Japan

Wall Street futures, European stocks and gold rose on Monday amid confusion about U.S. Trade Policy. This was after President Donald Trump announced that he would impose a 15% tariff following the Supreme Court ruling against his global levies. As investors tried to understand the impact on major economies around the world, shares in Hong Kong rose on the belief that U.S. Tariffs on China may fall. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Trump's emergency tariffs Friday. This led the president to announce a 10% tariff on the rest the world. He then increased it to 15% the following day....

Wall Street futures in Asia and the dollar fell on Monday, as confusion about U.S. trade tariffs prompted the "sell America's" trade. Meanwhile, the tech-diva Nvidia is set to release its results this week. This will test the confidence of the AI sector. Gold prices dropped and gold grew ahead of the next round of talks between the United States and Iran, which will take place in Geneva on Friday. The risk of U.S. strikes remains if there is no agreement. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's emergency duties, uncertainty grew. He announced a new rate...

Wall Street futures, and the dollar, fell in Asia on Monday as confusion over U.S. Tariffs revived "sell America", while the tech-diva Nvidia's results this week will test the confidence of the AI sector. Gold prices rose and oil prices eased as the world prepares for another round of negotiations between the United States and Iran, which will take place in Geneva on Friday. The risk of U.S. strikes remains if no deal is reached. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's emergency duties, uncertainty loomed. He announced a new rate of 10% on the rest, but...

Investors waited on Monday for clarity about U.S. Tariffs. Meanwhile, the tech-diva Nvidia's results this week will test the confidence of the AI industry. The oil prices fell ahead of the next round of "talks" between the United States of America and Iran, which are scheduled to take place in Geneva on the Thursday. If a deal cannot be reached, the United States could launch military strikes. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's emergency duties, confusion grew. He announced a new 10% tariff on the rest, but then raised it to 15%. Rodrigo Catril is a...

By Mike Dolan February 20th - What Mike Dolan, the ROI team and I are looking forward to reading, watching and listening to this weekend. Mike Dolan is Editor-at-Large for Markets & Finance Hello Morning Bid readers! The markets have had a strangely shortened holiday week. U.S., Canadian and Chinese exchanges were closed on Monday and the markets in South Korea and China were closed for much of the week to celebrate Lunar New Year. The news flow didn't slow down much. The surge in crude oil was probably the biggest macro-move of the week. The price of oil had...

The stock market in Asia fell on Friday. The?dollar was headed for its biggest weekly gain in 4 months, and oil prices rose as the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East shook the markets. Japan's ?Nikkei ?dropped 1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6% after returning from Lunar New Year holiday, with the biggest selling in technology and e-commerce shares. S&P 500 Futures rose by 0.2%, while European futures were up by 0.3%. Wall Street's private equity stocks were hit after Blue Owl Capital stopped quarterly redemptions for one of its funds and sold assets. This stoked wider concerns...

Asian stocks rose Thursday, supported?by gains in technology giants from Wall Street. Meanwhile, lingering U.S. Iran tensions supported oil prices and gold was underpinned by safe-haven flows. The dollar was a firm currency after minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting showed that policymakers weren't in a hurry to lower rates. The trading was thin in Asia, with Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan closed to celebrate the Lunar New Year. However, MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan gained 0.4%, and Tokyo's Nikkei gained 0.70%. The Kospi index of South Korea has risen by more than 3%, reaching a new...

The global stock market rose on Wednesday, as investors took a break after a sell-off triggered by artificial intelligence. They also assessed a report that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde intends to step down early. STOXX 600 rose 0.8% to a new record high on the back of mining and defence stocks. The pan-European index is now set for its third consecutive day of gains. Wall?Street Futures rose 0.6% the day after the main indices made modest gains. Investors who have suffered from a series of brutal declines over the past few weeks are now able to take a...

Rocky Swift gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Investors are still focusing on geopolitical tensions, as well as signs of cooling in the hot tech sector. This is affecting price movements on commodities, currencies and stocks. Asian shares climbed a little higher, after a slight gain on Wall Street, amid concerns about artificial intelligence's impact on the economy and?valuations?linked to it. Many markets in Asia remained closed due to Lunar New Year. The Nikkei jumped more than 1% in Japan on the expectation that the country's tech companies will benefit from the...

