Non-ferrous metals stocks tracked the broader market higher today (August 4th), with the Non-Ferrous Metals ETF (159876), the largest and most liquid fund tracking the same index, climbing as much as 1.74% during the session before settling at a 1.2% gain, potentially forming an upward step pattern on the daily chart.
Buoyed by positive earnings forecasts and a low market valuation, investors are actively positioning. As of press time, the Non-Ferrous Metals ETF (159876) recorded net subscriptions of 7.2 million units, adding to the 6.59 million yuan in net inflows seen the previous day. Over the past ten trading days, the fund has accumulated net inflows totaling 110 million yuan. Among its constituent stocks, Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industry hit its daily price limit, while Shaanxi Sirui Advanced Materials and Youyan Yixiang New Materials surged over 8%, and Huaxi Non-Ferrous Metals gained more than 7%. Other stocks, including Xiamen Tungsten and Xingye Silver Tin Mining, also rose.
With the global acceleration of AI computing infrastructure construction, demand for "computing power metals" has surged. Since the second half of the year, prices of various "computing power metals" like tin and molybdenum have continued to rise. Data shows that as of July 31st, spot tin prices stood at $54,660 per ton, a 6.97% increase from $51,100 on June 30th and a 33.64% rise from $40,900 on December 31st, 2025. As of August 3rd, China's molybdenum concentrate price was 5,370 yuan per metric ton unit, up 3.67% from 5,180 yuan on June 30th and up 42.44% from 3,770 yuan on December 31st, 2025.
"Computing power metals" are indispensable critical materials for building AI servers, data centers, and optical modules. This category includes both bulk metals like copper and aluminum and minor metals such as tin, molybdenum, indium, tantalum, and tungsten. Data from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association shows that the industry's profitability has achieved a leapfrog improvement in the first half of the year. The 12,362 enterprises above the designated size reported total revenue of 5.76968 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.7%, and total profits of 418.39 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 94.0%. The profit increment accounted for 32.6% of the total increase among all industrial enterprises above the designated size nationwide, contributing 6.1 percentage points to the growth of their total profits, placing the industry's profit growth rate at the forefront of the industrial sector.
By metal type, the aluminum sector contributed the most to profit growth, with a contribution rate of 43.5%, as the benefits from supply-side structural reforms in the electrolytic aluminum industry continue to be released. Gold, copper, and tungsten-molybdenum contributed 13.0%, 13.6%, and 9.0%, respectively. These four categories together accounted for 79% of the industry's total profit growth, becoming the main drivers of earnings expansion.
On the fundamental side, the non-ferrous metals sector is experiencing a wave of positive earnings reports. As of August 2nd, 39 of the 60 constituent stocks in the underlying index of the Non-Ferrous Metals ETF (159876) had released performance forecasts for the 2026 interim report. All of these reporting companies anticipate profitability and growth. Zijin Mining Group is expected to lead with a maximum net profit attributable to the parent company of 39.1 billion yuan, followed by CMOC Group and Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco), with expected maximum net profits of 16.5 billion yuan and 12.2 billion yuan, respectively.
The Index Investment Department at China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) notes that the non-ferrous metals sector offers strong fundamentals combined with low valuations, suggesting investors should consider the right-side configuration value of the sector. Overall, the factors that caused the sector's pullback since March have likely been largely resolved. Current stable commodity prices support corporate earnings, while leading companies still have production growth contributions, making sector earnings relatively certain. The combination of low valuations and high growth potential presents a favorable window for investing in the non-ferrous metals sector.
Different non-ferrous metals have varying cycles, drivers, and paces, making divergence inevitable. For those bullish on the sector, a simpler approach to capture the broader beta trend is through comprehensive coverage. The underlying index of the Non-Ferrous Metals ETF (159876) and its linked funds (Class A: 017140, Class C: 017141) covers a full range of metals including copper, aluminum, rare earths, gold, lithium, tungsten, molybdenum, and tin, enabling investors to better grasp the sector's beta movements. This ETF is also eligible for margin trading and short selling, serving as an efficient tool for a one-click allocation to the non-ferrous metals sector. As of the end of July, the Non-Ferrous Metals ETF (159876) had a scale of 1.489 billion yuan and an average daily turnover of 104 million yuan for the year, making it the largest and most liquid ETF among the three tracking the CSI Non-Ferrous Metals Index in the market.
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