Asia

Indian shares will open slightly lower?Monday due to rising oil prices, a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. This is offset by better than expected earnings from 'heavyweights' Reliance Industries & ICICI Bank. As of 7:59 am IST, the GIFT Nifty futures GIFc1 were trading at 24,297.5. This indicates that the Nifty 50 may open below Friday's closing price of 24,334.3. U.S. troops struck Iran for the ninth day in a row as the number of American?military casualties increased to three. Concerns grew over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures rose 2.5%, topping $90...

Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire Indian, and his Reliance Industries beat market expectations on Friday for its first-quarter profit, thanks to strong performance in their oil-tochemicals, retail, and telecom businesses. The results showed the resilience of Reliance’s diverse businesses during a quarter that was marked by?elevated oil prices, geopolitical conflicts and supply-chain interruptions. Reliance’s operating performance improved across its?three main verticals. The oil-to chemicals business, including its'refining operations', saw a 17.2% increase in core earnings from the previous year. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of O2C Business, said that the business had a strong performance in the quarter. This was supported by record-high...

Five sources familiar with the talks claim that Pakistan is negotiating a broader?defence agreement with Kuwait, in exchange for energy investment and cooperation. All sources agreed that the talks are still in a 'early stage' and could be complicated by the heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, according to one source. According to a report on Thursday, there are growing concerns in Islamabad about the possibility that the mutual defence agreement signed with Saudi Arabia last year could drag Pakistan into a war between Iran and the United States. Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country, told Iran that it would...

ConocoPhillips announced on Friday that it had acquired a 42% share in BP Energy Company?Kirkuk Ltd. This will allow ConocoPhillips to join BP in redeveloping 'four' oilfields located in northern Iraq. The agreement will be signed by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi during his official visit to Washington. He is looking for greater U.S. investments in Iraq's power, oil and gas sectors after the disruptions caused due to the conflict with Iran. The contract covers more than 3 billion barrels equivalent of initial gross recoverable resource, with additional exploration potential across the Baba, Avanah and Jambur domes in the Kirkuk...

Shares of Jio Financial Services soared on Friday after the non bank lender reported a more than doubled?quarterly?profit,?adding investor confidence in its expansion into lending, payments and insurance, as well as asset management. The stock rose as high as 6.1%, and by 10:29 am IST was up as recently as 3.9% to 244.83 rupees. This makes it the biggest gainer in the benchmark Nifty50. Jio Financial, which was spun-off from Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries in 2023 and will be listed on the stock exchange, announced that its net profit for the June quarter more than doubled to 8.3 billion rupees...

Seven & i shares rose 3% on Friday in Tokyo after the Japanese retailer announced that it is in talks to buy a stake from Polish convenience store operator Zabka Group. Nikkei reports that the '7-Eleven owner may consider acquiring Zabka share held by funds. The investment is likely to be several hundred billion dollars (several billion yen). The deal would expand Seven & i’s reach beyond its strongholds of Japan and North America to Eastern Europe. This is part of the retailer’s efforts to grow under the leadership Stephen Dacus. Naoshi Matsumoto is an analyst with Yamawa Securities. He...

According to a senior Chevron executive, Chevron plans to sign memorandums with the Iraqi Government on Friday to advance its interests in the West Qurna 2 oilfield and Nassiriya. The executive stated that the?company continues to talk with Iraq about producing technical studies and evaluating potential pipeline routes for transporting crude oil out of Iraq and bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Ali al-Zaidi visited Chevron Houston's headquarters on Thursday, as part of his five-day visit to the U.S. that included a Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump. Iraqi government seeks to secure U.S. partnership during this week's trip to the...

Three sources said that Iran had asked the Houthi movement in Yemen to be ready to shut down the Red Sea Oil Route if?the United States struck Iranian power infrastructure. This poses a powerful new threat to global oil supplies. Two senior Iranian sources, as well as a'regional source' familiar with the issue, said that the idea was discussed within the Islamic Republic leadership and the message had been'sent' to Iran's Houthi ally. Sources said that the Houthis were recently informed of Tehran's request. This was not previously reported. They didn't give any further details about how the message was...

