With only a few hours before Friday's close, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up a welcome 0.5% for the week, with these three ASX 200 stocks doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
All three of the top performers on my list this week earn their keep digging and drilling commodities from the earth. And all three have enjoyed a sizeable uptick in the price of those commodities.
So, which three stocks are racing ahead of the benchmark this week?
Read on!
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Santos shares surge amid rising oil price
The first ASX 200 stock racing higher this week is Santos Ltd (ASX: STO).
Santos shares closed last Friday trading for $6.46. At the time of writing, shares are changing hands for $6.98 apiece. This puts the Santos share price up 8.1% for the week.
With no fresh price-sensitive news out this week, investors look to be bidding up Santos shares as growing concerns of military conflict between the United States and Iran have pushed global oil prices higher.
The Brent crude oil prices gained 3.4% overnight and are now trading for US$70.71 per barrel, their highest level since July. The Brent crude oil price is up 9.5% since last Friday.
Santos shares have been in a strong uptrend since the company reported its December quarter results last Thursday, 22 January. Among the highlights, Santos reported sales revenue of $1.23 billion, up 9% from the September quarter.
Which brings us to…
Two ASX 200 stocks riding the copper boom
The top two performing ASX 200 stocks on my list for the week are both enjoying tailwinds from the ongoing boom in global copper prices.
Demand growth for the non-corrosive, conductive metal – critical in the global energy transition as well as its more traditional uses in construction and plumbing – continues to outpace supply growth.
The copper price leapt another 4.1% overnight, with the red metal currently fetching a record high US$13,618 per tonne. This sees the copper price up 6.8% since last Friday and up a whopping 50% in a year.
Investors are taking note, with shares in Aussie copper producer Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) gaining 8.9% this week. Sandfire shares are currently trading for $20.75 each.
Rival copper producer Capstone Copper Corp (ASX: CSC) is also grabbing plenty of investor interest this week.
The ASX 200 stock closed last Friday trading for $14.95. At the time of writing, shares are changing hands for $16.97 each. This puts the Capstone Copper share price up 13.5% over the week.
