Base metals climb as zinc leads overnight gains
LME zinc led broad overnight base-metal gains with a 2.06% rise, while Indian metal stocks showed weaker positioning. Hindalco and Tata Steel recorded futures short build-ups, whereas Reliance futures saw short covering.
pre-market1 source ↓machine-written, see hownot a recommendation
- HINDALCO close
- ₹892.85
- On the day
- -0.84%
- Futures OI, short build-up
- +1.3%
- Put-call ratio
- 0.80
- Max pain
- ₹920.00
Base metals advanced broadly in overnight trading on 24 Oct 2026, led by a 2.06% rise in LME zinc. LME copper gained 1.56%, LME tin rose 1.35% and LME aluminium added 1.03%. In domestic trading, SHFE tin climbed 1.81%, SHFE aluminium rose 1.62%, SHFE zinc gained 1.34% and SHFE copper advanced 0.99%. Nickel moved against the trend, falling 1.58% on LME and 0.55% on SHFE. Crude oil also surged, while precious metals weakened, with COMEX gold down 1.24% and recording a second consecutive weekly decline. ⚡
The overnight move supports a constructive read across industrial metals, but Indian metal equities were not yet reflecting that strength in the latest OI Charts data. Hindalco closed at ₹892.85 on 21 Oct, down 0.8% on the day and 9% over 20 sessions. Its futures showed a short build-up, with open interest rising 1.3% to 57,304,800 shares, while the put-call ratio stood at 0.8. The ₹960 call strike held the largest call open interest and ₹850 the largest put open interest, with max pain at ₹920 for the 27 Oct expiry.
Tata Steel also recorded a short build-up: its stock fell 0.9% to ₹172.45, while futures open interest increased 0.5%. The stock was down 6% over 20 sessions, with the largest call open interest at ₹200, the largest put open interest at ₹180 and max pain at ₹180. These positions show that recent domestic metal-stock sentiment remained weaker than the overnight global commodity tape. 📉
Reliance was comparatively firmer, rising 0.6% to ₹1,209 on 21 Oct and gaining 3.6% over five sessions. Its futures showed short covering as open interest fell 2.7%, while the put-call ratio was 0.58. The ₹1,250 call and ₹1,160 put carried the largest open interest, with max pain at ₹1,210 for the same expiry.
Traders will watch whether LME strength carries into the next Indian session and whether the ₹920, ₹180 and ₹1,210 max-pain levels attract prices into the 27 Oct expiry. The divergence between overseas metals and domestic equity positioning remains the key near-term signal. OI Charts data is as of 21 Oct 2026.
Source: Shanghai Metals Market, 24 Oct 2026
Not investment advice. For informational purposes only.