As Kyiv continues its campaign against the 'Russian energy infrastructure, authorities in three Russian regions have reported deaths and injuries caused by Ukrainian drones and rocket strikes. Mikhail Yevrayev, the governor of 'Yaroslavl Region,' 250 km (155 miles) east from Moscow, where an oil refinery has been repeatedly attacked, said one man was killed and four others injured. He claimed that 19 drones had been?downed in the area, but did not specify which targets they were aimed at. Russian media reported that there were casualties in the Volga River region of Saratov after a drone attack on the city of...

The operator of Kazakhstan's Kashagan Oilfield announced?on Thursday? that an international arbitral tribunal has issued a restraining order prohibiting Kazakhstan from enforcing an environmental fine. The Kazakh Justice Ministry announced on Tuesday that Kashagan's operator must pay a fine of $4.90 billion ($2.3 trillion tenge) by July 20, 2012. The country is involved in arbitration with oil companies that work on its oilfields. It accuses them of environmental violations and corrupt practices. The North Caspian Operating Company, Kashagan’s operator, stated in a statement: "The Arbitral Tribunal has issued a Restraining Order which prohibits the Republic to take any measures to...

International Energy Agency warns that the full implementation of China’s rare earth export restriction could put $6.5 trillion in downstream production outside of the country at risk. China, the world's largest producer?of?rare Earths, increased export controls in?October of last year, to include additional materials, and introduced new licensing requirements. However, they agreed to postpone implementation for one year. Rare earths is a grouping of 17 metals that are used in small amounts but essential for products such as cars, aircrafts, electronics and weapons systems. The IEA's Global Critical Minerals outlook report stated that if the controls are fully implemented, an...

Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Ukraine, said that Serbia would send Ukraine more humanitarian assistance but had not signed a regional agreement calling for more pressure to be put on Russia and for continued security aid for Ukraine. Vucic had earlier met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and taken part in the regional Southeastern Europe - Ukraine summit. It was the first time in more than a decade that a Serbian president visited the Ukrainian capital. Vucic had also participated in the regional Southeastern Europe-Ukraine summit last year. Belgrade has had a long history of close relations with Moscow. It has refused...

An official stated on Friday that Zimbabwe's only lithium sulphate facility, owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt?, has no capacity to process minerals from other producers. This is ahead of an export ban for concentrates next year. Africa's largest lithium producer will implement a ban in January to encourage miners to process the battery metal at home, creating higher-valued export earnings and more jobs?in its economy. The government told lithium miners to send their concentrates directly to local plants. One of the plants in Zimbabwe, owned by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and operated by Prospect Lithium -Zimbabwe has not yet been...

India's JSW Steel reported a?profit in the first quarter that was more than twice as high, exceeding analyst estimates. Net profit margins also improved due to a?resilient volume and?firmer domestic prices, which outweighed the?pressure?from higher coal costs. The top steelmaker in the country reported on Friday a net profit of 482.79 million rupees (46.51 billion rupiahs) for the three-month period ended June 30. LSEG data shows that analysts had predicted an average of 31.11 billion rupees. Elara Capital analysts said that prices of flat steel products like hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils rose in India both sequentially and on an annual...

Copper and the base metal complex as a whole fell on Friday due to deteriorating risk sentiment from the Middle East conflict. This prompted inflation fears and cast a shadow on the demand outlook. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.01%, to $13,461 per metric ton at 0715 GMT. Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell by 0.73%, to 103 550 yuan (15,284.13) per ton. Copper, also known as "Dr Copper", fluctuated throughout the week. In London, it is expected to end the week with a marginal gain of 0.08%. As a result of the breakdown...

Copper and the wider base metal complex fell on Friday as inflation fears and a deteriorating risk outlook prompted by the Middle East conflict weighed down the demand outlook. The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.88%, to $13,479.5 per metric ton at 0300 GMT. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell by 0.63%, to 103650 yuan (15,299.12 dollars) per ton. Copper, also known as "Dr Copper", fluctuated throughout the week. It is on track to finish the week with a 0.2% increase. The Strait of Hormuz has been affected by the breakdown of peace...

