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Asian stocks, euro gain after Trump delays EU tariffs
Stock markets in Asia rose on Monday. The euro also rallied, after President Donald Trump extended his threat of imposing 50% tariffs on EU products by over a month, signaling another temporary respite as part his erratic policy on trade. Trump extended his trade deadline from Friday's June 1 to July 9 after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EU needed more time to reach a "good deal". The market sentiment was stable after a sharp drop in most assets during the month of November. Trump had paused his tariffs that were affecting growth and investors wanted to make new trade agreements after an agreement with UK and temporary agreement with China. Analysts have pointed out that investors are moving their money from the U.S. into Europe and Asia, as they factor in a potential U.S. economic recession and subsequent global slowdown. "(The tariffs) are well above the original reciprocal 20% tariff on the EU." This escalation is bad news for the world as it affects 60% of the global GDP. Apple was also caught up in the crossfire of trade on Friday after Trump threatened to levy a 25% tax on all iPhones imported by U.S. customers. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.12% on Monday. Japan's Nikkei also edged up. Due to the fact that the United States and United Kingdom markets are closed on Monday due to public holidays, trading volumes are expected to be low. Nippon Steel, a Japanese company, jumped by 4.3% on Friday after Trump expressed his support for its $14.9 billion offer to acquire U.S. Steel. He said that their "planned partnership", would create jobs and benefit the American economy. U.S. Steel shares soared by 21% on the Friday. Investors will try to gauge Bank of Japan's outlook for monetary policy by focusing on super-long Japanese bonds. Inflation data is expected later this week. Last week, yields on tenors reached record levels. The ballooning debt levels of developed economies have also been brought to the forefront following Moody's downgrading of the United States' credit rating and the weak auctions for debt in the U.S.A. and Japan held last week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.4% in the early morning trading of Monday while China's blue chip index dropped 0.2%. The euro gained 0.3%, reaching its highest level since April 30. Meanwhile, the dollar recovered up to 0.3%, to 143.085 Japanese yen after a 1% drop on Friday. Nvidia, the leader in artificial intelligence (AI), will release its earnings report on Wednesday. It is the last member of the "Magnificent 7" group of growth shares that led the U.S. bull run of more than two years. Analysts believe that the quarterly report of the semiconductor giant could be the catalyst for the markets as its forecasts can be seen as a sign of demand for technology infrastructure. Nvidia shares have fallen more than 2% in this year as investors have taken note of cheaper Chinese AI models following the release of DeepSeek. CEO Jensen Huang also warned that U.S. Export curbs would affect sales. Reports on Saturday indicated that Nvidia would launch a new AI chipet in China for a lower price. This is subject to U.S. approval. Gold prices dipped from their two-week high, but crude oil prices rose.
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Nippon Steel shares rise after Trump supportss U.S. steel deal
Nippon Steel's shares rose on Monday after U.S. president Donald Trump expressed his support for the company’s $14.9 billion offer to acquire U.S. Steel. Trump stated in a Truth Social post that the "planned partnership", between the two companies, will create at minimum 70,000 jobs as well as add $14 billion to U.S. economic growth. Trump said that most of the investment will be made in the next fourteen months. He also announced that he would attend a rally on Friday at U.S. Steel, but did not provide any specifics. It's unclear if Trump's use of the term "partnership", refers to Nippon Steel's full acquisition U.S. Steel, which it has been pursuing. The White House didn't respond to any questions regarding the announcement made on Friday. Investors interpreted Trump's comments, which initially opposed the deal and meant Nippon Steel received his approval, as the last major obstacle for the deal. U.S. Steel as well as Nippon Steel have both praised the comments. Nippon Steel is Japan's largest steelmaker. The deal is central to their global expansion strategy. The deal would increase production from 63 to 86 millions metric tons, at a time of declining domestic demand. Nippon shares, the fourth largest steelmaker in the world, rose 5% in Tokyo to 3,025yen after they were untraded earlier in the morning due to a surplus of buy orders. Nippon was the largest percentage gainer in Tokyo's Nikkei 225 benchmark index. According to World Steel Association, a merger would make China's Baowu Steel Group the third largest steel producer in terms of volume after Luxembourg's ArcelorMittal and China's Baowu Steel Group. Mariko Katsumura, Muralikumar Aantharaman, and Neil Fullick edited the story.
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Origin Energy Australia raises the lower end of its full-year profit estimate
Origin Energy, Australia's largest energy company, raised its underlying profit forecast for fiscal 2025 to the lower end due to operational improvements as well as wholesale portfolio benefits. Energy retailer expects its full-year earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortization to be between A$1.3billion ($844.35m) and A$1.4billion, up from the previous range of A$1.1billion to A$1.4billion. Origin said that it also projects a loss up to A$100m in its share in annual EBITDA underlying from Octopus Energy due to the unseasonably warm weather in March and April across United Kingdom, and other one-off effects. Origin estimated that it could contribute up to A$100m. The shares of the Sydney-based firm dropped up to 4.5%, reaching a low of A$10.55 (nearly three weeks ago). Origin announced earlier this month that it expected to lose its share of Australia Pacific LNG's (APLNG) EBITDA for the six-month period ending June 2025, after APLNG lowered prices on sales made to China Sinopec.
