Silver ETFs surge as precious metal rises 6%, but Hindustan Zinc shares fall 3%: Here's why

Silver prices surge

• Hindustan Zinc shares fell over 3% after Vedanta announced a stake sale via OFS
• Vedanta to sell 1.59% stake in Hindustan Zinc at Rs 685/share, raising Rs 4,589 crore
• Silver prices surged, pushing silver ETFs to fresh lifetime highs

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The shares of Hindustan Zinc dropped more than 3 percent on January 28 even as silver prices surges, pushing silver ETFs to fresh lifetime highs.

The shares of the Vedanta Group-company dropped to Rs 705.10 apiece in the early trading hours of Wednesday, snapping a two-session gaining streak.

Why are Hindustan Zinc shares falling today?

Hindustan Zinc shares are falling today after promoter Vedanta announced announced that its committee of directors has approved the plan to sell up to 6.7 crore equity shares, representing 1.59 percent stake in Hindustan Zinc, through an offer for sale (OFS).

The floor price for the OFS has been set at Rs 685 apiece, marking a 6 percent discount from yesterday's closing price. At the said floor price, Vedanta will raise Rs 4,589.50 crore through the sale of the shares.

The OFS will open for non-retail investors on January 28, and for retail investors on January 29. Vedanta has sold portions of its stake in Hindustan Zinc twice in the past two years to help shore up its balance sheet.

According to data on Hindustan Zinc’s latest shareholding pattern, promoter Vedanta held 61.84 percent stake in the company, as on December 31 last year. After the stake sale, the holding company’s stake holding will likely reduce to 60.25 percent.

The central government meanwhile owned 27.92 percent stake in the silver producer at the end of the October-December quarter of the ongoing financial year 2026.

Vedanta shares meanwhile surged more than 4 percent to trade at Rs 735 apiece, as seen at 10.30 am.

Silver prices surge, silver ETFs hit fresh lifetime highs:

Silver futures with March expiry jumped nearly 6.5 percent to hit a fresh lifetime high of Rs 3,79,400 per kilogram on Wednesday. The future contracts with May and July expiries meanwhile jumped nearly 6 percent to hit new all-time highs of Rs 3,95,000 per kg and Rs 4,11,451 per kg, respectively.

Silver exchange traded funds (ETFs) continued to mirror the sharp surge in silver prices and hit fresh lifetime highs on January 28.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Silver ETF jumped nearly 6 percent to hit a fresh lifetime high of Rs 352 apiece. Motilal Oswal Silver ETF, ICICI Prudential Silver ETF, Axis Silver ETF, Nippon Silver ETF and Groww Silver ETF meanwhile gained more than 5 percent each to their respective highs.

Mirae Asset Silver ETF, SBI Silver ETF, Zerodha Silver ETF, DSP Silver ETF and few others gained nearly 5 percent each, while UTI Silver ETF, HDFC Silver ETF, 360 ONE Silver ETF, Tata Silver ETF and Edelweiss Silver ETF gained more than 4 percent each.

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