The Nifty Metal index recorded a new 52-week high, and outperformed all other sectorial indices on Wednesday.
Following the news of China's attempts to assist homebuyers and real estate developers to ease the liquidity crunch in the industry, domestic metal stocks rose by more than 1 percent.
The positive trend in the sector was further boosted by global brokerage house CLSA's bullish outlook for the Indian metal industry.
According to the brokerage, stimulus and China's faster opening are driving a recovery in India's metal demand.
On the stocks front, the brokerage firm prefers Hindalco Industries Ltd. "Resilient aluminium price and lower global companies should support domestic earnings. In the near term, rebound of Novelis' profitability would be key to watch, while expansion projects are crucial in the medium term," said the brokerage.
Further, CLSA has upgraded Tata Steel to 'outperform' from 'sell'. As per the report, the company is the biggest beneficiary of a demand drive upcycle in China, and the visibility on Kalinganagar expansion and Europe profitability will be key.
The contributors to the Nifty Metal index gains were Welspun Corp Ltd ( up 4.73 percent), APL Apollo Tubes Ltd (up 4.09 percent), Steel Authority Of India Ltd (up 4.07 percent), Hindustan Zinc Ltd (up 3.97 percent), Hindalco Industries Ltd (up 3.08 percent), Tata Steel Ltd (up 2.60 percent), Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (up 2.59 percent), Vedanta Ltd (up 1.95 percent), Hindustan Copper Ltd (up 1.75 percent), JSW Steel Ltd (up 1.27 percent), National Aluminium Co Ltd (up 0.89 percent), and MOIL (up 0.86 percent).
The Nifty Metal index closed 1.65 percent higher.
According to analysts, metal counters have showed strong traction in today's session and they expect this momentum to continue in the near term. Hindalco and Vedanta are their top picks.
