HK Stock Market Move | Copper stocks weaken again as tariff expectation premium fizzles out, while the Fed rate hike narrative further weighs on copper prices.

Copper stocks weakened again. As of press time, MMG (01208) fell 3.47% to HK$8.755; CHINFMINING (01258) dropped 3.45% to HK$15.93; CHINAGOLDINTL (02099) declined 2.1% to HK$261; JIANGXI COPPER (00358) slipped 1.89% to HK$34.4. On the news front, recent reports indicated that the White House has yet to make a decision on refined copper tariffs. The previously supportive "cross-ocean copper shipping" arbitrage logic has loosened, triggering a concentrated squeeze-out of the tariff expectation premium. Following the report, copper prices, which had risen for multiple consecutive days and once surged to record highs, suddenly "dived," with LME and COMEX copper prices both falling more than 4% that day. It is worth noting that rising market concerns over the inflation outlook and the direction of Federal Reserve policy have placed some downward pressure on copper prices. Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on September 11 showed that the U.S. August core CPI month-over-month inflation rate rebounded more than expected. According to the data, after the release of the August inflation figures, market pricing for a 25 basis point rate hike in September briefly rose from about 70% to nearly 90%.