India's statistics secretary announced that the country will launch a headline "Index of Services Production" within months. This index will give investors for the first time a monthly measure of output in India's dominant service sector. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation published trial monthly indices on Tuesday for 19 sub-sectors of formal services, covering approximately 60% of that economy. However, it did not release a composite headline measurement. India does not have an official monthly measure of output in its dominant service sector. In an interview late Thursday, Statistics Secretary Saurabh Garg stated that "we?are hopeful" to be...

India's SBI Funds Management drew bids worth ?3 trillion Indian rupees ($31.14 billion), making the asset manager's $1.03 billion initial public ?offering (IPO) the country's fourth-most-subscribed issue. The $278.5 millions raised by anchor investors, such as BlackRock, sovereign wealth funds in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Norway, is included in the IPO subscription numbers. India's primary stock market made a strong return with the IPO that closed on Thursday. This was after a subdued start to the year. India will see a flurry of public offerings during the second half of the year. Reliance Jio's mega listing and the National Stock...

Sources say that China plans to launch its second Lithium futures contract by the end of the year. The move is part of a drive to increase hedging options for 'its vast electric vehicle battery supply chain' and to gain a greater global price control over battery metal. Two sources familiar with the matter said that the Guangzhou Futures Exchange was working on the launch a futures contract for lithium hydroxide, which would complement the existing lithium hedge tool and challenge rival bourses. One source said that the new futures on lithium could be launched in October. Another said they...

Nickel reached a three-week peak on Thursday as concerns over traffic disruptions?throughout the Strait of Hormuz sparked fears of sulphur shortages and threatened a key raw material for production. The benchmark three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.57%, to $17.235 per metric ton at 0700 GMT. The price had risen by up to 3.14% in the previous session. This was the largest increase since May, and the highest since June 23. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded nickel contract was up 3.01% to 132,940 Yuan ($19641.85) per ton. "Sulphur?tightness?expectations are fermenting once again." This is mainly due to...

In an attempt to protect the future of steel production, the UK government announced in a statement on Thursday that it had 'nationalised' British Steel, which was previously owned by Chinese investors. British Steel's public ownership is necessary for the UK to safeguard its national interests, according to the government. "British Steel" is a part of the fabric and strength of Britain. The decision today secures the future for steelmaking in Britain, protects "skilled" jobs and safeguards an important national capability," said Keir starmer, the outgoing prime minister. In April 2025, the 'government' took over the operational control of British...

Chinese President Xi Jinping will outline an ambitious vision of China's role as a global AI governance leader at a forum this Friday. Huawei is showcasing its most advanced AI computing cluster yet, in a move to create a domestic alternative to U.S. tech. Xi's first-time attendance at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, or WAIC, underscores Beijing’s view that AI is both a key driver of global economic growth and a technology of strategic importance in the global competition. Huawei's Atlas 950 SuperPoD AI computing system, a large-scale AI computer system with a high performance will be unveiled at the...

Copper prices fell on Wednesday, despite disappointing economic data from China's top metals consumer. However, supply concerns due to mine disruptions and the Middle East conflict helped to limit losses. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.2%, to $13,610 per metric ton at 0945 GMT. It had reached a three week high in the previous session. Official data revealed that the GDP growth of China, the second largest economy in world, has slowed to a low of 3.5 years, due to weak domestic demand. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank,...

Data showed that China's primary aluminum output reached a record monthly high in June. This was because consumers shifted to China after the Middle East supply was affected by the U.S.-Iran war. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in June, the world's biggest aluminium producer produced 3,98 million metric tonnes of primary aluminum, an increase of 4.7% compared to a year ago. This was higher than the previous high of 3,89 million metric tons recorded in May. The data revealed that the output during the first half of 2026 increased 3.8% from a year ago to 23,19...