Source: Sharecast
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta was the top gainer after JPMorgan Cazenove double upgraded the shares to ‘overweight’ from ‘underweight’ and hiked the price target to 2,400p from 1,600p citing a positive long-term copper outlook and leading medium-term copper growth.
The bank said its sector view since December 2024 has been that a return to US-China trade tensions could weigh on copper prices & EMEA miners before China stimulus later in the first quarter of 2024 could drive a V-shaped recovery.
JPM said its China economists expect the upcoming 5-8 March NPC meeting could deliver fiscal stimulus, including consumer support, which it believes will be supportive for copper demand and mining equities.
JPM Commodities still forecast the copper market shifting to deficit in 2025, widening to a more than 3Mt deficit by 2030.
The bank said that within EMEA mining, Antofagasta offers +15%/+30% copper growth to 2027/28E versus 2024, which is higher than peers.
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square rose after it revised its offer to increase its stake in Howard Hughes, proposing a $900m deal to acquire 10 million newly-issued shares at $90 per share.
BAE Systems was also on the rise after it posted a jump in full-year profit and a record order backlog.
Glencore was under the cosh, however, as the miner reported a fall in annual core earnings due to weaker commodities prices but said it would still return $2.2bn to shareholders via dividends and a buyback.
The company’s chief executive also said it was considering ditching its primary listing in the UK in favour of New York or another location where it can "get the right valuation".
EasyJet flew lower after Jet2 said full-year profits were set to rise but also warned it was facing material cost increases and that profit margins in the year ahead may come under some pressure.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,877.00p 2.29%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,538.00p 1.11%
SSE (SSE) 1,477.00p 0.92%
Pearson (PSON) 1,354.00p 0.45%
BT Group (BT.A) 147.65p 0.34%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,341.00p 0.34%
National Grid (NG.) 946.20p 0.28%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 4,327.00p 0.19%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,119.50p 0.18%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,140.50p 0.18%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Glencore (GLEN) 331.40p -6.27%
easyJet (EZJ) 496.00p -4.17%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,033.00p -3.19%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,953.00p -3.03%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,379.00p -3.02%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 426.50p -2.94%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 81.66p -2.76%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,635.00p -2.55%
Kingfisher (KGF) 244.40p -2.44%
Fresnillo (FRES) 765.00p -2.42%