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Summary
- Metals and mining stocks have recently been facing volatility caused by fluctuation in metals prices.
- Copper futures prices fell by over 2 per cent on 19 May, causing Rio Tinto and Antofagasta shares to drop by over 2.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively in the early trading on the stock market
- Rio Tinto recently announced plans to buy an 8 per cent stake in Western Copper and Gold, while Antofagasta announced new targets of reducing carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2025 after meeting its earlier emission goals
The metals and mining stocks have been facing some volatility recently due to fluctuations in non-precious metals prices. Metals prices fell today, dragging stocks in the sector down. Copper futures prices were trading at USD 10,173.75, down by 2.33 per cent as of 19 May at 11:19 HRS GMT+1.
Here we take a look at two FTSE 100 listed industrial metals and mining stocks which saw a sharp intraday drop on the LSE in early trading today:
- Rio Tinto PLC (LON: RIO)
Rio Tinto is an Anglo-Australian multinational company and is the second-largest metals and mining organization. The company announced recently its plans to acquire an 8 per cent stake in Western Copper and Gold for almost US$ 21.1 million through its subsidiary Rio Tinto Canada.
The FTSE 100 listed Rio Tinto’s shares dropped 2.56 per cent to GBX 6,090.00 in early trading, as of 19 May at 09:19 HRS GMT+1.The industrial metals sectoral index was trading down by 1.88 per cent at 6,630.83 for the same period. The stock’s previous closing price stood at GBX 6,250.00 as of 18 May.
(Source: EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)
The blue-chip stock’s market cap stood at £ 77.984 billion, while its year-to-date returns were at 11.43 per cent intraday. Its price to earnings ratio as of FY 2020 was 12.32.
Also Read: Rio Tinto reports strong performance in iron ore
- Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO)
This FTSE 100 constituent is a British based multinational company and one of the major minerals and mining companies in Chile. The mining giant met its goals of reducing direct scope 1 and indirect scope 2 carbon emissions by 300,000 tonnes by 2022 ahead of schedule. It also announced new targets of reducing emissions by 30 per cent by 2025 recently. The company aims to be fully carbon neutral by 2050.
Antofagasta’s CEO Iván Arriagad said copper is expected to play a significant role in the global transition to a low carbon economy, and the company plans to engage all stakeholders to produce it in a sustainable manner.
Antofagasta’s shares dropped by 3.69 per cent and down by 59.50 points to GBX 1,554.50 in early trading, as of 19 May at 08:57 HRS GMT+1. The broader index FTSE 100 was trading down by 0.99 per cent at 6,964.68 for the same period. The stock’s previous closing price stood at GBX 1,614.00 as of 18 May.
(Source: EODHD/Others, Thomson Reuters)
The blue-chip stock’s market cap stood at £ 15.911 billion while its year-to-date returns were at 8.33 per cent intraday. Its price to earnings ratio as of FY 2020 was 23.78.
Also Read: 3 FTSE 100 Metals and Mining Stocks to Watch Amid Surge in Metal Prices
