Nifty Metal dropped more than a percent in trade on Monday, February 26 as the constituent stocks of the metals sector gauge such as Tata Steel, Hindalco, JSW Steel, SAIL and Jindal Steel, among others, dropped between 1% and 3%.
State-owned SAIL dropped 2.85%, Tata Steel and Jindal Steel fell nearly 2% and JSW Steel fell 1.5%. Investor sentiment turned sour amid reports of iron ore prices dropping to a four-month low in China, and a rebound in demand post-Lunar New Year seems to be fading.
The most-traded May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange traded nearly 3% lower at $122.05 (878.5 yuan) per metric ton, Reuters reported. The benchmark March iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 3.12% lower at $116.3 a ton, it added.
"Inventories of iron ore at major Chinese ports rose. Supply concerns also eased, with a cyclone threatening WA (Western Australia) ports now tracking away from the state's iron ore hub," Reuters quoted analysts at ANZ bank as saying in a note.
Meanwhile, China's new home prices extended declines in January, data showed on Friday, despite Beijing's support to restore confidence in the debt-ridden property sector.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
