Asia / Pacific

The shares in Asia were cautious after the technology rally fueled by Nvidia, and currency and bond markets awaited the words of the world's largest central banker on U.S. rates. The oil prices are headed for a weekly loss as Iran and Oman have 'agreed' to share revenues and administer traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, even though Washington has shown little interest in restarting direct talks with Tehran. Brent fell 0.1% to $89.63 per barrel, but the weekly decline was expected to be over 5%. The Nikkei, Japan's stock market index, rose 0.5%. Taiwanese stocks gained 1.2%, after Nvidia's...

Shipping data shows that Turkey increased its diesel imports from the United States and India to record levels in August. This was due to a Russian ban of diesel exports, and to wider disruptions caused by Iran's war. According to Kpler, the commodities data firm, Turkey has imported Indian diesel at a rate of more than 120.000 barrels per day, while its imports from the U.S. have reached 90,000 barrels per daily. Kpler data dating back to 2017 shows that these volumes are the highest monthly totals ever recorded. After Ukrainian strikes on refineries disrupted the domestic supply, Russia has...

Government data released on Thursday showed that oil product inventories in Asia’s fuel trading hub, Singapore, had rebounded to three-week highs, with stocks increasing week over week. Enterprise?Singapore data showed that combined onshore inventories reached?39.18m barrels for the week?ended august 26. This was?up 4.0% compared with a week before. The markets remained attentive to Middle East discussions around the Strait of Hormuz, which transported oil and LNG equal to about one fifth of global consumption prior to the U.S./Israeli war against Iran. The RESIDUAL FUEL STOCK RETURNS TO A MASS OF 19 MILLION BARRESLS The residual fuel stockpiles rose for...

Stocks rose on Thursday in Asian trading as 'Nvidia’s' earnings report exceeded estimates. This boosted tech hardware manufacturers, and revived investor confidence. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan gained 0.2%. This extended its gains for a third day in a row after Nvidia announced that its quarterly revenue had more than doubled, and forecasted third-quarter revenues above Wall Street expectations. In after-hours trades, the AI chipmaker's stock jumped by 4.7%. This lifted S&P 500 futures by 0.3%. Chris Weston, Head of Research at Pepperstone Group Melbourne said that the business is in "absolutely rude health". It's going wake people up,...

Gregor Stuart 'Hunter' gives us a look at what lies ahead for the European and Global markets. It's Nvidia now. We just live there. The chip designer has forecast a 70% increase in revenue for the next fiscal year. This is a rare announcement from the largest?company? of sales that far in advance. CEO Jensen Huang also expressed confidence that the demand for AI chips would continue to grow until early 2028. The stock rose almost 5% after hours, with little sign that it would slow down. This was after The Information reported that Nvidia had?agreed' to pay $12.9 Billion...

Asia's crude oil imports in August were still far below levels before the Iran conflict began, which raises questions about how much crude actually leaves the Middle East. According to Kpler's data, the top-importing continent will see arrivals of 23,12 million barrels a day (bpd). This is a slight decrease from July, when 23.36 million bpd was recorded. Imports are also down by almost 4 million barrels per day (or 14%) from the average of 26.91 million barrels per day in the three-month period ending February. The United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on 28 February, prompting...

Stocks climbed at the beginning of Thursday's Asia-Pacific session, as Nvidia beat expectations. This boosted tech hardware manufacturers' confidence and revived investor confidence after overnight data showed that the Federal Reserve preferred U.S. Inflation measure was still hot. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan rose 0.7% and is on course to extend gains for a third day in a row after Nvidia announced that its quarterly revenues had more than doubled, and forecasted third-quarter revenue well above Wall Street expectations. In after-hours trades, the AI chipmaker's stock jumped by 4.7%. This lifted S&P 500 e-minis futures 0.4%. Chris Weston said,...

Iran and Oman reached an agreement over their share of the Strait of Hormuz, and its revenues. However, the waterway won't reopen if the U.S. doesn't accept their conditions. Iran and Oman held intermittent talks about the control of traffic through the Strait. The strait handled one-fifth the global oil and LNG shipments prior to the start of the war in February. Tehran and Washington both imposed separate blockades to try to gain control of the channel. This has led global energy prices up. The Strait of Hormuz is owned by Iran and Oman... After a month of negotiations, we...

