Copper stocks are extending their recent declines, with Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd (HKEX: 00358) down 4.94% at HK$22.72, China Molybdenum Co Ltd (HKEX: 03993) down 4.71% at HK$11.54, MMG Ltd (HKEX: 01208) down 4.10% at HK$6.55, and China Nonferrous Mining Corp Ltd (HKEX: 01258) down 3.19% at HK$10.94 as of press time.

On the news front, the COMEX-LME copper price spread has narrowed to around US$0 per tonne. Everbright Futures said in a research note that the issue of US copper stockpiling remains unresolved, the COMEX-LME copper spread is no longer attractive for trade arbitrage, and LME US inventories have begun to build. Overall, copper prices are being driven by macro factors in the short term, but over the medium term copper prices are expected to remain rangebound and weak, with the core tension being the tug-of-war between "the narrative of weaker overseas AI and US copper stockpiling at both the macro and micro levels" and "fundamental support from extremely low domestic inventories and extreme premiums."

Notably, as the market worries that a Democratic-controlled Congress could slow the pace of AI investment and data center expansion, investors have become more cautious about the AI boom. Goldman Sachs said that after the US midterm elections, its 2027 copper price forecast of US$15,400 per tonne faces downside risk due to AI-related positioning and lower US tariff expectations.