Shares of metal companies have rallied up to 4% after the mining and quarrying sector exhibited a growth of 1.9% in the second quarter (July-September) of this fiscal. The sector had recorded 5.4% fall during the same quarter of previous fiscal on year-on-year basis.

Sterlite Industries, Jindal Steel and Power, NMDC, Steel Authority of India, Tata Steel, Sesa Goa, Hindalco Industries and JSW Steel are up 2-4% on the BSE. 

The BSE metal index, the largest gainer among the sectoral indices, is up nearly 2% or 177 points compared to 0.5% or 95 points rise in benchmark Sensex at 1149 hours.

Meanwhile, LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME), rose almost 2% on Thursday.