New York, January 29, 2026, 18:32 EST — After-hours trading
Freeport-McMoRan shares climbed roughly 2.3% to $65.13 in after-hours trading Thursday, following a volatile day that saw prices swing from $63.11 to $69.47. Around 48.2 million shares traded hands, market data shows.
This shift is significant because Freeport stands as one of the largest U.S.-listed copper plays, and copper itself just smashed records. On the London Metal Exchange, the benchmark three-month copper price soared to a record $14,527.50 per metric ton before closing at $13,612.50, marking a 4% gain for the day. (Reuters)
The sharp leap is both the issue and the signal. Copper’s surge came from speculative buying and short-covering—traders betting against it scrambled to cover. Reuters noted increasing chatter about a potential correction, pointing to weak physical demand in China as spot prices fall below futures. (Reuters)
A separate Reuters poll saw analysts boost their 2026 average copper price forecast to $11,975 a ton, while also increasing the expected market deficit to 238,500 tons. They attributed this to mine disruptions and speculative trading. Supply problems at Indonesia’s Grasberg mine were cited as a key factor tightening the balance. (Reuters)
Some traders didn’t mince words. “It’s absolutely bonkers across the metals space, with copper leading the group in base metals,” Edward Meir, an analyst at Marex, told MarketWatch, as cited by Morningstar. (Morningstar)
Freeport entered Thursday riding a wave of momentum. Shares climbed 1.21% on Wednesday, ending at $63.63. That marked a fourth consecutive gain and pushed the stock to a new 52-week high, according to MarketWatch data. (MarketWatch)
The risk is clear: copper-related trades can reverse quickly, and the stock has already proven it can bounce sharply within the day when the metal moves. If copper’s rally fades and profit-taking kicks in, miners’ shares could surrender gains just as fast.
China, the world’s largest copper consumer, faces its next short-term challenge. The country has stretched the official Lunar New Year holiday to nine days, from Feb. 15 to 23. Officials forecast record travel over the extended Spring Festival, a move likely to squeeze liquidity and skew price signals. (Reuters)
For Freeport investors, the holiday’s significance lies less in shopping and more in its impact on trading flow — and on copper’s outlook once Chinese buyers and factories reenter the market.
Traders are eyeing if copper can stay close to record highs and if Chinese spot demand cools the warning signals. A clearer picture should emerge after Feb. 23, when China wraps up its holiday and the market gets fresh data on physical buying — a key trigger that might steer FCX’s next move.
