The Nifty Metal index declined 1.7% to touch its intraday low of 12,812.90 points on Friday, August 14, following a 2.7% decline over the two-day period. According to Business Standard, this marks the second consecutive session of falls for the metals index, which had lost over 1 per cent in the previous session. Among the top losers from the pack during the two-day selloff are National Aluminium Company (NALCO), SAIL, Hindalco Industries, Hindustan Copper and Hindustan Zinc, shedding between 4-10 per cent. APL Apollo Tubes and Welspun Corp bucked the trend and eked out minor gains. NALCO shares slumped as much as 5.8% in intraday deals to ₹377.15 today, having declined 4.6% yesterday, thus shedding 10.20% in a span of just two days. SAIL shares also came under selling pressure, with a 5.8% decline, followed by Hindustan Zinc and Hindustan Copper, declining 5.6% and 4.4% respectively in two trading sessions. NMDC, Vedanta and Jindal Steel declined 2-3 per cent, while other constituents like Jindal Stainless, Lloyds Metal and JSW Steel traded flat with negative bias. After the day's low level, the Nifty Metal index recovered some of its morning market losses, trading 0.96% lower at 12,909 points during the afternoon market hours, as per exchange data.
The decline in metal stocks is primarily attributed to a pullback in global commodity prices of key minerals like copper, zinc, and aluminium. According to Investing.com data, global Aluminium prices declined 0.6% to an intraday low of $3,222.50 per 25 tonnes, compared to $3,241.5 per 25 tonnes in the previous commodity market close. Aluminium prices have dropped 11% in the last three months and over 1.1% in the last five trading sessions. Copper prices in the global market declined 0.8% to their intraday low of $6.5545 per 25,000 pounds, compared to $6.608 per 25,000 pounds in previous market close levels. Copper, a key mineral for the electricity, cables, and wires sector, has been witnessing strong demand from the domestic market even at higher price levels, while the rates have been trading more than 13% higher in the last six months. In the case of Zinc, global prices dropped 0.5% to $3,718 per 25 metric tonnes, compared to $3,737.45 per 25 metric tonnes in the previous market close. Zinc prices in the global market have risen 1.5% in one week, over 4% in a month, and over 12% in the last six months.
National Aluminium Company Ltd emerged as the biggest loser in the BSE 'A' group, declining 6.53% to ₹376.6 at 14:45 IST on August 14, 2026. According to Business Standard, on the BSE, 12.04 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 3.97 lakh shares in the past one month. Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd tumbled 6.03% to ₹417.75, being the second biggest loser in the 'A' group. On the BSE, 3.06 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 82,561 shares in the past one month. Natco Pharma Ltd crashed 5.68% to ₹898.15, ranking as the third biggest loser in the 'A' group. On the BSE, 1.5 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 45,122 shares in the past one month. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd corrected 5.34% to ₹372, the fourth biggest loser in the 'A' group. On the BSE, 6.75 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 6.04 lakh shares in the past one month. Olectra Greentech Ltd fell 5.14% to ₹1322.6, the fifth biggest loser in the 'A' group. On the BSE, 66,143 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 18,822 shares in the past one month.
Indian equity markets ended mixed on Thursday, August 13, with the BSE Sensex closing at 78,079.96, up 119.08 points or 0.15 per cent, while the Nifty 50 ended at 24,395.85, down 40.15 points or 0.16 per cent. According to Outlook Business, the Nifty 50 was trading at 24,395.85 points, down 40.15 points or 0.16 per cent at the close. The India VIX declined 2.33 per cent to 11.42, signalling subdued volatility, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. The broader market performed better than the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 ending 0.15% higher and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.27%. The Nifty Smallcap 50 and Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 0.29 per cent and 0.27 per cent, respectively, while the Nifty 500 declined 0.06 per cent. The Indian rupee weakened by 11 paise to close at ₹95.44 per US dollar, compared with Wednesday's close of ₹95.33.
Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50, IndiGo led with a 2.86 per cent rise, followed by NTPC at 2.01 per cent and Bharat Electronics at 1.98 per cent. As reported by Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Larsen & Toubro advanced 1.95 per cent, while Hindustan Unilever gained 1.72 per cent and Eternal rose 1.60 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints and Trent gained between 1.08 per cent and 1.54 per cent. On the losing side, ICICI Bank was the biggest loser among Sensex stocks, declining 1.26 per cent, followed by Titan at 1.08 per cent and Reliance Industries at 0.80 per cent. UltraTech Cement fell 0.73 per cent, Infosys declined 0.50 per cent, and Tata Steel lost 0.30 per cent. According to TradingView News, Tata Consumer, Tata Motors PV, HUL, NTPC and Shriram Finance were the top gainers, while Hindalco, ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement, Grasim and Power Grid Corp led the losses. Nifty Chemical was the best performer, rising 1.25 per cent, followed by Nifty Realty with a 0.97 per cent gain. Nifty FMCG rose 0.84 per cent, while Nifty IT and Nifty Media advanced 0.39 per cent and 0.37 per cent, respectively. Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index declined 1 per cent and Private Bank index fell 0.5 per cent, while Realty gained 1 per cent and Consumer Durables rose 0.45 per cent. Defense index outperformed today, rallying 1.58 per cent.
On Friday, August 14, aluminium supply concerns eased after the Brazilian regulator allowed the Norwegian energy and aluminium firm Norsk Hydro to self-import gas and have terminal access, which will allow the company to boost its production back to full capacity. The company also said that alumina (a key element needed for aluminium production) production at the company's Alunorte refinery is currently being ramped up to full capacity. "With the agreement in place, alumina production at Alunorte is being ramped up to full capacity. Lost production during the period of reduced alumina production is estimated to be 100,000 to 120,000 tonnes," as per the official release. This move served as a trigger for the decline in aluminium prices in the global market on Friday, with prices also witnessing a pullback as traders placed their bets based on an improved supply outlook for the upcoming period. Market experts predict that there is potential that commodity prices like that of copper, aluminium and zinc, among others, are expected to stabilise at a higher price or pull back to lower levels depending on the supply-side issues easing in the market.
