Shares of Hindustan Zinc sharply tumbled nearly 5% on Friday after a report said that the government is planning to sell as much as 2% stake in the metals major for up to Rs 5,000 crore ($525 million).

The shares of the company dropped to Rs 575.20 apiece on NSE, the lowest level seen by the stock in six weeks, after the release of the Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of Vedanta, meanwhile, tumbled 3% to Rs 318.80 apiece.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) aims to launch the process this month or in July this year, the report said, adding that ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services, and HDFC Securities are advising the government on the transaction.

Hindustan Zinc shareholding pattern

The Central government held nearly 28% stake in India’s largest silver producer, according to data on the company’s shareholding pattern as on March 31, 2026. Its largest promoter, Vedanta, meanwhile, held nearly 61% stake in the company.

Another 3.5% stake was held by insurance companies, while foreign investors held more than 2% stake in Hindustan Zinc, as at the end of the January-March quarter of FY26.

The latest report on the government’s possible stake sale in Hindustan Zinc comes after the centre ramped up its disinvestment efforts. Last week, the government raised about $531 million from the sale of 2% stake in Coal India. Earlier this week, it raised $450 million by selling 6% stake in NHPC. Bloomberg also reported that the government is now mulling an OFS to sell 2% stake in LIC to raise as much as Rs 10,000 crore.

ED raids at Hindustan Zinc offices

The shares of Hindustan Zinc declined earlier this week after Vedanta said that the Enforcement Directorate team visited some of its offices, confirming news reports. “We hereby inform that the Enforcement Directorate team visited some offices of our company and Hindustan Zinc, a subsidiary of the company,” Vedanta said after stock exchanges sought clarification regarding news reports around ED conducting searches against Vedanta Group in FEMA probe. The Anil Agarwal-led company added that it is fully cooperating with the authorities and providing all requested information.

Later, Vedanta announced that the searches had concluded and no penalty or restriction had been imposed by the authorities.

Hindustan Zinc share price

Hindustan Zinc shares have fallen more than 9% in one week and 6% in one month, while being down more than 6% in 2026 so far. The shares of the company have gained around 17% in one year.

Also read: Did this L&T-backed AI stock actually crash 90% in one day? Here’s all you need to knowIn the longer term, the stock delivered 87% returns over three years and 72% returns over five years. The company currently has a market capitalisation of more than Rs 2.43 lakh crore.

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

The shares of Indian metal companies like NALCO, Hindalco Industries and others surged up to 7% on Thursday as a rise in metal prices on supply concerns amid the Middle East war, and other factors boosted investor sentiment.

Aluminium prices extended gains on Thursday as supply concerns mounted after Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) halted shipments. Alba, which ⁠operates ⁠one of the world’s biggest aluminium smelters, declared a force majeure yesterday, stopping shipments due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has closed the key corridor amid its war with Israel and the US, promising to attack any ship that tries to cross the strait.

Aluminium contracts with March expiry on the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) gained nearly 1% to trade at Rs 332.50 per kg. The contracts with April and May expiries also gained around 1%. The benchmark three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.81% to $3,369.50 a ton, after touching a near four-year high ‌on Wednesday.

Additionally, China on Thursday said it will reduce its production capacity of steel, oil refining and other industries. According to an annual report from the country’s state planner National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), it will also manage capacity in copper smelting, alumina and coal chemical industries.

China set a lower growth target of 4.5% to 5% for this year. Slowing growth in China may possibly affect its metal companies, which will likely give a competitive edge to Indian metal companies.

The rise in metal stocks was also driven by a weaker dollar and value-buying.

Metal index snaps three-day losing streak

The sharp rise in metal stocks pushed the Nifty Metal index up nearly 4% to hit a high of 12,201, tracking the sharp rise in overall markets. The index rebounded after a three-session losing streak, during which it had tumbled more than 5%.

The index later pared some gains and was up 2%, as seen at 12:40 pm. Hindalco Industries shares were the top gainer on the index, rising around 5.5% to trade at Rs 983.50 apiece. Earlier during the day, the stock gained nearly 7%. National Aluminium Company (NALCO) shares were also up 5%.

