

The measures also lifted lenders such as State Bank of India given that steel companies owe large debts to the banking sector.

But overall sentiment remained fragile, with investors saying global factors would likely impact local shares until the government unveils its 2016/17 budget on Feb. 29.

 

"The news is marginally, more specifically sentimentally, positive for steel as well as bank stocks," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

"We would adopt a wait-and-watch strategy as the focus now shifts to India's budget and we're not going with high expectations into it."

The Nifty was up 0.2 percent, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was higher 0.15 percent.

Tata Steel gained 2 percent and JSW Steel rose 2.5 percent. SBI rose as much as 5.17 percent and Bank of Baroda gained as much as 4.17 percent.

Midcap stocks such as Tata Elxsi and PC Jeweller were in focus as the NSE index added seven new names to the derivatives list.

Jet Airways gained as much as 8.5 percent after the country's second largest carrier posted record earnings for the October-December quarter.

(Reporting by Manoj Rawal; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)