Asia

Investors say that the U.S. India trade deal will likely be enough to stop foreign stock selling. However, they insist that earnings growth and fundamentals must improve before sustained?buying can occur. The long-awaited agreement sparked an increase in the stock markets and rupee's strongest rally in seven year on?Tuesday as it?signalled improved diplomatic and trade relationships with the U.S. This was only one of many factors that hung over the currency and stock market, which has underperformed by a large margin regional and global counterparts since the start of last year, and seen the foreign allocations shrink to a 2-decade-low....

A survey released on Wednesday showed that the non-oil sector of the United Arab Emirates experienced its fastest growth in business in nearly two years, in January. This was due to a'sharp increase in new orders. The S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index, which is adjusted for season, rose from 54.2 to 54.9 in the month of January. This was the highest reading in 11 months. A reading of more than 50 indicates an increase in activity. Below 50, it is a contraction. The sharp acceleration of new orders in January, from 57.2 in December to 60.0 in January, was...

U.S. Military said that on Tuesday, they shot down an Iranian drone which "aggressively approached" the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea. This was first reported by the U.S. U.S. President Donald Trump said that if the nuclear talks between Iran & United States could not be arranged, then "bad things" might happen. The incident occurred as diplomats were trying to set up nuclear talks. After the news that the drone had been shot down, oil futures prices increased by more than $1 per barrel. The U.S. Military said that the Iranian Shahed-139 drone flew toward the carrier...

Reliance, heavyweight financials and export-oriented stocks fueled a broad rally following the India-U.S. trade deal. Trade deal removes a major market overhang. Both benchmarks jumped about?5% in early trading. The Nifty 50 closed 2.55% higher than its previous close of 25,727.55 while the BSE Sensex rose 2.54% to 83739.13. This was the highest single-session gain since May 2025. Donald Trump, the U.S. president announced on Monday a deal with India in which U.S. tariffs will be reduced from 50% to 18% on Indian products. In exchange for New Delhi ceasing its Russian oil purchases and lowering barriers to trade. The...

Reliance, heavyweight financials and export-oriented stocks led a broad rally on Tuesday after the India-U.S. trade deal. Trade deal removes key overhang which had been roiling?markets since months. Both benchmarks jumped about 5% at the start of trading. ?At a close, the Nifty50 settled 2.55% higher, at 25,727.55 point, while the BSE Sensex rose 2.54%, to 83739.13 points. This was their biggest single-session gain since May 2025. Donald Trump, the U.S. president announced on Monday a deal with India in which U.S. duties on Indian goods will be reduced to 18% instead of 50%. In exchange, New Delhi must stop...

A government official revealed to? ?on Tuesday. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on Monday a deal with India that reduces U.S. tariffs from 50% to 18% on Indian goods in exchange for India ceasing its Russian oil purchases and lowering trading barriers. Trump said India had agreed to "BUY AMERICAN" at a higher level. He said India would be able to?buy $500 Billion worth of U.S. coal, technology, agricultural, and other products. Unnamed official of the Indian government said that India had agreed to "buy U.S. products" to reduce the trade gap between the U.S. The U.S. has a...

After the India-U.S. trade deal, Indian shares surged Tuesday. The benchmark Nifty was within 50 points of a record high, led by Reliance, and export-oriented companies. The trade deal removed a major market overhang. Both benchmarks rose by about?5%? at the opening, their largest intra-day increase in five years. As of 9:41 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 index was up 2.81% at 25,799.5 while the BSE Sensex rose 2.83% to 83977.22. U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Monday a deal with India in which U.S. tariffs for Indian goods will be reduced to 18%, from 50%. In exchange, New Delhi...

