On Friday (December 26th), the nonferrous metals sector led the market gains, attracting a net inflow of 14.7 billion yuan in main funds throughout the day, ranking first in capital absorption among the 31 Shenwan primary industries! Among popular ETFs, Huabao Nonferrous Metals ETF (159876), which holds leading companies in the nonferrous metals industry, saw its intraday price surge sharply by up to 4.19%, ultimately closing up 3.77%. Its closing gain ranked seventh on the list of top-performing ETFs across the entire market, continuing to set new highs since its listing!
Notably, Huabao Nonferrous Metals ETF (159876) had attracted capital inflows for two consecutive days prior, totaling 56.11 million yuan, reflecting positive market sentiment towards the sector's future performance and active positioning by investors.
Regarding constituent stocks, Yongxing Materials, Guocheng Mining, and Jiangxi Copper all hit the daily limit-up, while China Mineral Resources and Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) rose over 8%. Yunnan Copper and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group also saw significant gains. Furthermore, heavyweight stocks Zijin Mining and CMOC both reached new historical highs.
Extending the timeline, the underlying index of Huabao Nonferrous Metals ETF (159876) has accumulated a gain of 93.04% since its low point this year (April 8th), significantly outperforming major indices such as the Shanghai Composite Index (29.75%) and the CSI 300 Index (28.00%).
On the news front, a wave of price increases swept through the nonferrous metals market. On Friday, gold, copper, and lithium all hit new highs: COMEX gold rose to a record high of $4,561.6 per ounce; COMEX copper reached a阶段性新高 of $5.7855 per pound; and the lithium carbonate futures contract broke strongly through the 130,000 yuan per ton mark during the session, gaining over 8% intraday to reach its highest level since November 2023.
Overall, this market rally is not driven by a single factor but is amplified by improved fundamentals, combined with liquidity, sentiment, and capital flows. Industry insiders point out that the strong performance of the metals sector in 2025 stems from a positive confluence of macro-financial policies and structural changes in supply and demand, with bullish capital in financial markets providing additional momentum. Under sector rotation effects, various metal varieties have taken turns rising and expanding their gains. Founder Securities believes the current period represents a "golden era" for nonferrous metals.
From a segmented perspective, industry insiders attribute the collective strength in nonferrous metals primarily to four supporting factors: ① Rising geopolitical uncertainty has significantly increased safe-haven demand, leading to sustained capital inflows into assets like gold; ② A阶段性 weakening of the US dollar has prompted a shift towards physical assets represented by precious metals, while also boosting prices of base metals like copper; ③ Against the backdrop of accelerating AI development and the global energy transition, demand for related metals has seen a structural uplift; ④ Supply-side constraints persist, with frequent disruptions at the mine end for varieties like copper leading to tight supply, providing solid support for price increases.
Looking ahead, China International Capital Corporation (CICC) believes nonferrous metals will be in the "first tier" of assets with an upward trend in 2026. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Bank of America all suggest that gold prices could challenge the historic high of $5,000 per ounce in 2026, with central bank gold purchases being the most important supporting factor. Citigroup believes that copper prices will continue to rise in 2026, supported by multiple bullish factors including gradually improving fundamentals and a favorable macro backdrop.
Different nonferrous metals exhibit varying景气度, rhythms, and drivers, making differentiation inevitable. For those bullish on the sector, a relatively straightforward strategy to capture the broader beta行情 is through comprehensive exposure. Huabao Nonferrous Metals ETF (159876) and its linked fund (Class A: 017140, Class C: 017141), which encompass leading companies, provide broad coverage of sectors including copper, aluminum, gold, rare earths, and lithium. Compared to investing in a single metal sector, this offers risk diversification and is suitable as a component within an investment portfolio.
Risk Disclosure: The Nonferrous Metals Leaders ETF and its linked fund passively track the CSI Nonferrous Metals Index. The base date of this index is December 31, 2013, and it was published on July 13, 2015. The index's performance over the past five complete years is as follows: 2020: +35.84%; 2021: +35.89%; 2022: -19.22%; 2023: -10.43%; 2024: +2.96%. The index constituents are adjusted according to its compilation rules, and its past performance does not indicate future results. The mention of index constituents in this article is for illustrative purposes only; descriptions of individual stocks are not investment recommendations in any form and do not represent the holdings or trading动向 of any fund managed by the management company. The fund manager assesses the risk等级 of this fund as R3-Medium Risk, suitable for investors with a Balanced (C3) or higher risk profile. Suitability matching opinions should be based on the selling institution's assessment. Any information appearing in this article is for reference only, and investors are responsible for any independent investment decisions. Furthermore, any views, analysis, or forecasts in this article do not constitute investment advice of any kind to readers, and no responsibility is accepted for any direct or indirect losses resulting from the use of this content. Fund investment carries risks; past performance of a fund does not guarantee its future results, and the performance of other funds managed by the fund manager does not constitute a guarantee of the fund's performance. Fund investment should be approached with caution.