MARKET WATCH: Firm prices add sheen to copper firms.

from BUSINESS LINE, October 15, 2010 Chennai, Oct. 14 - Among the base metals complex, copper seems to shine bright to hit its highest level of $8,388 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange in more than two years, buoyed by expectations of more quantitative easing in the US.

Rising demand in the face of supply constraints, increased economic activity and resilient Chinese consumption have led to the rise in this year's prices. Companies such as Sterlite, Hindustan Copper and Hindalco are in the copper business.

With supply tight and a lower LME inventory, copper prices have more than doubled since 2009.

Gobal scenario Uncertainty clouds the metal's outlook. The key impacting factors include the pace of economic recovery in …