Australia

Stocks fell on Monday, after a strong November. A bout of risk-aversion gripped the markets as optimism about U.S. interest rate cuts remained unchanged. The yen strengthened as investors considered the possibility of a rate increase as early as this month. Investors were looking for clues about the timing of the next rate hike as Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda spoke in Nagoya. Ueda told business leaders in an address that the central banks would weigh the "pros" and "cons" of raising interest rates at their next policy meeting. This was the strongest indication yet as to whether or...

Asian shares will end a difficult November on a more stable footing as renewed hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut have helped calm valuation fears and Treasuries are rallying for the fourth consecutive month. The U.S. market, which was closed for Thanksgiving overnight, is due to have a shorter session on Friday. This means that activity will be more muted across all major asset classes than usual. The majority of European stocks were higher while currencies were more calm. In Asia, European stock futures rose by 0.1% while FTSE Futures rose by 0.2%. Wall Street futures, however, were affected...

Asian shares will end a difficult November on a more stable footing as renewed hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut have helped calm valuation fears and Treasuries are rallying for the fourth consecutive month. The U.S. market, which was closed for Thanksgiving overnight, is due to have a shorter session on Friday. This means that activity will be more muted across all major asset classes than usual. The majority of European stocks were higher while currencies were more calm. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan was flat Friday. It is now on track to gain 3% in the...

The growing bets on a rate cut in the U.S. lifted stocks for a 4th straight day, and Europe's stock markets experienced an incredible few hours when Britain's fiscal regulator accidentally published new forecasts that were crucial ahead of a brutal UK budget. The UK budget was released by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and contained yet another round of tax increases. Early release The Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook has already triggered a response. The sterling and gilt yields both rose as OBR figures showed a better than expected picture of the UK's fiscal room, but then...

Investors piled into technology stocks on Tuesday, despite concerns that the sector was overheating. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is on the verge of reaching a valuation of $4 trillion, making it the only fourth company in the world to do so. This shows that investors are confident the AI-fueled tech boom will continue. MSCI's All-World Index rose for the third consecutive day, lifting it off its two-month-lows from last week. Shares in Europe increased by 0.2%, and U.S. index futures were nearing positive territory. Bets on RISING RATE Cuts The yield on 10-year Treasury bills was unchanged at...

Asian shares rallied Tuesday, as investors bet on a Federal Reserve rate cut in December. They also piled into technology stocks around the world, despite concerns that the sector is becoming overheated. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan gained 1%, led by tech stocks. This is a partial recovery of last week's 4% drop. The index is expected to drop 3.8% in the month. This will be its first monthly decrease since March. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8% at the start of trading on Tuesday, after returning to work on Monday from a long holiday. Last week, the index fell...

Investors began a week of events on a positive note on Monday as they took comfort in the growing expectation that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by December, even though policymakers are divided on such a move. The markets were preparing for possible catalysts. These included the release of U.S. retailer sales and producer price data, due later this week. In addition, British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will also be releasing her highly anticipated Budget. After the United States, Ukraine and other countries announced that they had developed a "refined and updated peace framework" in order to end the...

European shares dropped on Friday as traders worried about the valuations of tech stocks. The U.S. employment data showed a mixed picture. This added to the traders' insecurity and diminished hopes that Federal Reserve would cut rates this year. Wall Street was led lower by technology stocks on Thursday, despite a positive report from Nvidia about its earnings. Fears of a market bubble fueled by AI were not dispelled despite the chipmaker's good news. Investors continued to dump riskier assets during Friday's Asian trade. At 1007 GMT the MSCI World Equity Index had dropped 0.5%, and was on course for...

Asian stocks fell in the early trading on Tuesday as investors reduced their bets on a Federal Reserve rate reduction next month. The government shutdown had delayed a flurry of important U.S. economic data. The closely-watched September nonfarm payrolls data is due on Thursday. The focus in the region also centered on the meeting between Japan's new prime minister Sanae Takaichi and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, which took place at 0630 GMT. This was the first time the two had met since the new leader's inauguration last month. In a Tuesday research note, JBWere analysts stated that "there...

The world stock market was looking to return to record levels on Thursday, following the end of the U.S. shutdown which is the longest ever recorded. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen, under pressure from the US dollar and the euro hit record lows. The STOXX 600 index in Europe had a difficult day. A near 1% increase from France's CAC 40 pushed both indexes up to their highest levels before profit-taking and a 5% drop by German engineering giant Siemens brought it down. The U.S. Stock Futures fluctuated from a slight negative to a 0.2% gain, but the 47-country MSCI All...

The world stock market was looking to return to record levels on Thursday, following the end of the largest government shutdown in history. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen, which is under increasing pressure due its devaluation against the euro and the dollar has reached a new record low. The STOXX 600 index in Europe made a steady debut with a nearly 1% increase from France's CAC 40, pushing both indexes up to their all-time highs and offsetting the more than 4% drop from German engineering giant Siemens reported disappointing earnings. The U.S. Stock Futures fluctuated from a slight negative to a...

The dollar was stable and government bond yields were rising. Global shares rose Monday on the back of optimism that a resolution to a historic U.S. shutdown is in sight. On Sunday, the U.S. Senate advanced a measure that would reopen federal government and put an end to a shutdown of 40 days. The shutdown has caused federal workers to be unable to work and food aid delays and slowed air travel. In a procedural motion, the Senate advanced a bill passed by the House. The amended version will fund government operations until January 30, and includes a package of...

Intel, the U.S. chipmaker, lost its appeal against a 376 million euro ($438 millions) EU antitrust penalty imposed two years earlier for 'thwarting competitors.' But it gained some comfort as Europe’s second highest court reduced the fine by a third. The European Commission (which is the EU's competition enforcer) handed out the fine in 2023, after the court threw out an earlier penalty of 1.06 billion euro imposed by the tribunal in 2009 for blocking Advanced Micro Devices. The 376 million Euro fine was a result of payments Intel made to HP, Acer and Lenovo between November 2002 and December...

