The recent selloff in AI infrastructure stocks has extended to AI-linked industrial sectors, including copper producers like Freeport-McMoRan and Southern Copper. Goldman Sachs attributes current copper price movements largely to AI expectations, though S&P Global estimates AI and data centers will only drive about 10% of copper demand by 2040. Even removing the entire data-center sector, S&P projects a significant 7.5 million-tonne copper supply gap by 2040, underscoring copper's critical role. Investors with a long-term outlook may find buying opportunities in established copper producers rather than speculative developers facing rising capital costs.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) trades at USD 69.07 with a 1.41% drop and Southern Copper (SCCO) is priced at USD 200.00, down 0.84% as of Oct 17, 2026 01:41 WIB on Pluang. This decline in copper stocks coincides with the AI sector selloff mentioned in the article. Despite the short-term pressure, FCX maintains a market cap of $100.61B and SCCO $170.30B, reflecting their significant presence in the copper market.
