Copper, base metals rally as China plans more measures to support growth

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) +5.4% pre-market Thursday as copper futures rallied back toward $10K/ton and other industrial metals gained, driven by news of further aggressive economic stimulus measures from China.

Other mining and metals stocks also are rising, including Alcoa (AA) +5.8%, Southern Copper (SCCO) +4.8%, BHP (BHP) +4.5%, Vale (VALE) +4.2%, Rio Tinto (RIO) +3.9%, Hudbay Minerals (HBM) +3.9%, Teck Resources (TECK) +3.8%, Century Aluminum (CENX) +2.8%.

An official readout from a meeting of China’s Politburo said the country will deploy “necessary fiscal spending” to meet this year’s 5% economic growth target, raising market expectations for fresh stimulus on top of measures announced earlier this week.

The announcement followed reports that China is considering a $142B capital injection into the biggest state banks.

Benchmark copper (HG1:COM) on the London Metal Exchange recently traded +1.5% at $9,955.50/ton, while zinc jumped 2% and aluminum rose 1.6%.

Chinese iron ore futures rallied 2.8% to $99.20/ton, extending a nearly 8% surge in the previous two sessions.