NEW DELHI: Most metal and mining stocks were under strong pressure in afternoon trade on Thursday. The BSE Metal index was trading 1.79 per cent down at 12,922 around 02:15 pm.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco)(down 3.45 per cent), Hindalco Industries (down 2.85 per cent) and Jindal Steel Power (down 2.82 per cent) were the top losers in the metal pack.

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) (down 2.71 per cent), Vedanta (down 2.30 per cent) and Tata Steel (down 1.80 per cent) too declined significantly.

JSW Steel (down 1.13 per cent), Coal India (down 1.03 per cent) and NMDC (down 0.48 per cent) fell in that order . Meanwhile, Hindustan Zinc (up 0.95 per cent) was up in the index around that time.

Equity market was lacklustre amid mixed Asian cues.

The risk appetite of investors received a blow as US-China trade war intensified after new tariffs kicked in. Benchmark BSE Sensex was up 53 points at 38,339, while the NSE Nifty50 index was up 8 points at 11,578. Among the 50 stocks in the Nifty index, 24 were trading in the green, while 26 were in the red.

In the Sensex kitty, 15 stocks were advancing, while 16 were declining. Larsen Toubro, Reliance Industries and NTPC were among the top gainers in the Sensex index. Tata Motors, Vedanta and Tata Steel were among the top losers in the Sensex pack.