Shanghai copper traded lower on Thursday as investors turned to equities and oil, where a US-led rally was spilling into Asian markets. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.71 percent to 45,270 yuan ($6,558) a tonne. ShFE aluminium, zinc, lead, nickel and tin ended higher after trading lower at the start of trade.

Workers at BHP Billiton's, Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile will strike for 24 hours in the coming weeks to protest recent layoffs and the company's general attitude toward miners. Aluminium is one of the materials benefiting from the greening of the world's economy. Lightweight and durable, it has been making steady inroads into the transportation sector in particular and enjoys one of the strongest usage profiles of any industrial metal. Asian stocks rose on Thursday, getting a lift from a record high close on MSCI's global stocks benchmark as strong gains in oil prices buoyed energy shares.

Copyright Reuters, 2017