MUMBAI: Metal stocks saw heavy selling pressure today and fell up to eight per cent amid fall in prices of commodities.
Shares of Sesa Sterlite Ltd plunged 7.63 per cent to settle at Rs 188.85 and was the biggest loser among the 30 Sensex stocks.
Hindalco Industries slumped 6.17 per cent, Tata Steel was down 3.79 per cent, Hindustan Zinc (3.74 per cent), National Aluminium Company Ltd (2.56 per cent) and JSW Steel (2.48 per cent).
Among others, NMDC fell by 1.81 per cent, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (1.38 per cent) and SAIL (0.96 per cent).
The BSE metal index ended 3.50 per cent lower at 9,907.48 and was the biggest loser among the sectoral indices due to losses in these stocks.
"Indian local equities continued to trade weak today. Concerns over the global growth has dented the confidence of investors in equities.
"Copper prices slipped after the World Bank cut its global growth forecast for this year," said Veracity Broking Services, Head of Research, Jignesh Chaudhary.
In the broader market, the benchmark BSE Sensex ended 78.91 points down at 27,346.82.