Welspun Corp and Vedanta shares rose 3% and 2% respectively, while NMDC, Hindustan Copper, Tata Steel, and JSW Steel shares gained up to 2%. APL Apollo Tubes, Jindal Stainless Steel, SAIL and Hindustan Zinc shares were trading in the green with marginal gains.

(With inputs from agencies)

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

Shares of Hindustan Zinc will be in focus heading into trade on February 1, after Silver prices had their biggest single-day drop on record on Friday. The stock market is open on Sunday on account of Union Budget 2026.

After dazzling investors with a 170% rally last year, silver delivered a stunning reversal on MCX, plunging up to 27% — or Rs 1,07,968 — in a single day, marking its worst ever crash and dragging prices back below the Rs 3 lakh mark, just a day after the metal had soared to a record high of Rs 4 lakh.

On the MCX, Silver March Futures nosedived Rs 1,07,968 or 27% to close the Friday session at Rs 2,91,925 per kilogram.

In the international market, spot silver tanked 28% to $85 per troy ounce . The white metal touched a record high of $121.60 earlier in the week. What led to this massive wipeout? Here are 3 possible factors behind the decline.

As a result of the selloff, Hindustan Zinc, the Vedanta subsidiary, tanked 12.5% to log their biggest single-day fall since 2008. Just over a week ago, Hindustan Zinc was the most valued metal company with its m-cap crossing the Rs 3 lakh crore mark.

On the global stage, Hindustan Zinc ranks among the leading silver producers, with annual output of 22.5 million ounces — ahead of Grupo Mexico’s 12.1 million ounces and not far from top players such as Fresnillo at 52.5 million ounces and Newmont at 28 million ounces. The company also operates in the lowest quartile of the global zinc cost curve and has a mine life of about 25 years.

Hindustan Zinc Q3 snapshot

The company reported its highest ever quarterly topline and bottom line growth in the December quarter, backed by a 4% YoY growth in its mined metal production. The Vedanta arm’s consolidated net profit jumped 46% to Rs 3,916 crore compared to Rs 2,678 crore in the year ago period.The company’s total revenue from operations in Q3FY26 was also its highest-ever quarterly revenue at Rs 10,980 crore, up 27% from Rs 8,614 crore posted in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.

Its mined metal production in the quarter under review stood at 276 Kt, remaining its highest-ever for the third quarter. It was up 7% QoQ growth.

Hindustan Zinc’s promoter Vedanta also recently concluded an Offer For Sale (OFS) by selling up to 1.1% stake in its subsidiary to raise up to Rs 3,300 crore. The fall on Friday has taken the stock price below the OFS indicative price and the floor price as well.

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

The Indian market ended lower on Friday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty retreating from recent highs as investors turned defensive ahead of the Union Budget this weekend.

By the end of the session, the benchmarks had pared some losses, with the Sensex down 296.59 points or 0.36% at 82,269.78, while the Nifty fell 98 points or 0.39% to end at 25,320.65.

Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:

Indian equity markets remained volatile ahead of the Union Budget, with benchmark indices dragged lower by weakness in IT and metal stocks, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, adding that the IT sector lagged due to global growth concerns and higher U.S. bond yields, while gold and silver declined amid a stronger dollar and persistent FII selling and continued rupee depreciation kept market sentiment cautious. “With geopolitical risks and global tariff pressures rising, the Union Budget is keenly awaited for cues on growth support and fiscal discipline. Globally, although a deal to avert the latest U.S. government shutdown provided temporary relief, markets remain watchful ahead of the appointment of a new Fed Chair, as a more hawkish stance could tighten liquidity and weigh on emerging markets,” said Nair.

Also read: A ‘non-event Budget’ for stock market: Is that good news for Nifty which fell 1,000 points in January?

US markets

Wall Street slipped on Friday as investors viewed President Donald Trump’s pick of former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh—seen as a hawkish choice—to replace Jerome Powell, while contending with mixed earnings, hot inflation data, and rising geopolitical and shutdown risks. The Dow fell 0.36% to 48,892.47, the S&P 500 dropped 0.43% to 6,939.03, and the Nasdaq slid 0.94% to 23,461.82. The S&P 500 recorded 19 new 52-week highs and 10 lows, while the Nasdaq logged 72 highs and 205 lows.