Investors regained calm in the global bond and share markets on Tuesday, as they shrugged off U.S. sanctions plans against Iran. They began to prepare for Nvidia's earnings report due out Wednesday. U.S. Treasury secretary?Scott Bessent warned countries to cut financial ties with Iran on Monday or face secondary sanctions. However, the Treasury Department did not actually impose penalties. The news prompted a slight drop in oil prices as well as the benchmark government bond yields. This was also aided by the report that the U.S. Treasury may use its cash account to fund increased U.S. Debt Buybacks. Wall Street...

Investors in global share and bond markets were calmer on Tuesday, as they shrugged off U.S. plans to extend sanctions against Iran?and started preparing for the results of Nvidia, the world's most valuable company. U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent warned on Monday that countries would face secondary sanctions if they did not cut financial ties to Iran as part of the "economic D-Day," which was dubbed by some as an "economic D-Day." However, the Treasury Department stopped just short of imposing actual penalties. The report that the U.S. Treasury may use its cash account to fund increased U.S. government debt...

After the U.S.'s "economic D-Day", sanctions against Iran, turned out to not be as severe as they had feared. U.S. Treasury rates are down from their recent highs after a report stating that the Treasury Department may tap into its cash account to fund increased debt buybacks. This could reduce the requirement for additional short-term bill sales. Investors are well aware of the high expectations that Nvidia will have to meet. Analysts expect quarterly revenues to nearly double, to $92 billion. Full-year earnings are expected to range between $103 billion and $105 billion. "Those are high expectations that must be...

Rae Wee gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The?session began in Asia with a muted tone, as stocks drifted ahead of Nvidia’s upcoming?earnings, where high expectations are being placed on the artificial intelligence darling. Alibaba's $10.2 billion sale of shares at a steeply discounted price to fund its AI plans and Samsung Electronics disappointing shareholder-return program in the previous session weighed on technology shares. A roughly 45% drop in?the share price of Unitree after a five-fold increase on its Shanghai debut triggered concerns over bubble risk, retail investors losses, and flaws within...

According to the website of the Singapore Supreme Court, Japan's Mizuho Bank Ltd filed a case against the Singapore Iron Ore Trader Radiant World's 'operating entity'. A court listing revealed that Mizuho Bank is the banking division of Mizuho Financial Group and they are seeking an injunction to stop Radiant World Corporation from doing business. Could not find any other public legal action taken by a Radiant World creditor. Radiant World accounts have been frozen by some banks and trading houses have cut ties with the company over concerns that it had submitted invalid invoices to raise funding. Singapore Police...

Zinc prices fell Thursday, as rising inventories eased concerns over supply shortages outside China. This ended a six session rally during which speculative purchases pushed the metal up to its highest level in four years. By 1002 GMT, the benchmark three-month Zinc on London Metal Exchange had fallen 1% to $3,855 per metric tonne. On Wednesday, the contract reached $3,949.5 - its highest level since June 2022. The daily LME data revealed that zinc stocks reached a three-week high after 1,100 tonnes of new inflows into the LME registered warehouses in Singapore and Hong Kong. Analysts anticipate more inventory to...

Argentina and Chile want to unlock 'billions' of dollars worth of mining investment by advancing regulatory and legal frameworks which would allow 'companies to pool infrastructure and resources in the Andes Mountains. The Mining Integration and Complementation Treaty will be discussed by officials from both countries on Thursday. This 1997 agreement was revived in July following decades of slow progress. They are looking to move forward a new generation copper projects. Both the conservative Chilean president Jose Antonio Kast (who took office in March) and the libertarian Argentinean President Javier Milei are attempting to increase private investment. Chile's Mining minister...

Zinc prices dropped - and were about to end a six day winning streak on Thursday. A firm dollar weighed down the support of a 'thin supply outside China', while also pulling other industrial metals down. The benchmark three-month price of zinc at the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.96%, to $3.855.5 per metric ton as of 0700 GMT. The most traded zinc contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down by 0.44% to 26,140 yuan (US$3,889.71) per ton. As the market prepares for U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's awaited speech in Jackson Hole, the U.S. Dollar Index has?gained...

