NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 23:13 ET — Market closed
Southern Copper Corp (SCCO) was last down 2.8% at $145.30 late Monday, tracking a sharp pullback across metals-linked assets. The stock traded between $143.75 and $149.00, with about 1.1 million shares changing hands.
The slide matters now because the year-end run in metals has left futures markets prone to abrupt swings when trading conditions tighten. CME Group raised margin requirements for gold, silver and other metals — the cash deposit traders must post to hold futures positions — and the move rippled through mining equities, the Associated Press reported.
Spot gold fell 4.5% and silver shed 9.5% in afternoon U.S. trading as investors booked profits after recent rallies, Reuters reported. “We are seeing profit-taking pullbacks off of those spectacularly high levels,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures. Reuters
The Wall Street Journal said copper fell 4.8% in the broader commodities selloff, adding pressure to copper-sensitive equities such as Southern Copper.
Southern Copper is an integrated producer of copper, molybdenum, silver and zinc, with mining, smelting and refining assets in Peru and Mexico.
Peer Freeport-McMoRan was down about 2.5% in late-afternoon trading, underscoring the sector-wide hit to U.S.-listed copper names.
The pullback also comes with copper still set for its biggest annual rise in more than 15 years, up more than 35% in 2025 and trading above $12,000 a tonne this month, The Guardian reported.
Broader markets were softer, with U.S. stocks dipping as investors trimmed positions into the year’s final sessions amid holiday-thinned trading, Reuters reported.
For copper miners, the mix of stretched metals prices, higher margin costs and thin liquidity can exaggerate daily moves in both futures and the stocks that follow them. Traders will be watching whether copper steadies after Monday’s slide or whether volatility forces further risk reductions across the space.
Before Tuesday’s session, investors will focus on the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its Dec. 9–10 meeting, due at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 30, for fresh signals on the path for rates and inflation.
Southern Copper’s next company catalyst is earnings: Zacks expects the miner to report around Feb. 11, 2026. Attention will be on production volumes and cash costs — the cost to produce each pound of copper after byproduct credits — for early read-throughs on 2026 profitability.
On the chart, traders are watching support near Monday’s low around $144 and resistance near $149, the session high. A decisive break on either side would set the tone for how SCCO trades into the final stretch of the year.
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