Four trade sources reported?on Tuesday that the independent Chinese refiner Chambroad Petrochemical had purchased one Canadian crude cargo for May delivery. This follows a decrease in Venezuelan crude supply to China. According to sources, the refiner is one of the biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude oil. It also imports Canadian oil from the Trans Mountain pipeline for its bitumen manufacturing. Chambroad bought Canadian Cold Lake Crude exported?from TMX for a discount of close to $5 per barril compared to the July ICE Brent contract, according to two people. The crude was to be delivered to the eastern Shandong Province in...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that he and India had reached a deal on Monday. He also stated that New Delhi agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil in favor of buying more from the U.S. Here are some of the most important developments in U.S.-Indian Trade Relations over the last year. Why did India-U.S. Why did the India-U.S. Trump surprised India in April to August 2025 by imposing an initial 25% tariff on goods sent to the United States. The U.S. then imposed a second 25% tariff citing India's purchases of Russian oil. Tariffs on Indian goods sent to...

Two sources familiar with the operational data say that oil production at Kazakhstan's Tengiz giant field has increased in recent days. It reached nearly 20% of its capacity on Sunday, following a complete outage in January. Tengiz, the oil refinery that accounts for almost 40% of Kazakhstan's production, was closed on 18 January after an electrical fire. This cut down on the nation's overall oil supply, at a time where exports had already been constrained due to disruptions along its main pipeline route. Sources said that oil output at Tengiz increased to 23,000 metric tonnes (183,000 barrels), up from 14,900...

Three sources familiar with the process have confirmed that U.S. Private Equity firm Carlyle is in exploratory "talks" with UAE investors, to find partners if its initial agreement to purchase Russian firm Lukoil’s international assets proceeds. Carlyle and Lukoil announced on Thursday a preliminary agreement that would transfer assets, including oilfields and refineries located in eastern Europe and Iraq to the U.S. company. A separate source told us on Thursday that neither company had disclosed an estimate for the deal. This excludes Lukoil’s Kazakh assets. Three sources said that state-controlled Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala and XRG had talked to Carlyle...

According to government estimates, Saudi Arabia's fourth-quarter economy grew by 4.9% on an annual basis, thanks in part to strong growth in nonoil activities, and increased oil production. The oil sector grew 10.4% in the last quarter of 2008 as production increased in the second half of the year. Non-oil activity grew by around 4% compared to the previous year. The preliminary estimates of the Statistics Agency show that the real GDP will grow by 4.5% for the full year 2025. Oil activities are expected to increase by 5.6% and non-oil activities by 4.9%. Saudi Arabia, which is the top...

Tianqi Lithium Corp announced on Wednesday that it would raise approximately HK$5,86 billion ($750m)?via a convertible bond and share placement, and hoped to sell a?small stake?in Chilean'miner SQM?to bolster liquidity. The Chinese lithium producer listed on the Shenzhen-Hong Kong stock exchange announced that it had struck a deal with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to issue 65,000,000 new H shares for HK$45.05 per share, or a discount equivalent to 9% of Tuesday's closing HK$49.50. This is worth approximately HK$2.9billion. Tianqi has also entered into a'subscription agreement' for 2.6 billion yuan ($375m) in zero-coupon convertible bonds due February 9, 2027. These...

Shanghai copper rose on Wednesday, as investors responded to China's plans to increase its strategic reserves. As of 0330 GMT, the most active copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange had risen 2.45% to 103120 yuan (US$14,864.57) per metric ton. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.11% to $13,328.50 per tonne. An official of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, a state-backed organization, said Tuesday that China would expand its strategic copper reserves. The association also added that it will explore creating a system for commercial stockpiling led by state owned enterprises. According to an...

Goldman Sachs & Macquarie raised their nickel price forecasts for 2026, citing a tighter ore supply in Indonesia after Indonesia signaled its intention to reduce production. Indonesia's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil lahadalia, sparked an increase in nickel prices by mid-December when he pledged to reduce production. An official from the Energy Ministry confirmed that Indonesia will reduce this year's mining permits to 250 to 260 millions wet tons ore, down from 379 million in 2025. Nickel, the main component of batteries, is produced in Indonesia. Goldman Sachs has raised its nickel price forecast for 2026 to an...

The United States says that about 30 countries are interested in joining a group of partners and allies to trade critical minerals, reducing their dependence on China. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum spoke at a Tuesday conference. Burgum, the U.S. National Energy Dominance Council's head, told a conference on Tuesday that countries such as Japan, Australia, and South Korea had joined the club. Burgum, who is also the head of the U.S. National Energy Dominance Council, said that countries such as Japan and Australia have joined the club. Burgum also said that up to 20 more countries are "very interested" in...