The gold?prices eased Wednesday as they were on track to end a three-session winning streak. However, the focus now shifts to the U.S. Inflation data that will be released later in the afternoon for any indications on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy. Spot gold dropped 0.8% by 1114 GMT to $4,618.03 an ounce, after prices rose to their highest level since May 14, on Tuesday, following the U.S. Treasury Department?s recent bond buyback announcement. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.4% to $4673.90. Nikos Tzabouras is a senior market analyst at Jefferies owned Tradu.com. He said that gold prices were subdued...

On Wednesday, zinc?prices reached their highest level in over four years on a combination of speculative and supply concerns. The benchmark three-month price of zinc at the?London Metal Exchange rose 0.4% to $3,907 per metric tonne by 0945 GMT. This was its highest since June 2022. Zinc, which is mainly used for galvanising steel, has suffered from regional disparity. Stocks are eroding at warehouses registered with LME, while they pile up in China. Local shortages of zinc have pushed the cash LME zinc premium over the three-month Futures. To $132 per ton. This is up from $0 in early July,...

Norilsk Nickel, the largest palladium producer in the world, announced on Wednesday that its board recommended a dividend for the first half 2026 of 1.85 Rubles ($0.0219) per share. In a press release, Chief Financial officer Sergey Malyshev stated that the company has sufficient cash flow and a comfortable debt level to make the payment, adding that this would help maintain its attractiveness. Nornickel shares were still down 1.7% at 10:41 local time (741 GMT) on the Moscow Exchange. The miner last paid an interim dividend to its shareholders in 2023. It offered 9.15 roubles per share. It reported in...

The copper price rose to its highest level in six months on Wednesday, boosted by supply concerns over dwindling LME inventories and a positive economic outlook. By 0300 GMT, the benchmark three-month price of copper at?the London Metal Exchange had risen by 0.49% to $14,419.5 per metric tonne. The price of a ton reached $14,437 earlier in the day, its highest level since January 29. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract rose by 1.11%, to 109 360 yuan (16,272.36) per ton. Non-traditional copper players, such as hedge funds and speculative traders trading on volatile LME inventory figures, have...

Lynas rare earths, based in Australia, reported a'sharp rise' in its annual profit on Wednesday. This was aided by a record-high average price for a?rare-earths oxychloride and a strong demand. However, it missed the'market expectations, which sent its shares down in early trading. The largest rare-earths manufacturer outside China, said that the price increases were due to firm pricing and agreements on floor prices with Japanese and U.S. clients. This helped reduce volatility. Its average selling price rose 59% to $80.7 per kilogram, helped by ?improved pricing of neodymium-praseodymium, a key rare-earth magnet material, and a higher ?share of heavy...

London's zinc market is still a hazardous place for bears. Metal that was expected to drop in price this year has risen. The London Metal Exchange's (LME) 3-month zinc reached a new four-year high of $3,858 a metric ton on Tuesday morning. The relentless rally has been accompanied by an abrupt contraction of the LME time spreads. This is particularly worrying for holders of zinc short positions. The premium for cash Metal?over a three-month delivery The price of a ton has dropped to $131, which is a significant drop from last October's record high of $323. The tightening market this...

Sinomine Resource Group announced that it had secured an export quota of 'another 300,000 metric tonnes of 'lithium -concentrate' from Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, Africa’s leading producer of lithium metal for batteries, introduced export quotas on April 1st after temporarily stopping concentrate shipments from February due to alleged leakages and malpractice. It has been pressing the mining companies to process more battery metal in-country, as it aims to maximize the economic benefits from extractive industries. The country will ban exports of lithium?concentrates in January 2027. Sinomine, the company that operates the Bikita Lithium Mine in Zimbabwe, stated in a half-year?report?seen on Tuesday?that...

Gold prices eased Tuesday, after reaching a high of more than three months earlier in the session. Profit-taking and an 'a?firmer dollar? curbed gains before U.S. Inflation data and comments from Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh. After reaching its highest level since the 14th of May, spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,634.76 an ounce at 0937 GMT. U.S. Gold futures fell 0.2% to $4689.70. Gold's movement today is due to profit-taking, as the dollar has recovered some of the losses from last week that were caused by the buyback announcement," Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen explained. He was referring to U.S....