The Asian stock markets rose?on Wednesday, despite renewed concerns about artificial intelligence that gripped international markets. Oil prices fluctuated as Iran announced progress in its?nuclear talks with the United States. New Zealand dollar fell after central bank stated that monetary policy?needs?to remain accommodative to support economic recovery. The Nikkei 225, the benchmark index of Japan, rose by 1.4% after a three-day decline. Australia's S&P/ASX200 also gained 0.5%. Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore were all closed during the Lunar New Year holiday. Stock futures in Europe pointed to a slight gain at the opening. Euro Stoxx futures rose 0.07%. German...

Investors were uneasy about the prospect of a further selloff among technology and artificial intelligence?heavyweights, and nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.S. remained a focus. Futures that track the Nasdaq 100 index in the United States fell 0.9%. The index has now declined three consecutive weeks, but the unwinding may not be over yet. S&P futures fell 0.3%. Axel Botte is the head of market strategy for Ostrum Asset Management. He said that "the markets are stress-testing each sector and their business model to see how resistant they would be to AI disruptors." A Bank of America monthly survey...

The Asian financial markets were cautious on Tuesday, with a thinned-out trading session. Oil prices were mixed in anticipation of the nuclear negotiations between the U.S.A. and Iran that are due to start later in the day in Geneva. Tuesday, the markets in China, Hong Kong Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and South Korea will be closed for Lunar New Year?holidays. U.S. market were closed on Monday due to 'Presidents' Day'. The Nikkei in Japan was down by 0.9%, while the S&P/ASX200 in Australia was up by 0.24%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell by 2.5 basis points, to 4.029%,...

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the White House emergency tariffs were invalid. This was a victory for thousands of businesses. The refund process?has just begun. The court's decision could have a ripple effect on the global economy. It ruled that Donald Trump cannot use the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act in order to levy a broad?tariff on imports. The corporate world spent months adapting to Trump's constantly-evolving policy on trade and his use of tariffs to advance his agenda. Not only to address trade issues, but also to act as a weapon against the policies...

Anglo American reported a $3.7billion loss on Friday, after another writedown of its diamonds business. The miner is pushing ahead with plans to shed its non-core assets as well as complete its merger with?Teck Resources. Anglo has wrapped up an uneven reporting season for London listed mining groups. This highlights the divergent fortunes of the industry as Antofagasta benefitted from rising copper prices, while other diversified peers suffered due to weaker markets in iron ore and diamonds. The company recorded a $2.3bn pre-tax impairment on its De Beers division, reducing carrying value from over $4bn to $2.3bn. Analysts' estimates of...

Takahiko iwai, chief financial officer at Nippon Steel, said that the company does not see a need to reduce capacity at U.S. Steel. Instead, it expects this business to contribute a profit in fiscal 2026. This is up from zero last year. Iwai said in an interview that while?urgent? steps are necessary to improve the U.S. firm's high cost structure, similar capacity reductions to those implemented by Japan in the early 2020s is not needed because U.S. demand for steel is increasing. Iwai stated that "U.S. Steel has steadily improved through capital expenditure effects," adding that about 100 Nippon Steel...

Sumitomo Corp., of Japan, said that the Ambatovy Nickel & Cobalt Project in Madagascar is still closed after Tropical Cyclone Gezani hit the island last week and damaged facilities. The?company's statement said that operations were immediately suspended, safety being the number one priority. The company said that it is currently assessing the extent of the damage, the condition of the equipment and the impact on earnings. Sumitomo said it would work with all parties involved to determine the extent of the damage as quickly as possible and implement the appropriate measures for recovery. A company spokesperson stated that the timing...