REalloys signed a number of agreements with Kazakhstan's AltynGroup in order to obtain rare earth feedstock for its North American refining and processing facilities. The agreement stipulates that the 'rare earth 'firm will receive the initial offtake of the Kokbulak Project, which is a 127,000-square-kilometer area within the Karaganda region and Kostanay, where AltynGroup holds mining permission. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, had made critical minerals one of his top priorities in 2025 when he was hosting the leaders from five Central Asian countries at the White House. He also highlighted the efforts by his administration to expand U.S. supplies...

The head of the mining lobby in Ghana has said that Ghana's finance minister offered to reduce a mining tax by two percentage points to help push a new gold royalties regime through. Africa's leading gold producer is looking to replace the flat rate of royalty with a sliding scale between 5% and 12% in order to maximize value at a time when prices are surging. The new gold royalties regime will come into effect in 21 days if parliament does not amend it. It adds one percentage point to every $500 increase in gold prices, similar to Burkina Faso's...

Investors shifted their focus to?corporate profits, while also weighing U.S. - Iran tensions. Officials from both sides said on Monday that Iran and the U.S. will resume nuclear talks in Turkey on Friday. Trump warned that if the sides failed to reach a deal, bad things could happen with U.S. warships advancing toward?Iran. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index rose 0.2% thanks to a 1.9% increase in ACWA Power, and a 0.6% rise in Saudi Arabian Mining Company. According to estimates by the government, the economy of Saudi Arabia grew 4.9% on an annual basis in its fourth quarter. This was...

These are the most popular stories from the business pages of the New York Times. The New York Times has not verified the accuracy of these stories. SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company, announced on Monday that it acquired xAI. This is a sweeping move for Musk to consolidate his empire, as he faces questions about its A.I. ambitions. Waymo, owned by Alphabet (parent company of Google), the self-driving cab company, announced on Monday that they had raised $16 Billion to fund their plans for global expansion. U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Monday that he would be launching...

Francois-Henri Pinault might not have gotten as much as he wanted last week when he sold the controlling stake of his family in Puma, to China's Anta, for $1.8 billion. According to two sources familiar with the matter, there was a "anti-embarrassment clause" in the agreement that sealed the deal. Artemis, Pinault's family company, initially reacted with a cold reception to Anta's cash offer of 35 euros per share for the 29% stake. However, one source said that the Hong Kong listed company agreed to pay more if an even higher offer was made. Hong Kong Stock Exchange filings reveal...

Investors saw that demand and supply prospects remained positive for the "red metal" as they continued to be concerned about supply. As of 0320 GMT the most active copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange had fallen 0.50% to 101,340 Yuan ($14.603.99) per metric ton, after gaining up as much as 0.80% in the previous session. The benchmark copper for three months on the London Metals Exchange rose by 0.82%, to $12,997.50 per ton. Copper prices have been in a downward spiral since Friday after reaching record highs at both exchanges. Shanghai copper fell as much as 13.65% from a...

T&E, an advocacy group for clean transport, said that electric vehicles could make up as much as 85% of all new car sales by 2035. This is based on the EU's plans to lift its 'effective ban' on new combustion engine models. However, this % share may drop to as little as 50%. In December, under pressure from automakers, the European Commission proposed that CO2 emissions be reduced by 90% in 2035 compared to 2021, rather than zero, for all new cars and vans. T&E criticised the EU for its biggest retreat from green policies in years. The proposals would...

A Trump administration official who is familiar with the plan revealed that President Donald Trump will launch a?strategic critical minerals stockpile? with $12 billion of seed money from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The investment is a 'last ditch effort by Washington to counter what they perceive as Chinese price manipulation for minerals such as lithium, nickel, and rare earths, which are vital to items like electric vehicles, high-tech weapons, and many other products. Bloomberg News reported that the project, Project Vault will combine private financing with a $10 Billion loan from the EXIM Bank in order to stockpile minerals for...