Metal stocks are shining bright today morning. The top gainer remains Hind Zinc and others following are Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Sesa Goa, Hindalco, Sterlite Inds and NMDC. The S&P Metal index is up 2.5% while the S&P BSE Sensex is up by less than 0.5%.

Metal stocks are up on the back of HSBC China Manufacturing Purchase Manager Index (PMI). The latest data released shows that this PMI rose to 50.1 in Aug compared to 47.7 in July. This is exuberant news as statistically, a reading above 50 indicates expansion. China, as well know, is the world’s largest metal consumer and any expansion in PMI there means demand could buoy up. This is a bright spark of good news in this otherwise lackluster market.