Australia

Investor confidence was shattered by escalating U.S. China economic tensions, and the uncertainty surrounding political developments in Japan. Commodities also took a break after their recent surge. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan fluctuated in gains and losses. It was down by 0.4% last week as gains made during the previous week were erased when U.S. stock markets ended their session with modest declines. Hong Kong's shares fell the most by 1.8%. The Australian market, however, slipped 0.1%, despite volatile commodity markets. Stocks in South Korea surged by 1.4%, continuing the gains of the region's top-performing index....

On Thursday, the rally in European shares paused, as the FTSE 100 was dragged lower by banking stocks, and investors weighed the risks of a correction. Wall Street reached new record highs during the previous session as investors bet gains in technology shares, despite a U.S. shutdown that left traders without key economic data. Investors have been nervous about the U.S. government shutdown, political risks in Japan, and France this week. This has created a safe-haven market, which along with a weaker US dollar has pushed gold to $4,000 for first time. STOXX Down 0.2% On The Day At 1059...

Investors jumped on Wednesday as they seized on the prospect of lower rates and shrugged off the political drama in France, Japan, and the United States. Meanwhile, a prolonged U.S. shutdown pushed gold to $4,000 an ounce for first time. Gold prices have risen 50% in the past year due to the prospect of Federal Reserve rate cuts and the demand for safe-haven assets resulting from political and economic concerns. Gold is traditionally seen as a safe haven during periods of economic and political instability. The weaker dollar has also been a factor in this rally. It was driven by...

Investors were weighed down by the political fallout in France and Japan. Meanwhile, a prolonged U.S. shutdown pushed gold spot prices up to a record level of $4,000 an ounce. The Japanese yen was hovering near its eight-month-low as investors awaited the fiscal policy direction of prime minister-in waiting Sanae Takaichi. Meanwhile, the euro was under stress after French Prime Minister Sebastien lecornu's resignation on Monday. The dollar was a bit more optimistic. The dollar index (which measures the U.S. money against six other currencies) hit its highest level in August. However, sentiment was still gloomy as the shutdown entered...

Sanae Takaichi, the fiscal and monetary dove who was recently elected leader of the ruling Party, has now become Japan's first woman prime minister. Gold reached a new record high above $3,900 on Sunday. The leading cryptocurrency, bitcoin, also rose to a lifetime-high. Investors are increasingly looking to alternative assets to store value, as the U.S. shutdown has frayed their nerves. In the first 15 trading minutes, Japan's Nikkei rose as high as 4.3%, to an all-time high of 47,734.04, after Takaichi defeated the more moderate Shinjiro in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership vote, on Saturday. This stoked expectations for...

Even though the U.S. Government is shut down, this has not stopped stocks from reaching new highs. They are confident that rate cuts that favor bulls will continue to keep momentum. One problem is that it's difficult to see what's happening with the economy. Here is your week ahead from Alden Bentley, Rocky Swift and Amanda Cooper, in London, and Alun, Dhara and Amanda Ranasinghe in New York. 1/ DOLLAR BEAR SHARPENS THEIR CLAWS The dollar is in a good position to start the final quarter of 2025. After falling in the first two quarterly periods, due to criticism of...

Tech shares rose on Thursday, boosting Asia stock indexes, while gold hovered at a record-high and the dollar sank as a weak U.S. Labour Market Report boosted bets that Federal Reserve interest rates would be cut. It was almost certain that the U.S. shutdown would prevent the release of vital monthly payroll data on Friday. However, overnight, the ADP private employment report revealed the unexpected loss of jobs in September. The prior month had also been revised downwards. Even without official labour data, traders priced in quarter-point Fed rates cuts at both of the remaining two policy meetings for the...

Wall Street futures, the dollar and gold all fell on Wednesday as the U.S. Government shut down most of its operations. This could delay the release of important jobs data, which may muddy interest rate forecasts. The government shutdown, which has no way out of its impasse regarding a funding agreement, will halt the release a closely-watched September employment report. It could also lead to the furloughing of 750,000 federal employees at a cost of $400,000,000 per day. S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures both fell by about 0.5% on Wednesday. Gold prices rose to $3,895 per ounce in a record-breaking...

