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Digg
Copper seems to be regaining some of its mojo. The industrial metal is up 0.9% Thursday and nicely above its 200-day moving average. The 200-day moving average is a key level watched as a potential indicator of future strength or weakness for the markets. So simply put, moving above it would is seen as a sign of gathering momentum.
Stronger copper prices are thought to be a good sign for the economy, as copper products such as wiring and piping in homes, automobiles, appliances and electronics have a myriad industrial uses. As avid MarketBeat-ers know, copper is used as a proxy for economic growth. In fact, such is the reputation of copper that, among Wall Streeters, the metal is sometimes called “Dr. Copper” — the metal with a PhD in economics — because its prices are believed to signal turning points in the global economy.
Of course the economy and the stock market are two different things. But it’s worth noting that in this most-recent correction copper futures prices bottomed out in early June, and the S&P 500 seems to have bottomed a month later. It’s also nice to see that other industrial metals are confirming copper’s move. Nickel and tin are also over their 200-day moving averages, and have been moving higher in recent days.
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MarketBeat looks under the hood of Wall Street each day, finding market-moving news, analyzing trends and highlighting noteworthy commentary from the best blogs and research. The Wall Street Journal’s Matt Phillips is the lead writer, with contributions from other Journal reporters and editors. Have a comment? Write to marketbeat@wsj.com or write Matt directly at matt.phillips@wsj.com.
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