BEIJING, Feb 01, 2012 (Dow Jones) --Copper futures extended losses on the Shanghai Futures Exchange Wednesday as weaker domestic equities and softer London base metals combined with a slightly stronger dollar to weigh on investor sentiment.

The most actively traded April copper contract lost 1.1% to settle at CNY59,810 a metric ton.

"Chinese players showed little interest in buying following the [Lunar New Year] holiday...[though] we remain bullish on copper, with hedge funds turning more positive despite the cautious mood among Chinese buyers," Standard Chartered analyst Dan Smith said.

The red metal's supply fundamentals remain tight and London Metal Exchange stocks continue to fall, underpinning prices, the bank said.

The Chinese market may not yet be fully back in force. "We understand that many manufacturers in southern China have not yet resumed operations after the holiday due to a lack of order book visibility post the Lunar New Year, [so] a recovery in copper demand might be pushed back to late February," Standard Chartered said.

Spot copper traded at the Changjiang Nonferrous Metals Trading Market, a major spot market in Shanghai, was quoted at CNY58,950-59,150/ton, down from CNY59,350-59,450/ton Tuesday.

Investors shrugged off news of slightly better manufacturing activity in January.

LME base metals closed lower Tuesday, weighed by disappointing U.S. data and a weaker euro.

Three-month copper ended the afternoon kerb 1.3% lower at $8,320/ton.

The contract was quoted lower at $8,288/ton around 0700 GMT, when Shanghai closed.

Zinc, lead and aluminum also tracked copper lower Wednesday.

Following are Wednesday's settlement prices in yuan a ton and LME late kerb prices from Tuesday in dollars a ton:

Metal       SHFE                   LME
Copper      Apr  59,810  Down 670  3Mo 8,320    Down 108
Aluminum    Apr  16,245  Down  65  3Mo 2,237    Down  42
Zinc        Apr  15,895  Down 115  3Mo 2,106    Down  19
Lead        Mar  16,040  Down 105  3Mo 2,213    Down  50