Base metals witnessed sharp gains as the weaker dollar coupled with upbeat manufacturing data from the U. S and China triggered fresh buying in them.

Nickel, Zinc and Copper gained over 5 percent on LME. Zinc and Nickel rose by about 5 percent on MCX in the last trading session.

IN FOCUS: General Motors Co said on Monday its U. S. auto sales fell 19.4 percent in July from a year earlier, but retail sales rose from the month before for a fifth consecutive month, supported by the U. S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" incentives. European car sales also posted gains in July.

World copper mine production rose 21 percent between 1999 and 2008 to 15.5 Million tonnes, the International Copper Study Group said. China and India's annual refined production more than tripled over the full 10-year period, increasing by
2.6 million tonnes to 3.8 million tonnes and by 470,000 tonnes to 675,000 tonnes respectively.

ISM Manufacturing PMI turned out to be better-than-expected. It was found to be 48.9 in the month of July against the expected figure of 46.2.

Base metals: We may see some profit taking today as we don’t have any economic trigger today. Nickel still looks good to us fundamentally. Aluminium and Copper may move up further.