Producers of battery metals and specialist chemicals for electric cars are outpacing sector leaders like Tesla Inc. in the stock market as prices of key commodities climb due to tight supply and wider adoption of zero-emission vehicles.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd., a Perth-based supplier of lithium raw materials, jumped more than 210% this year to Thursday’s close, while Ecopro BM Co. and L&F Co., both South Korea-based producers of cathode active materials, have risen more than 200%. The companies lead advances on the Bloomberg Electric Vehicles Total Return Index, which tracks 69 businesses including automakers and technology developers worth more than a combined $2 trillion.