European Markets

Europe’s benchmark share index closed higher on Friday, extending its longest monthly winning streak since 2021 as investors digested corporate earnings and reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump’s nomination of a former Federal Reserve policymaker to lead the central bank. The index rose 0.6% to 611 points and is on track to end January with a 3% gain, marking its seventh straight monthly advance. Banking stocks led the rally, rising 1.7%, with Caixabank jumping 6.7% after the Spanish lender projected stronger lending income and profits for this year and next.

Tech View

Technically, after a gap down, the market hovered between the 25,200/82000 to 25,350/82400 price range throughout the day, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, adding that the narrow range activity on intraday charts and the small candle on daily charts indicate indecisiveness between the bulls and the bears.

“We are of the view that as long as the market trades above 25,200/82000, a positive sentiment is likely to continue. On the higher side, the market could move up to 25,500/82800. Further upside may also extend, potentially lifting the index up to 25,600-25,675/83000-83200. On the flip side, if the market falls below 25,200/82000, weakness is likely to increase. In such a case, we could see a quick intraday dip down to 25,000-24,900/81500-81200,” said Chouhan.

Also read: Sensex, Nifty’s pre-Budget correction a blessing in disguise? Here’s what 15-year data shows

Most active stocks in terms of turnover

Hindustan Copper (Rs 7,917 crore), Vedanta (Rs 3,853 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 3,279 crore), Hindustan Zinc (Rs 3,248 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 2,767 crore), Dixon Tech (Rs 2,103 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 2,023 crore) were among the most active stocks on BSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with highest trading turnovers in the day.

Most active stocks in volume terms

Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 173 crore), Hindustan Copper (Traded shares: 11.3 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 8.19 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 6.34 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 6.04 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 5.6 crore) and Vedanta (Traded shares: 5.4 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest

Shares of Vodafone Idea, Orient Refractories, Signatureglobal (India), Tata Teleservices, OneSource Specialty, GRSE and Triveni Engineering & Industries were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.

Also read: CME raises gold, silver margins after steepest single-day plunges in decades

52 Week high

Over 78 stocks hit their 52-week highs today, while 291 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs included Nestle India, Axis Bank and SBI.

Stocks seeing selling pressure

Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta, NALCO, Hindustan Copper, Graphite India, NTPC Green Energy and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation.

Sentiment meter bullish

The market sentiments were bullish. Out of the 4,367 stocks that traded on the BSE on Friday, 1,783 stocks witnessed declines, 2,424 saw advances, while 160 stocks remained unchanged.

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

Vedanta Ltd owned Hindustan Zinc on Friday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,234 crore for the first quarter ended June 2025, reflecting a 4.7% year-on-year (YoY) drop compared to a profit of Rs 2,345 crore posted in the corresponding quarter of previous year.

Hindustan Zinc said its total revenue from operations for the June quarter of FY26 stood at Rs 7,771 crore, representing a year-on-year fall of 4.4%, compared to revenue of Rs 8,130 crore reported in the June quarter of FY25. Sequentially, the company saw a sharper 14.5% revenue decline from the March 2025 quarter, when it had posted its best-ever quarterly revenue of Rs 9,087 crore.

The company said the revenue in the first quarter of FY26 saw a decline on account of “lower volumes and lower zinc and lead commodity prices partly offset by higher silver prices, stronger dollar, and higher by-product realisations.”

“Despite commodity headwinds and a weaker dollar, our focus on sustainable and efficient production enabled us to deliver a consistent EBITDA margin of 50%,” said Sandeep Modi, Chief Financial Officer.

For the June quarter, the consolidated total expenses came in at Rs 5,065 crore, down 4% from the Rs 5,284 expenses reported in the June 2024 quarter.

Shares of Hindustan Zinc were down 0.9% on Friday at Rs 433 after the earnings announcement.The stock has gained around 4% year-to-date and 7% over the past six months, but has shed 2% in the last two weeks.Technical indicators point to persistent weakness. The stock is currently trading below all major simple moving averages, from the 5-day to the 200-day, indicating sustained bearish momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 43.5, placing it in neutral territory, while the MACD remains in negative territory at -8, reinforcing the downtrend.