Japan's Nikkei stock average fell on Tuesday as the post-election euphoria waned and U.S. Presidents' Day'market holiday' left 'investors' with 'few' trading 'cues. As of 1300 GMT, the Nikkei Index was down by 0.6% to 56,451.43, extending its slide for a 4th consecutive session. The Topix index fell 0.4% to 3,771.16. Ryotaro?Sawada is a senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory. The price movement seems to be primarily driven by technicals and demand-supply. The post-general-election rally from last week, following fiscal dove Prime Minister ?Sanae Takaichi's landslide victory, also appeared to fade, ?he added. SoftBank shares fell 4.6%. They were...

The cyclone which hit Madagascar last week has stopped production at the cobalt and Nickel miner Ambatovy. Traders said that a prolonged outage could increase prices for battery materials. Ambatovy is owned by the Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and the state-owned Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation. In 2024, it will produce around 28,000 tons of nickel and approximately 2,500 tons cobalt. The storm that hit Madagascar's Toamasina port, the main port for exports, caused a lot of disruption to trade. Ambatovy confirmed its Toamasina processing plant on Madagascar's east coast suffered material damage. It said it was...

Itochu, Japan's largest retailer, posted a record-breaking 4% increase in its nine-month net profits through December 31st, to 705.3 billion dollars. This was a result of strong consumer businesses, such as food, textiles and the convenience store chain. The trading house's food unit saw a 38% increase in profit to 82.5 billion Japanese yen, up from 60 billion last year. This was due to higher banana sales and production, as well as growth of the packaged foods division at Dole agriculture. Tsuyoshi Hachimura, Chief Financial Officer of the company, said at a press conference that "core profits in non-resources sectors...

Canada's Capstone Copper announced on Friday that its largest union at the Mantoverde copper and gold mine in?Chile approved a three-year contract. This ended a strike which began on January 2, and allowed production to resume normal. The Australian-listed shares of the miner fell by?3.9%, to A$15.430. This is their lowest level since January 23. The agreement brings an end to the labour strike which had reduced production in the?mine by about 55%. Capstone announced that it had?now negotiated new contracts for all four unions on the site. This allows the company to resume its full operations. Union No. Union...

According to two sources familiar with the matter, Nippon Steel Japan is looking at selling as much as 500 billion dollars ($3.2 billion) in convertible bonds. This would be a major transaction in Japan. Sources said that the steelmaker was considering making a decision this month. They declined to be named because the information isn't public. Is reporting the potential issue for the first time. Nippon Steel didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. According to LSEG data, at 500?billion yen the convertible bond issuance would be largest of its type in Japan. One of the sources stated...

Idemitsu Kosan, a Japanese oil refiner, announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with Australia's Graphinex and Marubeni, a trading house, to create a Japan-Australian supply chain for graphite-based materials. Idemitsu stated that the four companies are aiming to reduce procurement risk for Japan's batteries industry and strengthen supply-chain reliability across Asia. Anode materials are in high demand due to the global increase of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. Japan is heavily reliant on graphite imports, so ensuring a stable supply of this material is a major challenge. China has the largest graphite deposits in the world...

Capstone Copper Corp. resumed its operations at the Mantoverde Copper and Gold Mine in northern Chile despite a strike by a union that represents nearly 22%. In a filing to the Australian stock exchange dated 1 February, the company reiterated that it expected to continue operating at a level of 50% to 75% normal production throughout this strike. The shares of Capstone Australia listed depositary receipts fell as much as 4.5 percent to A$15.810 per day, their lowest levels since January 23. The decision to resume operations was made following a Chilean Court ruling that authorized the removal of striking...

Japan's No. Idemitsu Kosan, Japan's No. Idemitsu collaborates with Toyota Motor in order to commercialise the next-generation batteries. This will help Toyota Motor achieve its goal of launching all-solid state batteries-equipped electric vehicles by 2027-2028. This decision marks the beginning of a 'next phase towards commercialisation. Solid-state batteries are a hot topic among automakers and battery manufacturers. They're hailed as a key component to?longer-lasting, safer and more affordable electric vehicles. Idemitsu develops mass-production technologies for solid electrolytes - a key component of solid state batteries - and manufactures samples in two small-scale facilities, one of which is primarily focused on...