Producers of metals and other raw materials fell as uncertainty about the latest infrastructure-spending plan offset deal activity.
Orocobre agreed to buy rival Australian miner Galaxy Resources in an all-stock deal that would create a $3 billion miner and one of the world's biggest producers of lithium, a commodity used in batteries for electric vehicles and other high-tech products.
Copper futures rose to near multiyear highs as the dollar weakened against other currencies.
Shares of JBS, the world's biggest meat packer by sales, rallied after the Brazilian company agreed to buy Vivera, Europe's third-biggest plant-based food producer, for about $410 million. Intensified competition and the spread of synthetic meat to more supermarkets worldwide has forced conventional food processors like JBS to develop contingency plans for a meat backlash. "Companies leveraged to traditional infrastructure spending, such as steel and aggregate companies, stand to benefit," said strategists at Swiss money manager UBS Global Wealth Management, in a note to clients.
"However, we have trimmed our steel exposure on concerns that the sector's outperformance, driven partly by tight supply, may come under pressure when supply constraints improve later this year."
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-19-21 1614ET
