Tata Steel jumps nearly 4 pc on BSE

MUMBAI: Tata Steel today surged nearly 4 per cent on its European arm Corus' deal with Thailand-based Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) to sell its Teesside Cast Products plant in the UK. Tata Steel was the top performer in early trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange with gaining 3.69 per cent to touch a high of Rs 529. The scrip saw a similar trend on the National Stock Exchange and went up to Rs 529.35, reflecting an upsurge of 3.76 per cent over the previous close.

The company''s UK arm Corus, on Friday, entered into a pact with SSI to sell its Teesside Cast Products plant in the UK for about USD 500 million. Analysts said that other than the deal, the movement in the stock is also triggered by the news that steel companies may hike prices by about Rs 1,000 a tonne within a few days on pick up in demand after the end of monsoon.

Meanwhile, the broader gauge Sensex was trading firm at 18,128.91, up 0.73 per cent from the last close. "There are strong talks that the steel prices may go up by around Rs 1,000 a tonne next month, which is taking the stocks in the sector higher," Unicon Financial Services CEO Gajendra Nagpal said.

The BSE metal index was the highest gainer among the 13 sectoral indices and rose by 2.29 per cent to 15,253.04 points in morning trade. Other counters in the metal pack trading in a positive terrain were ---Hindalco(2.42 per cent), Sterlite Industries (1.64 per cent) and Jindal Steel (1.53 per cent).