Copper Prices Plummet Amid Tariff Fears: Leading Copper Stocks Drop 10% in a Day

Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) closed at $174 on the New York Stock Exchange on the 5th, plunging 10.35% in a single day.

Its market capitalization fell to about $145.2 billion (roughly ₩200 trillion), with approximately $13.6 billion (₩19 trillion) wiped out intraday.

Trading volume topped 1.02 million shares as selling pressure from a copper price shock hit all at once.

Today’s sharp drop is attributed to the convergence of plummeting spot copper prices and uncertainty over U.S. tariff policies, which has dampened investor sentiment across copper-related stocks.

In its first-quarter results released at the end of April, the company reported revenue of $4.25 billion and earnings per share of $1.92, reflecting a substantial profit increase. It also announced expanded cash and stock dividends following the appointment of a new CEO. Nevertheless, its share price has continued to swing sensitively in response to the copper cycle and company guidance.

Southern Copper, one of the world’s largest integrated copper producers and a unit of Mexico’s Grupo México, mines and refines copper and molybdenum at operations in Peru and Mexico.

Because it supplies copper in large volumes—a metal essential for electric vehicles, power grids, and infrastructure investment—Southern Copper’s performance and share price are widely regarded as key barometers of the global economy, the U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure investment cycle, and the debate over long-term copper supply shortages.