Sterlite Industries India (up 5.08%), JSW Steel (up 4.23%), Sesa Goa (up 4.18%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 3.44%), Hindustan Zinc (up 3.19%), Sail (up 2.27%), Nalco (up 1.90%), Tata Steel (up 1.82%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.21%) and NMDC (up 0.23%), edged higher.

The BSE Metal index was up 2.14% at 11,168.84 and was the top gainer among the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE. It outperformed the Sensex, which was up 0.21% at 17,462.98.

The BSE Metal index had outperformed the market over the past one month till 3 July 2012, rising 10.06% as compared with Sensex's 9.15% surge. The index, however, underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 4.69% as against Sensex's 0.98% fall.

LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange gained 2.78% on Tuesday, 3 July 2012.

China's services firms grew at their slowest rate in 10 months in June as new order growth cooled albeit while marking 43 months of consistent expansion, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday.

Chinese policymakers surprised markets in June 2012 with a 25 basis point cut to borrowing rates, bringing the official one-year lending rate down to 6.31% in the wake of a slew of deteriorating data.