The Nifty Metal index was trading 2% down on Tuesday amid demand growth tensions in global markets. Shares of Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Steel, Vedanta, and APL Apollo led the index’s fall.
The index was under pressure after China, the world’s biggest base metals consumer, reported disappointing growth data. As per the National Bureau of Statistics, Beijing’s fourth-quarter growth rate of 6.4% yoy, matched that of the first quarter of 2009. That was the lowest growth rate since the Chinese government began publishing quarterly growth rates at the beginning of 1992.
Further, for 2018, the Chinese economy grew 6.6% yoy, in line with the government's target for growth of about 6.5% for the year. In 2017, China’s economic growth eased from 6.8% in 2017 and was the lowest growth rate since 3.9%, recorded in 1990.
Shares of Hindustan Zinc and Jindal Steel, which dropped 4% each, were leading the index’s fall. Shares of Vedanta, APL Apollo, SAIL, JSW Steel, Hindalco, and Tata Steel also contributed to the fall, declining 3% each. Jindal Stainless (Hisar) and Hindustan Copper were also down 2% each.
Meanwhile, equity benchmark indices were trading in the red, with the Sensex slumping 204 points at 36,374 levels. The Nifty also slipped 68 points to trade at 10,892 levels.
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