Southern Copper Leads LatAm Miners Higher on Copper Jump
Rising copper prices triggered a broad rally in Latin American mining equities, while regional currencies strengthened against the dollar.
Copper prices jumped, driving a sharp rally in Latin American mining equities and signaling robust demand expectations for the key industrial metal. Southern Copper led the regional gains with a 7.39% surge, while Peruvian peer Buenaventura climbed 3.96%. In Brazil, CMIN3 advanced 3.53% and steelmaker USIM5 added 3.68%, though global giant VALE3 registered a more modest 0.43% increase.
The equity moves in the materials sector aligned with broad-based currency strength across the region. The Colombian peso outperformed, strengthening 1.69% against the US dollar. The Brazilian real and Mexican peso also firmed, with USD/BRL dropping 0.31% to 5.07 and USD/MXN easing to 17.40. Brazil's central bank held the benchmark Selic rate steady at 14.25%.
Brazilian equities exhibited pronounced divergence outside the mining sector. State-controlled BBAS3 rose 3.52% and shares of PCAR3 surged 5.00%. However, the domestic healthcare and pharmacy retail segment faced heavy selling pressure. RDOR3 plunged 4.32%, RAIA DROGASIL fell 3.00%, and HAPV3 dropped 2.68%. Petrochemical group BRKM5 declined 3.87%, while state oil firm PETR4 bucked the mixed trend to close up 1.24%.
Elsewhere in the region, Mexican and Argentine stocks posted strong sessions. GMEXICO gained 4.34% and GFNORTE advanced 3.22%. In Argentina, energy and utility stocks drove gains, with PAMPA climbing 3.89%, TGS up 2.21%, and TELECOM ARG adding 2.65%. The BYMA index ticked down 0.51%.
These emerging market moves unfolded against a backdrop of solid global risk appetite. The VIX volatility index fell 8.58% to 17.05, while the NDX climbed 1.93%. European equities followed suit, with the DAX, FTSE, and STOXX all posting gains between 0.56% and 0.66%. Asian markets were mixed, as a 1.84% jump in the NIKKEI contrasted with a 0.72% decline in the HSI. US 10-year Treasury yields ticked up to 4.628%.
Digital assets participated in the broader risk-on environment. BTC rose 1.74% to 66,365, and ETH added 1.44%. AAVE was a notable outperformer, surging 7.68%, while HBAR gained 4.94%.
