HK Stock Market Move | Copper stocks collectively strengthen, copper prices hit record highs. Institutions are optimistic that the tight supply will continue to push up copper prices.

The copper industry stocks collectively strengthened. As of press time, JIANGXI COPPER (00358) rose by 7.69% to HK$33.04; CDAYENONFER (00661) rose by 7.53% to HK$0.1; MMG (01208) rose by 6.8% to HK$7.38; CHINFMINING (01258) rose by 6.35% to HK$15.9; CMOC Group Limited (03993) rose by 5.2% to HK$17. On the news front, last Friday, London Metal Exchange LME copper futures surged more than 4% intraday, breaking through $11,200, hitting a four-week high. Guosheng pointed out that looking back at 2025, continuous disruptions in the mining sector exceeded market expectations, while establishing a shortage pattern for 2026. According to the bank's analysis, excluding unexpected disruptions, it is expected that the incremental copper supply in 2026 will only be 630,000 tons, which will be difficult to fill the gap caused by demand growth. The copper sector in 2026 is expected to continue to benefit from the double-click of performance and valuation. Orient believes that the tight supply is expected to continue to push up copper prices, and the expectation of strict control of smelting capacity may bring marginal improvement in midstream profitability. Recently, the Chilean National Copper Corporation proposed long-term contract prices for 2026, significantly increasing the premium for copper supply to $350 per ton, highlighting the tight supply situation in the copper mining sector. At the same time, Trump has signed an order to launch an AI research program called "Guangdong Create Century Intelligent Equipment Group Corporation Task," and the wave of AI data center construction downstream may further increase demand for copper, continually pushing up the central price of copper. From the midstream smelting perspective, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association has also issued a strong signal opposing the pricing chaos of zero smelting fees, stating that it has stopped about 2 million tons of illegal capacity to curb excessive expansion.