New Delhi, Oct. 7 -- Metal stocks are likely to deliver a mixed performance in the September quarter, with Coal India and Tata Steel emerging as Nuvama Institutional Equities' preferred names, while Jindal Steel is expected to be the key underperformer.

In its Q2 FY27 preview, Nuvama expects most steel companies under its coverage to report a 10-13% sequential increase in EBITDA, supported by a recovery in volumes after maintenance shutdowns during Q1. However, lower realisations and higher costs are expected to weigh on profitability on a per-tonne basis.

The brokerage expects steel volumes to recover by 6-25% QoQ, helped by capacity ramp-ups. At the same time, average flat steel prices remained relatively firm, while long steel prices...