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FTSE 100 increases with Shell at the helm amid easing China/US tensions
The blue-chip index in Britain advanced on Friday led by Shell as a potential ease in China-U.S. tensions and positive earnings reports generally boosted the market sentiment. By 0955 GMT the FTSE 100 had gained 0.8% and was on course to record its 15th consecutive session of winning - the longest ever recorded. It is also poised to achieve its third consecutive week of gains. Despite recent market turmoil due to U.S. tariffs on imports, the blue chip index is only 3.6% lower than its closing record high reached on March 3, 2025. Shell's share price rose 3.4% despite lower oil prices and a reduction in refining margins compared to last year. The company also maintained its share-buyback program despite beating analyst expectations. Shell's performance boosted the energy index by 2%. NatWest's share price rose by 1.2% following the lender's announcement of a 36% increase in its first-quarter profits, which exceeded expectations. This was due to higher margins for deposits and loan balances. Standard Chartered announced a 10% increase in profit, but it also agreed with HSBC that increased tariffs will impact credit quality. The bank's share price was down by 0.5%. China's Commerce Ministry stated that Beijing is open to discussions on tariffs, and was "evaluating" Washington's offer of holding talks about President Donald Trump's tariffs of 145%. China, however, said that Washington should show "sincerity in negotiations" and be ready to cancel its unilateral duties. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 index was almost flat on the day but was headed towards its fourth consecutive week of gains. SSP Group rose 6% to be among the best performers in the midcap index, after Financial Times reported that activist investor Irenic Capital Management had built up a 2% stake. Stock reached its highest level in about a two-month period. Ferrexpo, a miner based in Ukraine, saw its shares surge for a second day running, up 10% on the back of the U.S.Ukraine mineral deal. (Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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Azerbaijan's president will present a climate plan that was delayed by September
Azerbaijan will present its long-overdue climate action plans by September, COP29 president Mukhtar Babaev said on Thursday. He added that the oil producing country is advancing its green transition. Azerbaijan said that it would use the presidency of the annual U.N. meetings to set an example and convince countries to submit their national climate plans in line with the U.N. target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2,7 degrees Fahrenheit). All countries are required to submit Nationally Determined contributions, or climate action Plans, which describe policies and decisions to reduce emissions. They must also be updated every few years. Azerbaijan, for example, was one of the few countries that failed to submit their plans by the February deadline. The U.N. extended the deadline until September. Babayev noted that it was easy to declare things, and that some countries had delayed submitting their NDCs because they needed to prepare their programmes more. He said Azerbaijan is developing a comprehensive program on the transition to a low-carbon economy, and will submit its plan by September. The campaigners worry that global efforts to combat climate change will lose momentum now that the United States has pulled out of the United Nations efforts under Donald Trump and the big business has abandoned sustainability. Babayev stated that Azerbaijan is working towards the goal of generating 30% of its electricity through renewable sources by 2030. The country also plans to increase its solar power and export offshore wind energy from the Caspian Sea. He said, "For us it is important to show how a country with a long history of oil and gas has now turned its economy in the direction of green energy." Climate Watch reports that only 19 countries have made new Nationally Determined contributions. Azerbaijan will hand over the U.N. presidency to Brazil this year, as Brazil will be hosting COP30 (the 30th Conference of Parties) in November. Virginia Furness, Rachna uppal and Barbara Lewis (Reporting)
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UK loses its appeal against tougher police powers to curb street protests
The London Court of Appeal rejected Britain's bid to grant police greater powers to impose restrictions on protests on the streets on Friday. Civil rights group Liberty called it a "huge victory for democracy". Liberty has successfully challenged the changes made to public order laws by the former Conservative government. The High Court ruled last year that government exceeded its power by lowering police thresholds to impose conditions. After a brief delay, the Home Office, Britain's interior ministry, appealed the ruling. They argued that ministers could lower the threshold even without new legislation. Akiko Hart, Liberty's director, said that the government should now remove these new powers. She said that the next step is for the government to accept this decision and agree to do away with this illegal legislation. The Home Office didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Liberty's case centered on