The subdued Q1 performance follows a strong showing in the March 2025 quarter, where the company posted a 47% year-on-year surge in net profit to Rs 3,003 crore, boosted by higher metal prices, strong volumes, and lower production costs. Revenue in Q4 FY25 had jumped 20% year-on-year to Rs 9,087 crore, while EBITDA rose 32% to Rs 4,816 crore, with margins expanding by 500 basis points to 53%.

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

Markets rebounded after Tuesday’s decline, gaining over half a percent. In today’s trade, shares of Airtel, HDFC Bank, Macrotech Developers, Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Zinc among others will be in focus due to various news developments.

SpiceJet
SpiceJet, which had regular flights to Nepal before the Covid pandemic, has received scheduled approval and slots from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

Airtel
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and Finnish gear maker Nokia are expanding their core network collaboration to speed up new 5G service delivery.

South Indian Bank
South Indian Bank on Wednesday reported a 10% growth in gross advances while its deposits grew at a slower 5.5% pace.

Macrotech Developers
Realty developer Macrotech Developers, headed by Abhishek Lodha, has alleged that the House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), established by his younger brother Abhinandan Lodha, has used fabricated documents to unlawfully exploit the ‘Lodha’ brand and registered trademark.

Hindustan Copper
Hindustan Copper signed an agreement with CODELCO (Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile) for cooperation and exchange of information.

HDFC Bank
Sebi issued an administrative warning letter to the bank alleging certain non-compliances in relation to custodian activities being carried out by the Bank.

Simplex Infra
Simplex Infra entered into a one-time settlement with non-assignee lenders covering 6.27% out of 14.56% of non-assignee lenders.

Lupin
Lupin’s arm Lupin Healthcare (UK) acquires 100% stake of Renascience Pharma for £12.3 million.

Dhampur Bio Organics
Dhampur Bio Organics Board approved a change in company’s name from Dhampur Bio Organics to Divija Bio Organics.

M&M Financial Services
M&M Financial Services overall disbursements were up 1% year-on-year at Rs 15,480 crore. Business assets, meanwhile, increased 16% to Rs 1.19 lakh crore.

Hindustan Zinc
Hindustan Zinc reported its fourth-quarter production update, posting a 4% year-on-year (YoY) increase in mined metal output.

Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki said it will increase the prices of its cars across 7 models from April 8 2025. The company is raising the prices due to rising input costs, operational expenses and regulatory changes.

BEL
Bharat Electronics signed a contract worth Rs 593 crore with Indian Air Force to provide maintenance services for Akash Missile System, which was supplied by the company.

Vedanta has extended the deadline of the demerger of its businesses from March 31, 2025 to September 30, 2025 citing pending approvals from government authorities and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The company announced about the development late on Friday. Shares of Vedanta had ended at Rs 462.90 on the NSE, down by Rs 9.45 or 2%.

The mining conglomerate is looking to demerge its businesses – aluminium, oil & gas, power and steel- as separate entities. At present, these businesses are subsumed within Vedanta Ltd, which is an Indian arm of UK-based Vedanta Resources.

Post the demerger, every Vedanta shareholder – both retail and institutional – will receive one new share in each of the newly demerged companies.

There will be no change in the overall shareholding structure, the letter said.

Chairman Anil Agarwal in his recently written letter to the shareholders, said that investments in the company at the start of the past 5-year period would have yielded returns of 4.7 times. The returns are a combination of capital appreciation and cash dividends, he added, claiming that metals & mining company has delivered a dividend yield of 81% during this period which is highest amongst all its peers. “Anyone who had invested in Vedanta at the start of the past five-year period would have seen their investments multiplying over 4.7 times to date, both through capital appreciation and cash dividends returned,” the letter read.”Vedanta’s unique and irreplaceable assets, sector-leading position, strong global management, and financial discipline will ensure a stronger growth trajectory and higher returns going forward. The tremendous potential value unlock that the demerger will bring has also been captured well by many top
brokerages and leading analysts,” the letter said.

In a recent vote of shareholders, secured and unsecured creditors, 99.5% of shareholders and creditors voted in favour of our demerger.

Agarwal said that he envisions each of the four newly demerged companies to potentially grow into a $100 billion company.

The Vedanta chairman also said that the company is currently contributing close to 1.4% of India’s GDP.

Vedanta, which was listed on Indian exchanges in 1998, will hold over 63.4% of Hindustan Zinc (HZL).

HZL is an integrated producer of Zinc and silver.

