Analysts Likely to Stay Bullish on Metals

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Second-quarter earnings, and economic data from China and the U.S. will be key triggers to stock rating changes during the second half. Concerns related to the pace of the global economic recovery and the offsetting effect of bargaining opportunities in metal stocks could keep recommendations relatively bullish for the remainder of 2010. Analysts have turned bullish on the metal stocks, especially copper, during the past six months. During the first quarter, a boost in demand for base metals on the global economic recovery pushed up metals prices, thereby increasing the profitability of the metal producers. During the second quarter, prices slumped on headwinds blowing from the eurozone and from monetary tightening in China. Despite subsequent selloffs, analysts reckon fundamentals remain positive and metal stocks offer attractive bargaining opportunities. Copper Stocks Over the past six months, analysts have been more bullish on Southern Copper SCCO than Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold FCX and Teck Resources TCK To read the rest, head over to TheStreet.com