Wall Street futures dropped, gold reached a record-high and the dollar eased as the U.S. Government shut down most of its operations on Wednesday, potentially delaying the release crucial jobs data which could cloud the interest rate outlook. The government shutdown, which has no way out of its impasse regarding a funding agreement, will halt the release a closely-watched September employment report. It could also lead to the furloughing of 750,000 federal employees at a cost of $400,000,000 per day. S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures both fell 0.5% on Tuesday. Gold prices rose to $3,875 per ounce in the third...

Wall Street futures fell, gold reached a record-high and Asian stocks wilted on Wednesday as the deadline for the U.S. Government shutdown passed. This is expected to delay release of important jobs data and cloud the interest rate outlook. The government shutdown has no way out. Agencies warned that there was no clear solution. It would prevent the release of an employment report for September, which is closely watched. This would also lead to the furloughing of 750,000 federal employees at a cost of $400,000,000 per day. S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures both fell by 0.5%. Gold prices rose to...

On Tuesday, the world's markets were cautious. The dollar and stocks fell and gold briefly hit new records on concerns that a U.S. shutdown could delay important jobs data. As Washington prepared for an imminent government shutdown, the dollar fell while U.S. stocks and European shares either remained flat or made small gains. The government shutdown would delay Friday's important employment figures, and put the spotlight on the Labor Department JOLTS report for August job openings that is due on Tuesday. This could also affect the Federal Reserve's outlook, as they cut rates earlier in the month. Monica Guerra is...

The stock market in Asia recovered on Wednesday after Wall Street's losses. A renewed interest in artificial intelligence and semiconductors fueled China's tech rally. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan reversed an earlier decline by as much as 0.5% in the morning session, to be up by 0.1% at mid-afternoon. Chinese stocks were the leaders, with the STAR 50 Index up 3.6% and a measure of Hong Kong listed companies rising 1.5%. Alibaba's Hong Kong listed shares increased by up to 7.8% following the announcement on Wednesday of its largest AI model ever, the Qwen3 Max. UBS analysts stated...

BHP announced on Wednesday that it would suspend operations and eliminate 750 jobs in a Queensland coal mine, which it shares with an affiliate of Mitsubishi. It blamed low prices and high royalties from the state government for its poor returns. BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), Saraji South, a part of the Saraji Mine Complex will be put into care and maintainance from November 2025. The Saraji Complex produced 8,2 million metric tonnes of coking coal during the year ending June 2025. BHP is one of the top exporters in the world of coking coal, which is used to make steel....

BHP announced on Wednesday that it would suspend operations and eliminate 750 jobs in a Queensland coal mine, which it shares with an affiliate of Mitsubishi. It blamed low prices and high royalties from the state government for its poor returns. BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), Saraji South, a part of the Saraji Mine Complex will enter a care and maintenance period from November 2025. BHP and Mitsubishi Development, an arm of Mitsubishi Corp., jointly own the mine. The Saraji Complex produced 8,2 million metric tonnes of coking coal during the year ending June 2025. BHP, Mitsubishi Development and BMA Asset...

Brijendra Singh, chairman and managing director of India's National Aluminium Company said that the company will invest $3.43 billion in a new coal power plant and a smelter over the next five-year period. Singh, a New Delhi-based reporter, said that the state-owned aluminium company will spend around 180 billion rupees on the construction of the smelter proposed in Odisha in eastern India. He added that the project would be funded by a combination of internal accruals and debt. Singh stated that the remaining 120 billion rupees would be used for a coal-fired power plant. Coal India and NTPC are in...

Shares in Australia's Whitehaven Coal bounced back from early declines on Thursday, as the miner posted a smaller-than-expected decline in annual profit and plans to boost shareholder returns. The largest independent coal mining company in Australia announced a final payout of 6 Australian cents for each share. This was higher than the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 5 Australian cents. Whitehaven also plans to spend A$48million on share buybacks. The shares ended the day 3.1% higher, at A$6.63, ending a losing streak of six sessions. Stocks had fallen more than 4% in the morning after the results. Whitehaven reported a...

Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that China's coal imports in July fell by 23% compared to a year ago, due to a limited demand for imports. The imports of coal in July were 35.61 millions metric tons. Although down on the previous year, this was a rebound from June's two-year-low as the hotter weather prompted higher air conditioning demands, which supported electricity consumption. The market will be watching to see if China takes concrete steps in the future to reduce production and curb oversupply at home. The National Energy Administration issued a document on July 20 calling...

Iron ore is the best performing commodity this year, with a price of over $100 per metric ton. This is despite signs that China's steel industry has been slowing down. The Singapore Exchange's most traded iron ore contract ended Wednesday at $101.71 per ton, down from $102.74 at its previous close. The rolling front-month contracts have traded within a narrow range this year. A high of $107.81 per ton was reached on February 12, and a low $93.35 per ton was achieved on July 1. This stability is due to the fact that China imports 75% of all seaborne volumes....

Iron ore is the best performing commodity this year, with a price of over $100 per metric ton. This is despite signs that China's steel industry has been slowing down. The Singapore Exchange's most traded iron ore contract ended Wednesday at $101.71 per ton, down from $102.74 at its previous close. The rolling front-month contracts have traded within a narrow range this year. A high of $107.81 per ton was reached on February 12, and a low $93.35 was achieved on July 1. This stability is due to the fact that China has been a major buyer of seaborne products,...

The prices of coking coal in China reached their maximum for the second consecutive session on Tuesday amid market talk about possible government inspections at China's main coal production hubs, which could lead to supply disruptions. The Dalian Commodity Exchange's most active China coking-coal contract jumped almost 8%, reaching its highest price in March at 1,048.5 Yuan ($146.19). Simon Wu, senior consultant at Wood Mackenzie, stated that a document purporting to be from National Bureau of Energy, calling for inspections of coal mines in 8 provinces, to determine if production exceeded licensed capacities, played a role in the rise in...

The Australian government officially opened on Tuesday the sale process of commodity tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s Whyalla Steelworks. It said that global steelmakers interested in expanding into low-emission manufacture have shown strong interest. In February, the steel plant in South Australia, whose operating company owed creditors tens and tens millions of dollars, was placed into administration. This forced the federal and state governments to provide a bailout package of A$1.9 billion ($1.23billion). Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres announced that "selected prospective buyers" now have access to a secured data room. This allows for initial due diligence, and parties can prepare non-binding...

China's imports of iron ore are expected to be their highest month in this year in June, a sign of resilience not reflected in the steel industry's sluggishness. According to analysts LSEG & Kpler, China is expected to import nearly 110 million metric tonnes of this key raw material for steel. Kpler estimates that 109.56 millions tons of cargo will arrive in June, while LSEG predicts 109.1million. It would be the highest month ever since December, when 112.49 millions tons was recorded as the second-highest monthly imports. Why are Chinese steel mills, traders and steel producers buying more iron ore...

New Hope Corporation, an Australian coal miner, saw its shares fall 7% Monday after it lowered its production and sales estimates for the year, citing problems with rail capacity at New Acland in Queensland. By 0058 GMT, shares had fallen as much as 7,1% to the lowest level since 30 April. The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark, which fell 0.4%, was also down. New Hope expects the saleable coal production to range between 10,58 million metric tones and 11,57 million tones for the year ending July, as opposed to the previous forecast which was between 10,83 million to 11,87 million tones. The...

Two opinion polls released on Thursday showed that Australia's center-left Labor Government is likely to remain in power after a tight national election at the weekend. Voters ranked Donald Trump's policies as their number one concern. According to a RedBridge/Accent poll conducted by News Corp on Thursday, Labor led the Liberal-National Coalition conservative coalition 53%-47% under Australia's preferential voting system for two parties. Votes are then distributed until a winner has been declared. The RedBridge survey showed that Labor could form a majority government or win the election on its own. This is a change from the February poll, which...