The shares of Hindustan Zinc jumped around 5 percent on January 27 as silver prices extended their record bull run, rushing to fresh lifetime highs. Silver ETFs also mirrored the sharp surge in the precious metals.

Hindustan Zinc shares hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 733 apiece in the early trading hours of Tuesday. The Vedanta Group-company is the largest producer of silver in India, and produces refined silver with a minimum 99.9 percent purity.

Silver prices soar to fresh lifetime highs:

Silver futures on MCX with March expiry jumped more than 7 percent to hit a fresh lifetime high of Rs 3,59,800 per kilogram. The future contracts with May and July expiries also surged to new all-time highs of Rs 3,75,261 per kg and Rs 3,82,940 per kg, respectively.

Spot silver surged 5.2 percent to $109.22 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $117.69 ?on Monday. The white metal has already surged 53% ?so far this year. "Trump's disruptive policy approach this year is playing into the hands of ?precious metals as a defensive play. The threats of higher tariffs to Canada and South Korea are doing enough to keep gold a safe-haven choice," said Reuters quoted Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's chief market ?analyst, as saying.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would raise tariffs on South Korean autos, lumber, and pharmaceuticals imports to 25 percent, criticizing Seoul for failing to enact a trade deal with Washington.

This came after he threatened tariffs on Canada. The tariff flip-flops have significantly boosted the precious metals.

Silver ETFs:

Silver exchange traded funds (ETFs) saw significant surge today, as the precious and industrial metal soared. Nippon India Silver ETF (Silverbees) jumped nearly 10 percent to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 321.48 apiece. Groww Silver ETF also gained around 10 percent.

Zerodha Silver ETF gained more than 11 percent to a new record high of Rs 34.7 apiece. HDFC Silver ETF meanwhile surged more than 12 percent.

UTI Silver ETF, Aditya Birla Sun Life Silver ETF, Tata Silver ETF, ICICI Pru Silver ETF, DSP Silver ETF, Motilal Oswal Silver ETF, Axis Silver ETF and others also gained sharply.

Should you buy silver ETFs at these levels?

For those looking at fresh investment, the main risk right now is valuation and sentiment, said Ross Maxwell, Global Strategy Operations Lead at VT Markets. He added that silver is far more volatile than gold, and sharp rallies are often followed by equally sharp corrections once speculative interest cools.

"Entering at current highs could expose new investors to near-term drawdowns if prices consolidate or retrace sharply. A better approach for those who still want exposure is to use dollar cost averaging strategies, entering in small, staggered allocations that average out entry costs and reduce timing risk," he said.

For investors planning to exit their positions, Maxwell said that if silver was added as a tactical hedge or short-term trade, then this is a sensible area to book at least partial profits. "Locking in gains and rebalancing back to target asset allocation helps protect against sudden reversals, which are common in precious metals," he said.

However, investors with a longer-term view who believe in structural drivers like industrial demand and tight supply may choose to continue holding a core position, the expert added. "This is not an ideal price for large fresh investments, and partial profit-taking for current holders is a rational risk-management move rather than a full exit," he explained.