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Oil prices rise after Trump extends EU Trade Talks deadline to July
The oil prices rose in the early Asian trading on Monday, after U.S. president Donald Trump extended the deadline for trade negotiations with the European Union. This eased concerns over U.S. duties on the EU that could harm the global economy and fuel the demand. Brent crude futures were up 37 cents or 0.6% to $65.15 a bar by 0001 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was up 32 cents or 0.6% at $61.87 a bar. Tony Sycamore, IG's market analyst, said: "Crude oil and U.S. stock futures are up this morning following the extension of the deadline by U.S. president Trump." Trump announced that he had agreed to extend the deadline for the trade talks between the United States and the European Union to July 9, after Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union needed more time to reach a deal. Sycamore stated that the headlines about trade and tariffs along with fiscal concerns will be the major wild card this week for crude oil and risk sentiment. Brent and WTI continued to rise after ending 0.5% higher Friday, as the limited progress made in U.S. - Iran nuclear talks eased fears of Iranian oil returning on global markets. Also, U.S. buyers were covering positions before the three-day Memorial Day Weekend. Baker Hughes, an energy services company, also released data that indicated U.S. companies, under pressure of lower oil prices and a reduction in the number operating oil rigs, had reduced the number to 465, the lowest level since November 2021. At the next meeting, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies could decide to boost output by 411,000 barrels a day for July. This month, the group reported that it could complete the voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day by the end October. It had already increased output targets for April, may and June by around 1 million barrels per day. Reporting by Florence Tan, Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman
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Israeli attacks kill 23 people in Gaza including a rescue official and a journalist
Local health officials reported that Israeli military strikes on Gaza Strip killed 23 Palestinians, including a journalist from the area and a senior official of the rescue services. Medical experts said that the latest deaths in Israel's campaign were caused by separate Israeli strikes at Khan Younis, Jabalia, and Nuseirat, in central Gaza Strip. According to reports, an airstrike on Hassan Majdi Abu Warda's house in Jabalia earlier Sunday killed several members of his family and local journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda. A second airstrike on Nuseirat has killed Ashraf Ab Nar, a senior civil emergency service official, and his spouse in their home, according to medics. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Hamas' Gaza Government Media Office said that Abu Warda’s death brought the total number of Palestinian journalists who have been killed in Gaza since 10/7/2023 to 220. The media office released a statement saying that Israeli forces controlled 77% of Gaza Strip either by ground forces, evacuation orders, or bombardment which keeps residents from returning to their homes. In separate statements issued on Sunday, the armed wings of Hamas (Hamas' wing) and Islamic Jihad (Islamic Jihad's wing) said that their fighters had carried out ambushes and attacks against Israeli forces in various areas in Gaza using anti-tank missiles and bombs. The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had carried out more strikes overnight in Gaza, including 75 targets such as weapons storage and rocket launchers. Israel began an air and land war in Gaza following the Hamas militants’ cross-border attack of October 7, 2023. The Israeli counted 1,200 dead, with 251 hostages taken into Gaza. Gaza's health authorities report that the conflict has caused more than 53,900 Palestinian deaths and has devastated coastal areas. Aid groups report widespread signs of severe malnutrition.
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Israeli attacks kill 20 people in Gaza including a rescue official and a journalist
Local health officials reported that Israeli military strikes on Gaza Strip killed at least twenty Palestinians, including a journalist from the area and a senior official of the rescue services. Medical experts said that the latest deaths in Israel's campaign were caused by separate Israeli strikes at Khan Younis, Jabalia, and Nuseirat, in central Gaza Strip. According to reports, an airstrike on Hassan Majdi Abu Warda's house in Jabalia earlier Sunday killed several members of his family and local journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda. A second airstrike on Nuseirat has killed Ashraf Ab Nar, a senior civil emergency service official, and his spouse in their home, according to medics. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Hamas' Gaza Government Media Office said that Abu Warda’s death brought the total number of Palestinian journalists who have been killed in Gaza since 10/7/2023 to 220. In separate statements issued on Sunday, the armed wings of Hamas (Hamas' wing) and Islamic Jihad (Islamic Jihad's wing) said that their fighters had carried out ambushes and attacks against Israeli forces in various areas in Gaza using anti-tank missiles and bombs. The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had carried out more strikes overnight in Gaza, including 75 targets such as weapons storage and rocket launchers. Israel began an air and land war in Gaza following the Hamas militants’ cross-border attack of October 7, 2023. The Israeli counted 1,200 dead, with 251 hostages taken into Gaza. Gaza's health authorities report that the conflict has caused more than 53,900 Palestinian deaths and has devastated coastal areas. Aid groups report widespread signs of severe malnutrition.