the Public Order Act. Under this act, police can impose restrictions on protests that may cause "serious disturbances to the lives of the community". After a wave of direct action protests by environmentalists and other activists, the law was amended so that police could impose conditions when a protest might cause "more minor" disruption. Liberty, on the other hand, claimed that it had given police virtually unlimited powers to stop protests. It cited the arrest of Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg who was later found not guilty. In May 2024, the High Court found that the new powers are illegal. However, the Court of Appeal put on hold the decision to quashing the new powers pending an appeal. Liberty reported that the Court of Appeal will "decide in the next few weeks whether the legislation should be quashed". (Reporting and editing by Sam Tobin)
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Chevron exceeds Wall Street profit expectations as refinery recovers from the previous quarter
Chevron reported earnings for the first quarter that were in line with Wall Street expectations, after seeing a turnaround of its refining division from a loss at the end of last year. Eimear Bonner, the company's chief finance officer, stated that Chevron could repurchase shares this year between $11.5 billion and 13 billion dollars, which is within its guidance range of $10 billion to 20 billion. According to LSEG, the second largest U.S. oil company posted earnings adjusted of $3.8 billion for the three-month period ended March 31. This is $2.18 per common share and matches analyst expectations. The profits from refining, oil and gas production and refining were lower than a year earlier, but they improved significantly from the previous quarter when Chevron reported its first loss for four years in the downstream operations. Chevron, along with other oil producers, has been dealing with falling crude prices ever since U.S. president Donald Trump announced tariffs on April 2 that were expected to slow global economic growth. Lower crude oil prices have led to questions over whether producers can meet their dividend and share repurchase goals - an important part of Big Oil’s strategy to attract investors - without cutting capital expenditure budgets. Chevron reported that it paid out $3 billion in dividends during the third quarter and purchased $3.9 billion worth of shares. The company expects to buy back between $2 billion and $3 billion of shares in the second quarter. Bonner, in an interview, said that if Chevron were to continue this trend, it could end up with between $11.5 and $13 billion of repurchases by 2025. She said, "We are still repurchasing a significant portion of our shares each year. On top of that, our dividend is growing faster than any of our competitors." Chevron's total global oil production was 3.35 million barrels equivalent per day. This is the same as last year. In January, the company completed a major expansion of the Tengiz Oilfield in Kazakhstan and increased production in the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. oilfield by 12%. These gains were offset with a loss in production due to asset sales. In April, Chevron began production at its Ballymore project located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Tengiz operations have been a focus of attention as Kazakhstan has consistently exceeded OPEC+ oil output quotas. Bonner stated that the company operates unrestricted. Chevron's second quarter shipments to Venezuela will be affected by an order from the Trump administration that ended operations in Venezuela during the first quarter. The earnings from oil and natural gas production fell to $3.76 billion from $5.24 in the previous quarter. Chevron's refinery business made $325 million in the first quarter of 2018, down from $783 millions a year earlier. This is a significant turnaround from the last quarter, when the company reported its first loss since 2020 as the post-pandemic surge of fuel demand faded.
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Adani Power, an Indian company, is hopeful that Bangladesh will settle all past dues
Bangladesh's chief financial officer revealed that the country has reduced the amount of money it owes Adani Power in India for a power supply deal. The company is confident about recovering the remaining $900 million. The Bangladeshi government has been struggling to meet its obligations under the 2017 agreement, as imports have become more expensive since the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. This is in addition to the political turmoil in the country that resulted in the removal of the prime minister in August last year. Adani's supply was halved last year as a result. However, CFO Dilip Jha stated that the company resumed its full supply after the monthly payments of the country began to cover some of the outstanding dues. Jha told analysts in a call after earnings on Thursday that "we are supplying all the power to Bangladesh...the payment we receive now is more than our monthly billing." We are hoping that we will continue to receive payments equal to the current billing month, and that old outstanding dues also be liquidated. The company stated that Bangladesh had paid almost $1.2 billion out of the total $2 billion billed. Sethuraman N.R. in Bengaluru, and Savio D.Souza edited the report.