The U.S. Military said it plans to build a fleet small-scale refineries that will produce the critical minerals needed to manufacture bullets, armor, and other types of weaponry. This is a step to create domestic sources of niche materials, which Chinese miners have 'long controlled. Plans, not previously announced, are being developed jointly by the U.S. Army, the Idaho National Laboratory, and the antimony and gold mining company Perpetua Resources. Antimony is the first mineral that the military wants to refine. The Army has said that it will not produce large quantities of minerals for private consumption. However, a small-scale...

China's imports of iron ore in November dropped for the second consecutive month by 0.7% compared to the previous month. The decline was due to a decrease in buying interest after several mills began equipment maintenance because profit margins were shrinking. Data from the General Administration of Customs revealed on Monday that China imported 110.54 millions metric tons of this key ingredient for steelmaking last month. It was less than 111.3 millions tons in October, but higher than 101.86 in the same month of last year. Last month, more steel mills performed maintenance on furnaces as iron ore prices remained...

Australian shares fell on Monday. Miners and gold stocks were the worst hit, but investors are bracing themselves for tighter monetary policies from the central banks this week. As of 2311 GMT the S&P/ASX 200 was down by 0.2%, at 8,620.4, after a winning streak of four sessions. The benchmark index closed Friday 0.2% higher. A poll conducted last week indicated that the Reserve Bank of Australia will likely leave its cash rate unchanged on December 9 at its final meeting in 2025. Recent data showed a resurgence of inflationary pressures, and the economy had grown at its fastest pace...

Anson Resources, based in Australia, announced on Monday that it had signed a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding with Utah-based Nusano for the supply of lithium chloride to be used in advanced manufacturing and nuclear applications. Anson will provide samples of lithium chloride from its Green River Project in Utah to be tested for qualification. Talks are aimed at an agreement covering a five-year period and at least 300 tonnes equivalent lithium carbonate per year. Nusano is a privately-held company that plans to use Anson’s lithium chloride feedstock in order to produce lithium-6, lithium-7, and other isotopes for the nuclear sector...

BHP, a global miner, announced on Friday it had taken delivery of two electrical haul trucks for a trial to begin at its Jimblebar Iron Ore Mine in Australia's Pilbara. The truck trials are intended to reduce diesel consumption and greenhouse gas emission. BHP stated that the battery-electric trial, in partnership with Rio Tinto, and Caterpillar industrial equipment manufacturer, aims to test whether the technology can be used as an alternative for diesel in large-scale mining operations of iron ore. BHP stated that after the trial, miners will independently determine the progress they have made towards scaling up trials in...

Melanie Joly, Minister of Industry for Canada, announced on Wednesday that the merger between Anglo American Resources and Teck Resources would be subject to a review by Canada's national security agency. Joly said Ottawa will also make a final decision within the next few months. She told reporters via a teleconference that "the national security review of any transaction is always a part of the procedure... we are following the process." Teck shares were up 1% at midday in Toronto. Anglo American's shares closed Wednesday with a 2.4% gain at the London Stock Exchange. A proposed deal worth $53 billion,...

Lynas Rare Earths, based in Australia, said that it estimated a possible shortfall of one month's worth of production at its Kalgoorlie plant in Western Australia due to significant power supply interruptions. Lynas stated that the Kalgoorlie Rare Earths processing facility has experienced a dramatic increase in power supply interruptions since 2025. November saw a particularly high number, which resulted in significant losses in production of Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate. The largest rare-earth manufacturer outside China, the world's biggest rare-earth supplier, also expects that the Kalgoorlie disruptions will affect the production of finished products at its Malaysian plant during the...

Harmony Gold announced on Monday that its board of directors has approved an investment between $1.55 and $1.75 billion for the development of its Australian copper project, following completion of a new feasibility study. South Africa's largest gold producer is now diversifying into the copper industry as gold mining becomes more expensive and difficult geologically in its own country. Copper's appeal is also boosted by its use in electric vehicles and grid infrastructure. Harmony acquired the Eva Copper Project in Queensland in 2022. Harmony said that the mine will produce 65,000 tons of copper concentrate per year in its first...

BHP Group announced on Monday that it has decided to abandon its pursuit of a possible merger with Anglo American following preliminary discussions with Anglo American's board. The company stated that it believes a tie up would have created value for its stakeholders and offered "strong strategic benefits". However, it added that the strength of their own organic growth strategy remains strong. BHP tried to take over Anglo for $49 billion last year. However, the target refused multiple offers and BHP withdrew. BHP should assess the possibility of selling such assets. It does seem a bit messy on the BHP's...

A union official announced on Friday that American Industrial Partners, an investment firm based in the United States, plans to sell or list Aluminium Dunkerque on the stock exchange, France's biggest aluminium plant. Johan Vlietinck told CGT that the local management had informed the workers of AIP’s plan. Bloomberg News reported earlier that AIP considered a sale or listing of Aluminium Dunkerque. The company acquired the property four years ago after GFG Alliance defaulted on its debts. GFG Alliance is owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. A spokesperson from AIP France stated that the fund did not deny the reports...

Sources said that China's state owned iron ore purchaser has ordered steel mills to stop buying a specific type of BHP ore. This ban is in addition to another one already in place, and escalates a dispute about a new contract. China Mineral Resources Group, set up in 2020 to centralise the purchasing of iron ore and to win better terms for miners, has asked Chinese steel mills to not buy new cargos of Jinbao Fines, a low-grade ore produced by the world's largest iron ore mining company, BHP. Sources said that CMRG had told mills they were not allowed...