Hindustan Copper shares surge for a fourth straight session, stock climbs nearly 55% in a month; here is why

Shares of the state-run copper producer, Hindustan Copper, surged for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, January 6, as the prices of the red metal continue to scale new highs in the international as well as domestic markets. Hindustan Copper shares rose as much as 4% in the intraday deals on Tuesday to hit record high of ₹574.60 on the National Stock Exchange. On the BSE, Hindustan Copper shares advanced as much as 3.94% amid higher than usual trading activity.

In the last one-month shares of Hindustan Copper have jumped a whopping 55%, data from the NSE showed.

Price of copper for delivery on January 30 rose as much as 1.62% to ₹1,334.70 per kilogram on the MCX. On the London Metal Exchange, copper surged to $13,000 per tonne for the first time as mine outage in Chile was the latest trigger for spike in the price of industrial metal.

Miners at the Capstone Copper's Mantoverde copper and gold mine in northern Chile went on a strike starting Friday after talks between the main union and the company on new labour contracts broke down.

The union said its 645 members began the strike at 8 a.m. local time (1100 GMT) after failing to reach an agreement late on Thursday. The union said negotiations fell apart after the company didn't agree to the union's final demands, which had estimated cost of about $500,000 a year, representing about 0.03% of the company's projected income of $1.4 billion, according to a report by news agency Reuters.

In a statement Friday, the Union No. 2 of Mantoverde said it had enough resources to sustain the strike for at least two months, which it claims could generate losses of up to $160 million.

Chile is the world's largest copper producer and the strike comes at a time when global copper prices have soared to record highs.

Meanwhile, shares of other copper companies involved in the business of copper were also witnessing buying interest. Hindalco, the Aditya Birla Group copper company, rose as much as 4.2% to hit fresh 52-week high of ₹970.80. Since January 2025, Hindalco shares have climbed 64%. Bhagyanagar India, the copper products maker has seen its shares jump by 82% (since Jan1, 2025) while Precision Wires shares have advanced 52% (since Jan 1, 2025).

Copper prices have been on an upward spiral amid supply challenges in major producing regions such as Chile and Indonesia, where environmental disruptions and operational issues have contributed to a tighter global market.

According to a JPMorgan report copper market has tightened significantly on the back of acute supply disruptions, sending prices soaring.

"In September, a fatal mudslide occurred at Grasberg in Indonesia — the world’s second largest copper mine — triggering a force majeure; the Grassberg Block Cave portion of the mine, which accounts for 70% of previously forecasted production, is expected to remain closed until the second quarter of 2026. Elsewhere, production guidance at the Quebrada Blanca copper mine in Chile has been downgraded due to operational challenges, further compounding the global shortage," JPMorgan said in a report.

JPMorgan noted that the current market tightness is unfolding against a backdrop of disrupted copper inventories. After front-loading imports earlier in the year, the US now holds ample copper reserves. Yet, with the risk that refined copper may eventually face Section 232 tariffs, US copper prices continue to trade at a premium to the LME.

As of 12:42 pm, Hindustan Copper shares traded 2.42% higher at ₹565.95, outperforming the NIFTY Metal index which was up 1%.