Eleven metal shares fell by 0.69% to 6.61% at 14:06 IST on BSE after copper prices fell in the global market.
Jindal Steel & Power (down 6.61%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.80%), JSW Steel (down 2.62%), Sterlite Industries (down 2.46%), Nalco (down 2.42%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.54%), Sesa Goa (down 1.51%), Tata Steel (down 1.36%), Bhushan Steel (down 1.01%), NMDC (down 0.97%) and Sail (down 0.69%), edged lower.
The BSE Metal index was down 2.32% at 9,309.14. It underperformed the Sensex, which was down 1.05% at 15,707.18.
The BSE Metal index had underperformed the market over the past one month until 27 December 2011, falling 3.49% compared with the Sensex's 1.14% rise. The index had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 16.91% as against 3.93% fall in the Sensex.
London copper dropped today, 28 December 2011, snapping four days of gains, on concerns that demand for the metal may wane after a report showed weak house prices in the United States, the world's largest economy. Copper prices were also hit by a bigger-than-expected slump in Japan's November factory output after Europe's debt crisis and flooding in Thailand affected major manufacturers.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange lost 1.5% to $7,535 a tonne. Prices have tumbled 22% so far this year. Copper, used largely in power and construction, is considered a gauge of economic activity.
