Nifty Metal down 4% on GST hike news; sell Tata Steel, Hindalco for 'these' targets, says analyst

China’s indication of a stricter air pollution control measures coupled with a hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST) weighed on the domestic metal prices. The impact was seen in the equity and commodity markets.

Nifty Metal was trading at 5,453.90, down by 230 points or over 4 per cent at 1 pm on Monday. Out of the 15 stocks in the index, 14 stocks declined, while two advanced around the same time. The biggest losers were Hindalco Industries Limited Jindal Steel & Power Limited and National Aluminium Company (NALCO).

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Hindalco Industries and Jindal Steel were down 5.7 per cent, while National Aluminium was down by over 4 per cent.

On Friday, the GST Council chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave its nod for increasing the GST on iron ore and manganese ore. It also approved raising GST on nickel, copper and zinc. The council gave its consent to increase GST on metals from 5 per cent to 18 per cent.

Analyst Nilesh Jain, who is Assistant Vice President (AVP), Equity Research Technical and Derivatives at Centrum Broking said that the metals have been a beneficiary of a way rally. The Nifty Metal index has seen a surge over the last one-and-half years without any meaningful correction.

The metal index has grown from levels of 1500 to 5936, which is also its 52-week high.

He expected a downward trend for next 3-4 trading sessions. Jain said a downside of 350 points is open from the current levels. He advised caution to investors as he expected a selling pressure to sustain for a few more sessions.

The only gainer on the intraday basis was Welspun Corp, which was up 1.8 per cent and trading at 123.80.

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This technical analyst said that Tata Steel and Hindalco looked like the weakest links.

He recommended a Sell on rise in Tata Steel for the target price of Rs 1200-Rs1250. He puts the stop loss at Rs 1350. This stock was trading at Rs 1295 around this down and was down 6.5 per cent or Rs 90 from the Friday closing price.

Hindalco shares were also trading down 5.5 per cent at Rs 446.80. He recommended Sell with a target price of Rs 420-Rs 400. He puts the stop loss between Rs 460-Rs 465.