Industrial metals rose on Thursday as sentiment received a boost from stronger equity markets, outweighing worries about the global economic impact from the fast-spreading coronavirus.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.7% to $5,725 a tonne by 0310 GMT, while the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) advanced 0.2% to 45,170 yuan ($6,510.99) a tonne.

Asian shares rallied for a fourth straight session as U.S. markets swung sharply higher and another dose of central bank stimulus offered some salve for the global economic outlook.

Wall Street seemed to find relief in the strong performance of former Vice President Joe Biden in the Democratic nomination campaign.

Biden is considered less likely to raise taxes and impose new regulations than rival Bernie Sanders.

FUNDAMENTALS

* PRICES: LME aluminum rose 0.1% to $1,727.50 a tonne, nickel advanced 1% to $12,805 a tonne, zinc jumped 1.2% to $2,005.50 a tonne. ShFE aluminum increased 0.3% to 13,150 yuan a tonne and ShFE nickel was up 0.4% to 102,640 yuan a tonne.

U.S. data: U.S. services sector activity jumped to a one-year high in February, suggesting strength in the economy before a recent escalation of recession fears ignited by the epidemic.

* COPPER: Japanese miner Sumitomo Metal Mining said it aims to boost its annual copper output through its shareholding to 300,000 tonnes by 2030 under its new long-term vision.