What's Going On With Freeport-McMoRan Shares Tuesday?

Freeport-McMoRan FCX shares, among other metal and mining stocks, are moving higher Tuesday after China Central Bank announced a new stimulus package.

What Happened: The stimulus package includes cutting the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by .5 percentage points and lowering both the loan prime rate and deposit rates by 0.2 to 0.25 percentage points.

In addition, the central bank cut the seven-day reverse repurchase rate to 1.5% and lowered the minimum down-payment ratio to 15%. The announcement of these economic measures comes amid a slowdown in China’s markets and could help support investment and support metals demand.

Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Group Limited, told Bloomberg, "The purpose of today's briefing is to inject confidence into the market, judging by the fact that the authorities revealed measures in one go. The stimulus push will still need coordination from other policies — particularly follow-up policies from the fiscal side.”

Other copper related stocks that are trading higher following the bank’s announcement include Hudbay Minerals Inc HBM and Rio Tinto Plc RIO.

How To Buy Freeport-McMoRan Shares

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share – or fractional share – of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, in Freeport-McMoRan FCX's case, it is in the Materials sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

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FCX Price Action: At the time of publication, Freeport-McMoRan shares are trading 7.72% higher at $48.63, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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