Tata Steel surges 5 per cent post UK unit's agreement with unions

New Delhi: Shares of Tata Steel today surged by 5 per cent in morning trade on the bourses after the company committed to a 10-year investment plan for UK.

Tata Steel yesterday pledged to stay in Britain with a 10-year commitment to a one-billion-pound investment plan as part of crucial talks with steelworkers' unions to save thousands of jobs in the UK.

Shares of the company opened on a bullish note, then surged as much as 4.87 per cent to touch an early high of Rs 432.60 on BSE. The stock witnessed a spurt in volumes by more than 1.13 times today on BSE.

A similar movement was seen on NSE counter as well, where the stock opened at Rs 417.70, then jumped 4.87 per cent to an early high of Rs 432. The Indian steel giant offered a number of guarantees to its staff at Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales -- the UK's largest steel plant -- including a minimum five-year guarantee to keep both furnaces operational at the site.

Tatas will next week start consultation with its employees on a proposal to close the British Steel Pension Scheme, which has liabilities of over 15 billion pound, and offer employees a "competitive defined contribution scheme" in its place. The future of its UK business will remain contingent on a solution being achieved to the pension scheme.