Hind Zinc, Vedanta, other metal stocks fall up to 12%; metal index tumbles 5%: Here's why

Metal stocks plunge

• Nifty Metal index dropped 5% due to profit booking and lower commodity prices.
• Major metal stocks like Hindustan Copper, NALCO, and Vedanta dropped sharply
• Global metal prices declined amid US Fed chair speculation and dollar rebound

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The shares of metal companies tumbled in trade, pushing the Nifty Metal index down more than 5 percent on January 30. This comes amid profit booking after a sharp gaining streak, and decline in commodity prices.

The Nifty Metal index tumbled 5.21 percent to 11,827.55 on Friday, snapping a three-day gaining streak during which it gained nearly 9 percent. The sectoral index closed as the top loser on the market today.

Why are metal stocks falling today?

The fall in metal stocks may have been partially driven by profit booking after the rally. Additionally, metal prices significantly declined today. Gold and silver futures crashed up to 15 percent on the MCX, while copper and aluminium futures fell around 5 and 7 percent respectively.

The sharp fall in global metal prices comes amid speculations that the US Federal Reserve may get a more hawkish chair. US President Donald Trump said he intends to announce his pick to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, as speculation intensifies over who will lead the American central bank after Jerome Powell steps aside in May.

"So, a potentially less dovish Fed Chairman pick, a rebound in the dollar and gold giving way to overbought conditions have contributed to the decline in the price of the precious metal," Reuters quoted KCM Chief Trade Analyst Tim Waterer as saying.

Top metal losers today:

Hindustan Zinc shares were the top loser on the index, falling around 12.5 percent to close at Rs 626 apiece. Vedanta and Hindustan Copper shares fell around 11 percent each. Notably, this comes a day after Hindustan Copper shares jumped 20 percent to hit a fresh lifetime high of Rs 760.05 apiece.

Vedanta released its results for the October-December quarter of the ongoing financial year 2026. The company reported a 60 percent year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit to Rs 7,807 crore on strong base metal prices. Its net profit was Rs 4,876 crore in the year-ago period. The firm's revenue increased 19 percent to Rs 45,899 crore in Q3 FY26.

National Aluminium Company (NALCO) shares fell around 11 percent, while Hindalco Industries shares declined nearly 6 percent. Tata Steel shares dropped around 5 percent, while NMDC and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) shares fell nearly 4 percent each.

Jindal Steel and Lloyds Metals And Energy shares fell nearly 3 percent each. JSW Steel and Welspun Corp shares fell around 2 percent.

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