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

The shares of Vedanta’s subsidiary Hindustan Zinc fell 1.5% to Rs 420.05 on the BSE on Tuesday after the company announced the issuance of Rs 500 crore worth of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) through a private placement.

The company’s Board of Directors approved the proposal during a recent meeting, reinforcing its commitment to raising capital through debt instruments without diluting shareholder equity.

“We hereby inform that the duly authorized Committee of Directors at its meeting held today i.e., Monday, March 10, 2025, has considered and approved the issuance of unsecured, redeemable, rated, listed, non-convertible debentures (“NCDs” or “ Debentures”) aggregating up to Rs 500 Crore, which NCDs are to be issued in following three separately transferable and redeemable principal parts,” the company informed.

The unsecured, rated, listed, and redeemable NCDs will be issued in three separate tranches under STRPPs (Separately Transferable Redeemable Principal Parts):

STRPP 1: Rs 100 croreSTRPP 2: Rs 100 crore

STRPP 3: Rs 300 crore (including STRPP 1 and STRPP 2)

The cumulative amount of the STRPPs will not exceed Rs 500 crore.

The issuance will be conducted through a private placement, targeting institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). A total of up to 50,000 debentures will be offered across all tranches, comprising 10,000 STRPP 1 debentures, 10,000 STRPP 2 debentures, and 30,000 STRPP 3 debentures.

Also read: IndusInd Bank shares in focus after 2.35% net worth impact from derivatives review

This structured debt offering is expected to enhance liquidity and financial flexibility, allowing the company to efficiently manage its capital requirements and fund expansion plans. As the debentures are rated and listed, they provide an attractive investment opportunity with fixed interest payouts and principal security.

The shares of Hindustan Zinc closed 0.55% lower at Rs 426.70 on the BSE on Monday.

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

Promoter pledge holdings went up at the fastest clip in nine stocks in the December ended quarter. IndusInd Bank saw the steepest jump of 5.4% and was followed by Anand Rathi Wealth, Ashok Leyland, Anupam Rasayan, and Laurus Lab at 4.3%, 2.9%, 2.7%, and 2.7%, respectively. Others like GMR Airports, Asian Paints, Medplus Health Services, and Emami also witnessed an uptick between 2.4% and 1%.

Kotak Equities, which analysed the pledged holdings of BSE-500 stocks, found that the promoters of 69 BSE 500 companies have pledged a part of their shareholdings as of December 31, 2024, ended quarter.

There were ten stocks where the promoter pledge fell. The sharpest fall of 3.9% was seen in Swan Energy and it was followed by Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Sun Pharma Advanced Research, Aurobindo Pharma, and Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals. The decrease was between 3.2% and 2.5%. Other stocks where pledged promoter holding saw a decline are Hindustan Zinc (1.9%), Ramco Cements (1.5%), UPL (0.9%), Asahi India Glass (0.5%) and Apollo Hospitals (0.5%).

The value of pledged promoter holdings stood at Rs 1.63 trillion which is about 0.4% of the total BSE-500 Index’s market capitalisation. The Kotak note also revealed that the value of the promoter (majority shareholder) pledged holding as a percentage of the promoter holding declined to 0.84% in the December 2024 quarter from 0.87% in the September ended quarter.

Also Read: PSU bank stocks crack up to 34% in the past one year. Is it time to exit?

The report compares changes in pledged holdings between the September 2024 and December 2024 quarters. Changes in pledged holdings after December 2024 have not been incorporated in this report.The pledging of shares does not necessarily imply that a company or a promoter is under financial stress and could simply mean that the banks (lenders) may have sought additional security in the form of promoter shares.Laurus Labs saw fresh promoter pledges while the companies in which promoters released almost entire pledged holdings/sold stakes to repay debts included Sun Pharma Advanced Research and UPL.

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

Vedanta announced a dividend of ₹20 per share on Monday, marking its third interim dividend for the current fiscal year, amounting to a payout of ₹7,821 crore.

The record date for the dividend is set for September 10. This follows the company’s previous dividends of ₹11 per share in May and ₹4 per share in July. The natural resources major recently raised ₹3,100 crore by selling a 1.5% stake in its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc. Additionally, in July, the company secured ₹8,500 crore through a qualified institutional placement.