Shares of metal companies plunged after data on Saturday showed China's exports unexpectedly tumbled in February, raising fears of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. The BSE metals index is down 7.2 per cent year-to-date, while the benchmark Sensex is up 3.4 per cent in the same period.
"Metal stocks have not yet participated in the ongoing rally on fears relating to the slowdown in China," said Varun Khandelwal, fund manager, Bullero Capital Pvt Ltd. "The recent trade data from China was rather poor; it also affirmed that the earlier negative print was not an aberration in data."
BSE-listed shares of Hindalco Industries fell 2.7 per cent. Steel Authority of India lost 2.7 per cent while Tata Steel was down 1.6 per cent.
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014
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