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Colder temperatures and lower solar output are expected to increase demand.
German and French spot rates were not traded on Friday morning, but a lower solar output will be expected in the entire region by Monday due to a higher demand because of colder temperatures. LSEG data shows that the German and French baseload power prices for Monday were not traded by 0745 GMT. Ricardo Parviero, LSEG analyst, says that residual load will increase in the region Monday as the lower solar supply limits the gains from the higher wind supply. LSEG data revealed that the German solar energy supply is projected to drop sharply from 10.7 GW to 5.8 GW. LSEG data indicated that the German wind power production was expected to increase by 2.5 GW Monday to 12.5 GW while French supply is projected to jump 6.2 GW up to 9.3 GW. The French nuclear capacity increased by one percentage point, to 61%. LSEG data shows that power consumption in Germany will rise by 2.3 GW on Monday, with temperatures 3.1C lower. In France, demand is expected to increase by 3.7 GW with temperatures 1.1C cooler. The German power contract for the year ahead rose by 3.3%, to 83.35 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), while the French baseload contract for 2025 had not yet begun trading following its closing price of 61.40 Euros/MWh. The benchmark contract on the European carbon CFI2Zc1 market gained 2.0% to 68.34 euro per metric ton. (Reporting and editing by Janane Vekatraman; Alban Kacher)
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Indian regulator accuses Adani's nephew in an insider trading case. He seeks to settle
India's market regulator alleges that Pranav Adani, the director of several Adani Group companies and the grandson of the billionaire founder of the group, has shared sensitive price information and violated regulations designed to prevent insider trading. Adani, nephew of Gautam Adani was sent a warning by the Securities and Exchange Board of India last year. The notice alleged that he had shared information with his brother-in law about the 2021 acquisition of SoftBank's SB Energy Holdings by Adani Green before the deal announcement, according to the document and a source. This matter was not previously reported. In an email sent to Pranav Adani, he said that he wanted to settle the charges to "put an end to it, without admitting or denying the allegations", and that "he had not violated any securities laws". Sources with direct knowledge said that settlement terms were being discussed. They declined to name the source as it is a confidential matter. Adani's group is facing a new challenge. Last year, U.S. authorities indicted Gautam Adani along with two Adani executives on charges of paying bribes for Indian power supply contracts as well as misleading U.S. Investors. The group denies the allegations and calls them "baseless". The SEBI document stated that Pranav Adani had "communicated UPSI" (unpublished, price-sensitive information) to his brother in law Kunal Shah in relation to the SB energy acquisition in 2021 and violated rules relating to insider trading in the same year. It also showed that call records and trading pattern were examined in the investigation. The document said that Kunal Shah's brother Nrupal Shah traded shares in Adani Green, resulting in "ill-gotten" gains of 108,000 rupees (9 million rupees). In a letter sent by their firm, the Shah brothers stated that they did not execute the trades with "knowledge or any price sensitive information unpublished nor with any malicious intent." The statement stated that "the information in question is already available to the public". SEBI has not responded to any requests for comment. Adani Green will acquire SB Energy on May 17, 2020 for $3.5 billion. This is the biggest acquisition in India's renewable energy sector to date. SEBI stated that Pranav Adani was aware of the impending deal two to three days before the finalisation date, May 16, 2021. Source: SEBI proposed to settle with Kunal and Nrupal, but they chose not to do so, as the terms were too burdensome. After SEBI has completed its ongoing review of the settlement process, Pranav Adani will be able to file a settlement claim. (Reporting and editing by Aditya K. Kalra, Raju Gopalakrishnan, and Jayshree Upadhyay)
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Dealers say that India's palm oil imports in April fell by 24% and are still below normal levels.
