Mumbai, Jan 17, 2026, 17:36 IST — Market closed.
- Vedanta ended Friday at 682.70 rupees, up 1.03%, after touching 686.00.
- Metals stocks outperformed this week as global metal prices rose on supply concerns.
- Focus now shifts to commodity prices and Hindustan Zinc’s results on Jan. 19.
Vedanta Ltd shares closed at 682.70 rupees on Friday, up 1.03%, after hitting 686.00 — the top of their 52-week range. About 27.7 million shares changed hands, with the stock swinging between 664.35 and 686.00. 1
The broader backdrop stayed constructive for metals. India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.11% to 25,694.35 on Friday and the Sensex added 0.23% to 83,570.35, while the metal index gained 4.6% this week as global metal prices jumped on supply concerns. “The initial set of earnings has been better than the market expected. This could give some directional move,” said Pankaj Pandey, head of retail research at ICICI Securities. 2
Vedanta, in a recent filing, said it received an ESG score of 67 — categorised as “Strong” — from SEBI-registered ESG rating provider ESGRisk.ai. The company said it “has not engaged ESGRisk.ai” and that the rating was issued independently. 3
ESG, short for environmental, social and governance, is a framework some funds use to screen companies. The scores can move sentiment at the margin, but flows in Vedanta still tend to track metal prices, dividends and the debt story.
The other theme hanging over the stock is the group’s long-running demerger plan — a split into five listed units. A tribunal cleared the proposal last month and the company has said it aims to complete it by March 31, 2026; Vedanta would retain the base metals business, with other units spanning aluminium, power, steel and iron, and an energy arm. Vedanta’s consolidated borrowings stood at 259.38 billion rupees at the end of September, the filing said. 4
For traders, the question is timing and plumbing. The market wants cleaner visibility on how cash flows and debt sit across the post-split entities, and how much room the group keeps for dividends once the paperwork is done.
Metal-sector voices have been leaning into that view. Market veteran Arun Kejriwal told Business Today that “in the first 15 days of this year, again, the metal pack has outperformed every other index,” flagging Vedanta and Hindalco as preferred ways to play aluminium, copper and zinc-linked demand. 5
That ties Vedanta to a simple set of screens next week: where aluminium and zinc prices head, what China demand looks like, and whether the metal trade keeps pulling in local money even as foreign investors stay net sellers.
One near-term trigger sits inside the group. Hindustan Zinc is scheduled to hold a board meeting on Jan. 19 for quarterly results, which can reset expectations for zinc pricing, costs and cash returns — all relevant for a parent that markets itself as a diversified metal-to-energy play. 6
But the trade can turn fast. A pullback in metal prices, a wobble in the demerger timeline, or fresh concerns around leverage and refinancing at the broader group level could clip the momentum and drag the stock back into the middle of its recent range.
When India’s market reopens on Monday, Vedanta will take its cue from the metal tape first — and then from headlines around the demerger process and Hindustan Zinc’s Jan. 19 numbers.
