Metal stocks slide up to 7% as dollar hits 4-month high; NALCO, Hindustan Copper lead fall

As the Nifty 50 plunged over 500 points (around 2%) on Monday, metal stocks bore the sharpest blow, tumbling up to 7% and dragging the Nifty Metal index lower as the day’s worst performer. Investors rushed to offload equities as the US Dollar Index surged to a four-month high amid escalating tensions in the Iran–Israel/US conflict, which has now entered its 14th day.

The stronger dollar has heightened concerns about global growth, as dollar-denominated commodities such as metals and energy become costlier for buyers using other currencies, potentially dampening demand.

The Nifty Metal index fell 5% or 600 points to hit the day's low of 11,262.45. All counters in the 15-stock index were trading in the red.


National Aluminium Company (NALCO) shares fell the most at 6%. Despite the fall, the PSU metal company has delivered a multibagger rally of 106% over a 1-year period. The next big loser was Jindal Steel, which plunged over 6% today and was followed by Hindalco Industries and Hindustan Zinc, both down nearly 6% around 3 pm.

Hindustan Copper, another multibagger in the pack with one-year returns of 130%, also fell 6% in the day's trade.
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Vedanta, Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), JSW Steel, Adani Enterprises, NMDC, APL Apollo Tubes, Lloyds Metals And Energy, Welspun Corp and Jindal Stainless fell between 2% and 5%.

The metal sector was the second-best-performing sector of 2025. The Nifty Metal index yielded 29% annual returns in the year gone by, posting its best performance of the past four years.

Stock market expert Anuj Gupta said that the dollar's surge over the past five trading sessions has dented sentiments for metals. The uncertainty and slower infrastructure demand due to the war are putting pressure on metal demand, he added. His advice to investors is to refrain from taking aggressive bets and wait for things to settle down.

Also read: ONGC, Oil India shares outperform sector with double-digit gains in 2026. Will Iran-Israel crisis fuel more upside?

The greenback surge
The dollar index has breached the 100 mark and now hovers at a level not seen in the last four months. Today, it hit the day's high of 100.26 against a basket of six major currencies. In the past five sessions, the greenback has appreciated 1.3%, extending its lead to 2% in 2026, so far.
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Notwithstanding today's fall, Shriram Asset Management sees a silver lining for domestic aluminium and steel manufacturers. In a note, it said that Indian aluminium producers benefit from the Iran-Israel crisis as global aluminium prices are rising on the LME amid Qatar smelter shutdown. Meanwhile energy cost impact is indirect, it opines.

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)