Hindustan Copper Jumps 43% In September; Key Reasons Behind The Surge Revealed | Markets News

The Nifty Metal index touched an over 11-month high on NSE

The Nifty Metal index touched an over 11-month high at 10,174.75 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Thursday’s intra-day trade, propelled by strong rallies in shares of Hindustan Copper, Vedanta, Hindalco, and Hindustan Zinc. The index was trading at its highest level since October 7, 2024.

At 10:26 AM, the Nifty Metal index, the top gainer among sectoral indices, was up 1 per cent, compared to a 0.06 per cent decline in the Nifty 50. So far in September 2025, the metal index has surged 11 per cent, against a 2.5 per cent rise in the benchmark index. The Nifty Metal index is now seen inching towards its all-time high of 10,322.05, reached on October 3, 2024.

What’s driving Hindustan Copper stock?

Among individual stocks, Hindustan Copper rallied 6 per cent to Rs 329.99 on the NSE in intra-day trade amid heavy volumes. In September, the stock has zoomed 43 per cent and now trades close to its 52-week high of Rs 353, touched on October 1, 2024, according to NSE data.

In the past four trading days, Hindustan Copper gained 16 per cent after the company announced that the Rakha mining lease deed was executed between the company and the District Commissioner (DC), Jamshedpur, on September 19, 2025, for an extended period of 20 years. Meanwhile, copper prices jumped on Wednesday after Freeport-McMoRan declared force majeure on contracted supplies from its Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia.

According to a Reuters report, Goldman Sachs on Thursday lowered its global copper mine supply forecast for 2025 and 2026 following the disruption at Indonesia’s Grasberg, the world’s second-largest copper mine. The brokerage sees upside risks to its December 2025 London Metal Exchange (LME) copper price forecast of $9,700 per ton, suggesting prices could settle in the $10,200–$10,500 range.

Copper demand in India is expected to rise alongside economic growth. Increased demand from the power sector, the government’s focus on renewable energy, and growing household consumption of consumer durables are all likely to boost copper usage. Manufacturers of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) will also drive consumption, as EVs use four times more copper than traditional internal combustion engines, Hindustan Copper noted.

How have other metal stocks fared?

Among other metal stocks, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tata Steel, and JSW Steel rallied between 9 per cent and 12 per cent in the past month.

Looking ahead, ferrous players are expected to sustain EBITDA per ton due to higher volumes from new capacity ramp-ups and lower coking coal costs ($5–10/tonne), despite a partial correction in metal prices (down more than Rs 2,000/tonne QoQ), according to ICICI Securities.

In the non-ferrous segment, despite aluminium prices declining ~7 per cent QoQ in the June 2025 quarter, Hindalco and Vedanta maintained operating performance, supported by higher premiums from value-added product sales and lower input costs. Profitability is expected to improve gradually, driven by capacity expansions, greater backward integration, and robust domestic demand, particularly from sunrise sectors like EVs and renewable energy, the brokerage noted.

Non-ferrous players are expected to see margin expansion in Q2, with LME prices on an uptrend compared to Q1. Analysts at JM Financial Institutional Securities anticipate a jump in H2 spreads driven by a) USD 20/tn rebound in China domestic HRC prices in Q2 compared to Q1, b) Indian government plugging loopholes in safeguard duty, c) increased visibility on import duty from 200 days to 3 years, and d) H2 being a seasonally strong period consumption-wise.