This morning, all of the leading base metal stocks are declining lower. Normally, the catalyst for the weakness in the base metal stocks is the weak European markets and the problems in Greece. Today, the catalyst for the sell off in the leading base metal and commodity stocks is the weakness in the Chinese growth forecast for 2012. Leading base metal stocks such as Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX), Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO), BHP Billiton Ltd (NYSE:BHP), and Tech Resources Ltd (NYSE:TCK) are all trading lower on the session. These stocks are likely to remain weak throughout the day, however, if the U.S. Dollar Index starts to decline sharply it will help to inflate these stock off the morning lows.
The iPath Dow Jones-UBS Copper Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSEARCA:JJC) is trading lower by 0.86 cents to $49.49 a share. This ETN tracks the action in copper which is known as a leading stock market indicator. Short term traders can watch for intra-day support around the $49.50, and $48.85 levels.