Mining stocks are riding the AI wave to new heights: The MSCI Metals and Mining Index has notched a nearly 90% gain since the start of 2025, significantly outperforming semiconductors, global banks, and the Magnificent Seven. Demand for metals is increasingly decoupling from traditional economic cycles, driven instead by the boom in AI, EVs and robotics, according to Bloomberg.

Copper leads the charge: Copper has increased 50% over the same period, while analysts are also bullish on aluminum, silver, nickel, and platinum. Copper is increasingly viewed as a strategic asset, with JP Morgan forecasting a refined copper deficit of roughly 330k tons in 2026.

Gold and silver mirrored the bullish trend, benefiting from safe-haven demand amid geopolitical fragmentation and US fiscal policy concerns. Gold reached an all-time high of USD 4.9k per ounce last week, with Goldman Sachs raising its end-2026 forecast to USD 5.4k per ounce. Silver also breached the USD 100 per ounce mark a few days ago as private-sector buyers and emerging-market central banks diversify away from traditional reserve assets.

The high demand changed the reputation of mining stocks from a “boring defensive sleeve” to an “essential portfolio anchor,” Pepperstone Group’s research strategist Dilin Wu told Bloomberg.

The sector remains fundamentally undervalued even now, with the Stoxx 600 Basic Resources index trading at a 20% discount to its long-term forward price-to-book ratio, Bloomberg says. This valuation gap has triggered a “buy over build” trend among industry giants, Morgan Stanley analysts told the business information service, with major transactions, including Anglo American’s acquisition of Teck Resources and a potential Rio Tinto-Glencore merger.

Looking ahead: For 2026, the sector’s momentum will likely be dictated by the gigawatt ceiling — the physical capacity of power grids to handle the AI and energy transition build-out. While downside risks remain from potential economic surprises in China or selling pressure in precious metals, the structural demand from semiconductors and data centers makes it likely that mining stocks will remain the primary market darlings for the foreseeable future.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

It’s looking like a turbulent week for markets as investors brace for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later this week and a wave of Big Tech earnings. Asia-Pacific markets are a sea of red this morning, with the Nikkei in the lead after the JPY saw significant gains after the government said it would take steps against speculative moves. It’s more or less the same for US stocks, which are set to open in the red.

ADX

10,286

-0.2% (YTD: +2.9%)

DFM

6,484

-0.2% (YTD: +7.2%)

Nasdaq Dubai UAE20

5,193

-0.3% (YTD: +6.2%)

USD : AED CBUAE

Buy 3.67

Sell 3.67

EIBOR

3.5% o/n

3.7% 1 yr

TASI

11,268

+1.2% (YTD: 7.4%)

EGX30

46,858

+0.9% (YTD: +12.0%)

S&P 500

6,916

0.0% (YTD: +1.0%)

FTSE 100

10,143

-0.1% (YTD: +2.1%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,948

-0.1% (YTD: +2.7%)

Brent crude

USD 65.88

+2.8%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 5.28

+4.6%

Gold

USD 5,017

+1.4%

BTC

USD 86,810

-2.9% (YTD: -0.8%)

Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF

USD 3.74

-0.5% (YTD: -0.3%)

S&P MENA bond & sukuk

151.61

+0.2% (YTD: -0.2%)

VIX (Fear gauge)

16.09

+2.9% (YTD: +7.6%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The ADX fell 0.2% on Friday on turnover of AED 1.2 bn. The index is up 2.9% YTD.

In the green: Ins. House (+5.2%), Commercial Bank International (+3.8%), and Agility Global (+3.1%).

In the red: E7 Group PJSC Warrants (-7.0%), Hayah Ins. Company (-4.9%), and Sharjah Islamic Bank (-2.9%).

Over on the DFM, the index fell 0.2% on turnover of AED 532.7 mn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was down 0.3%.

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