Market futures are mixed.
The S&P 500 had closed up 1.67% to 2,971.61, with IG chief market analyst Chris Beachamp saying yesterday a move above 2,980 would break the range and open the path to more gains.
Base metals rose yesterday on the London Metal Exchange and 62% Australian iron ore has risen to US$98 per tonne, according to MySteel.
Copper miner Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) closed up 2.46% on the date of its AGM, with chairman Jean-Paul Luksic saying it was unclear how the copper price would trade over the balance of the year given the potential for a worldwide recession.
"However, in the longer term we continue to believe the fundamentals for copper are strong and that future demand will remain strong," he said.
The company had reduced its 2019 final dividend by 16.3c to 7.1c per share earlier this week, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Chile and uncertainty caused by a new quarantine over the greater Santiago area.
The gold price remains similar to this time yesterday, at $1,745 an ounce on the spot market.
In Toronto, metals and mining stocks gained 2%.
Balmoral Resources (TSX: BAR), which is poised to delist within days as its acquisition by Wallbridge Mining nears, touched a one-year high of C84c before closing up 15.2%.
