SAIL, Tata Steel, other metal stocks rally on easing retail inflation in India, US

SAIL, Tata Steel, other metal stocks rally on easing retail inflation in India, US

Metal shares rallied on May 14 amid softer retail inflation in the US and India. Trade truce between US and China also aided the bullish sentiments towards the metal stocks as the recessionary concerns abated.

Nifty Metal was the biggest sectoral gainer on May 14 by surging 2.7%, followed by the real estate sector, which uses metals as raw materials, which rose nearly 2%.

At 10:30 am on May 14, Tata Steel was the top gainer in Nifty Metal index by rising over 4% as the stock also saw bullish brokerage calls post-Q4 results.

Shares of NALCO, SAIL, and Jindal Stainless rose 3.73%, 3.26%, and 2.82%, respectively. NMDC and Hindustan Copper shares rose 2.74% and 2.52%, respectively.

India's retail inflation inched down to 3.16% in April.

The CPI print sets the stage for another rate cut by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in its June meeting, of 25 basis points, said Sakshi Gupta, principal economist, HDFC Bank.

"With inflation under control, the RBI's focus is expected to be on growth. We expect another 50 bps reduction in rates this year," said Aditi Gupta, economist, Bank of Baroda.

"Domestic factors alone provide space to ease policy rates by 75 bps in the remainder of FY26. Negative output gap and subdued commodity prices are expected to keep core inflation contained at 4.5% in FY26 vs 3.6% in FY25. High-frequency food prices indicate a continued decline in prices in May," said Gaura Sen Gupta, India economist, IDFC First Bank.

Meanwhile, US consumer prices rebounded moderately in April, with headline inflation increasing 0.2% last month after dipping 0.1% in March. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that the CPI would rise 0.3%.

The CPI climbed 2.3% in the 12 months through April, after advancing 2.4% in the 12-month period until March.

On Monday, Washington and Beijing decided to dial back stringent reciprocal tariffs, signaling a joint effort to stave off a global economic downturn.

The US Federal Reserve has adopted a wait-and-see stance on the economic fallout from Trump's tariff campaign before cutting interest rates again.

Traders currently price in about 50 basis points of rate reductions between now and the end of the year, according to LSEG data, with the next quarter-point cut seen in September.