Shares of metals and mining companies surged on the bourses in noon trades after LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME), rose 2.16% to close at $3,498.60 on 12 January 2012.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) metal index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices rallied as much as 4% or 435 points compared to 1% gain in the benchmark index Sensex at 1313 hours.

Among the individual stocks, Tata Steel has spurted 9% to Rs 424, its largest single day gain in past 31 months. Coal India has jumped 6%, followed by JSW Steel & Jindal Steel and Power (up 5% each) and Sterlite Industries and SAIL (up 4% each) on the BSE.

Meanwhile, copper rose to its highest level in more than two months on Thursday, boosted by the euro's strength against the dollar and a Spanish bond auction that drew strong demand, easing some immediate concerns about peripheral euro zone debt, a Reuters report suggests.

LME copper peaked at $8,074.50 a tonne, its priciest level since 31 October 2011, before ending the day with a $220 gain at $8,005. Copper, used largely in power and construction, is considered a gauge of economic activity.

Other metals in the complex also touched multi-month highs. Nickel hit a 2-1/2 month high, tin rose to its highest level in 1-1/2 months, aluminium hit a near 2-month high while zinc hit a one-month high.