Five dealers report that India's imports of palm oil in April were down by almost a quarter compared to the previous month. This is the fifth month consecutively below normal levels. The premium paid for the tropical oil over its rival soyoil prompted a higher purchase of soyoil. India's lower-than-normal imports of palm oil, the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oil, could put pressure on Malaysian palm oil and support U.S. soybean oil futures. According to dealers' estimates, palm oil imports fell by 24% in April compared to the previous month to 322,000 tons. Solvent Extractors' Association of India has reported that India imported more than 750,000 tonnes of palm oil per month on average during the marketing period ending in October 2024. Sandeep Bajoria is the CEO of Sunvin Group. A vegetable oil brokerage. He said that palm oil prices were high due to a shortage, which encouraged buyers who are price sensitive to purchase more soyoil. Dealers said that traders have been choosing lower-priced soybean oil for several months. Imports in April increased by 2% on a month-to-month basis to 363,000 tonnes. Imports of sunflower oil, on the other hand, dropped by nearly 6%, to 180,000 tons. This is the lowest level in seven months. Dealers estimate that India's total imports of edible oils in April fell by 11% from the previous month due to lower imports of sunflower and palm oil. Rajesh Patel of GGN Research, a trader in edible oils, explained that palm oil has started to trade at a lower price than soyoil. This is encouraging Indian buyers, who are interested in increasing their palm oil purchases, to do so for shipments starting from May. India imports mainly palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia. It also imports sunflower oil and soyoil from Argentina, Brazil and Ukraine. GGN Research estimates that Nepal's edible oils imports fell to 85,000 tonnes in April from 135,000 tons a month earlier. Patel stated that more than half of Nepalese imports end up being reexported to India as refined products, since the South Asian Free Trade Agreement allows goods from Himalayan countries to be tax-free. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Joe Bavier)
Dollar and stocks are on a roller coaster ride as the US slaps new tariffs on China. China responds.
U.S. Stock Futures fell, the Dollar jumped and Hong Kong Shares tumbled from two-months highs after the U.S. imposed a tariff on Chinese imports. China responded quickly.
S&P futures, after bouncing in relief at the news that Mexico and Canada reached an agreement to delay tariffs, have now fallen by 0.4%. European futures fell 0.2%, and the euro slid below $1.02 due to fears that Europe could be next.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost gains of over 2% and closed the day about 1.8% higher.
At 0501 GMT, an additional 10% U.S. duty on Chinese exports went into effect. Beijing announced that it would impose tariffs on the imports of U.S. cars, farm equipment, oil, coal and gas. These measures will take effect on February 10. This sparked market concerns about a messy and prolonged tit-fortat trade war.
Bitcoin fell by 3%, to $98,750.
Ross Mayfield is an investment strategy analyst with Baird, based in Louisville, Kentucky. He said, "I believe you can see the rollercoaster ride of public negotiations around tariffs and policy."
Australian shares finished just below flat at the auction. Japanese stocks pared their gains.
Trump's Press Secretary said he would speak with Chinese president Xi Jinping within the next few days.
The Chinese markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, but the offshore yuan has fallen to 7,3236 per dollar since the tariffs went into effect.
The Australian dollar, which is often used as a proxy to represent the yuan due to its liquidity, dropped 0.7%, falling from $0.6180.
On Monday, gold reached record highs as investors sought safety amid fears of a global trade war. On Tuesday, it traded at $2,817 per ounce, close to the previous record high. Markets were divided over whether or not there would be two rate cuts in the United States this year.
Michael Feroli, J.P. Morgan’s U.S. chief economist, said that the increase in policy uncertainties will be difficult to reverse.
The weekend's events will probably reinforce the Fed's tendency to stay on the sidelines, and to be as low-profile as possible.
(source: Reuters)