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Congo to sign US mineral deal by June end, reports FT
The Financial Times reported that officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo were optimistic about a deal they could reach with Washington in order to secure U.S. investment in vital minerals and support for ending a Rwandan-backed rebellion in the east of the country. According to a report last week, Congolese minerals, such as tungsten tantalum, and tin that Kinshasa accuses neighbouring Rwanda of exploiting illegally, could be legitimately exported to Rwanda for processing, under the terms of the peace deal being negotiated between the U.S. The newspaper cited two sources close to the talks as saying that an investment deal with the U.S., and a separate peace agreement with Rwanda could be reached "by the end June". The FT reported that there are still many potential stumbling stones. The FT reported that Congo's Mines minister Kizito Pakaabomba stated an agreement with the U.S. will help "diversify partnerships" and reduce the country's dependency on China for exploitation of the vast mineral wealth. Kinshasa sees the pillage of its mineral wealth in eastern Congo as the key driver for the conflict between their forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebellions that has intensified ever since January. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of smuggling minerals worth tens or millions of dollars over the border every month to be sold by Rwanda. Massad Boulos is the senior adviser to President Donald Trump for Africa. He says that Washington wants a peace deal between the two parties to be signed by the end of the summer. This agreement will include mineral deals that are expected to bring Western investment worth billions of dollars to the area. Earlier this month, According to the Financial Times, Yolande Makolo, a Rwandan spokesperson, said that defensive measures are needed along the border as long as the DRC is plagued by threats and insecurity. The U.S. State Department didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger in Bengaluru, Mrinmay dey from Bengaluru)
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Three dead after Russian drones strike Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities
Officials said that Russian forces attacked Kyiv early Sunday morning, killing at least three people and injuring 11 others in the capital. They also damaged buildings and homes in surrounding towns. Three people were killed in two small towns near the capital, according to officials in the Kyiv area. The attacks were also carried out in a number of regional cities, including Kharkiv (Ukraine's second largest city), Mykolaiv (in the south) and Ternopil (in the west). Timur Tkachenko of Kyiv's Military Administration said that 11 people had been injured by drone strikes. In the Holosiivskyi District, just outside of the city center, a five-storey building was struck by fire. The exterior of the building was damaged. Strikes in other districts damaged a private home and an office centre. This was the second night in a row that a massive attack occurred. Overnight, on Friday evening, Russia launched drones and missiles against Kyiv in the largest combined aerial attack of the war's three years. The attack damaged several apartment buildings and injured 15 people. Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov confirmed that drones had struck three districts in the northeastern Ukraine and injured three individuals. Blasts have shattered the windows of high-rise apartment buildings. The regional governor reported that drone strikes had injured two people, in a residential neighborhood of Mykolaiv. A missile strike on Ternopil, in western Ukraine, smashed windows and started a small fire. Local officials reported that a drone attack was also carried out in Konotop to the north of Kyiv. The Russian Defence Ministry announced that their air defence units intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones in a period of four hours. Sergei Sobyanin said that 12 Ukrainian drones were intercepted as they approached the capital. Reporting by Gleb Garanich and Oleksandr Kozohukhar; Editing and review by Cynthia Osterman, Christopher Cushing and Christopher Cushing
Albanese, an Australian company, pledges to establish a strategic reserve for critical minerals
The Australian centre-left Labor Government pledged on Thursday an initial investment A$1.2 billion (roughly $763 million) in order to establish a strategic reserve for critical minerals. It is looking to create a different supply chain within a Chinese dominated market.
The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the reserve, which is expected to be established in nine days, would use the mineral deposits of the country and increase its economic resilience.
Albanese stated in a press release that "we need to do more" with the natural resources needed by the world, which Australia can provide.
After President Donald Trump imposed tariffs against Chinese goods, China placed restrictions on exports of minerals that are vital for everything from smartphones to EV batteries and infrared weapons. This has squeezed supply to the West.
China is the top producer in the world of 30 out of 50 critical minerals, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Australia also has some of its largest deposits of critical minerals.
Albanese stated that the government will buy minerals critical to commercial projects, or create an option for a set price and hold security over assets. The government will establish stockpiles for some minerals produced in accordance with offtake agreements.
Albanese stated that "it will allow us to deal with market and trade disruptions in a stronger position, as Australia will have access to a significant amount of resources for global demand."
Minerals from the strategic reserve will be available to key domestic and international partners.
Albanese stated that a task force would be formed to finalise and consult on the scope and design for the strategic reserve. This reserve is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2026.
(source: Reuters)