Metal stocks slump as China's stimulus pledge lacks details; JSW Steel, Tata Steel, NMDC, SAIL drop 3-5%

JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Hindalco ranked among the top losers on the Nifty 50 index.

Shares of metal companies came under selling pressure on December 13, with steelmakers such as JSW Steel, Tata Steel, NMDC, and SAIL taking the hardest hit, slipping 3-5 percent. This comes after China's latest stimulus pledge, vowed to lift its economy, lacked details, yet again.

China's affirmed its recent policy shifts and stressed on plans to boost growth at its latest high-level economic meeting on Thursday. However, investors were left with a wave of skepticism yet again as officials refrained from rolling out details about the plans for economic revival.

While China’s top leadership surprised the markets earlier this week by hinting at a shift in its monetary policy stance for the first time in 14 years, skepticism still lingers as investors believe a large-scale stimulus remains unlikely.

In addition, the slew of stimulus measures introduced since late September have also not managed to move the needle for the world's second-largest economy so far as recent economic data reveals that China continues to grapple with deflationary pressures, weak consumer demand, and an ongoing housing market slump.

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A bounceback of the Chinese economy, the worst biggest metal importer, drives much of the metal demand globally and thereby has a significant impact on prices.

At 09.38 am, shares of SAIL and NMDC were trading 4.6 percent and 4.2 percent lower, respectively, while JSW Steel, Tata Steel and Hind Copper were down around 3 percent each.

It's also worth noting that JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Hindalco ranked among the top losers on the Nifty 50 index. The broader sell-off in metal stocks also pulled the Nifty Metal index down by 2.4 percent, making it the worst-performing sector so far.

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