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Whitehaven shares erase loss on better than expected profit and payouts
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 underlying profit after tax of A$319,000,000 ($205,000,000) for the fiscal year ending June 30. This is 22% higher than Visible Alpha's estimate of A$261.1,000,000, but less than last year's A$740,000,000 due to lower coal prices and increasing costs. The global coal price has been trending lower this year due to softer Asia demand as well as abundant supply. Whitehaven expects coal unit costs to be between A$130 and A$145 per tonne in fiscal 2026, down from A$139 in 2025. Citi stated that the company was focused on meeting its range, as many would have expected to see a lower end. Dividends and share repurchases will be used to increase the payout target from 20% to 50% to 40%-60%. Whitehaven has also reduced its funding for Narrabri Stage 3 Extension in New South Wales from an estimate of A$800 to A$850 millions to A$260 to A$300millions, reflecting changes to the planning. Citi noted in a report that the revised mining plan reduces capital expenditures and delays major equipment purchases. Jefferies stated that the updated capital-management framework was widely anticipated, and it highlighted the miner’s focus on flexibility of the balance sheet in light of the weaker coal market.
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Copper prices fall as Markets Await Jackson Hole Speeches
Copper prices fell Thursday, as markets awaited the Federal Reserve annual symposium in Jackson Hole on Friday and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's address. At 0941 GMT, the benchmark copper price on London Metal Exchange fell 0.4% to $9685 per metric ton. On Wednesday, it reached $9,670.50 - its lowest level since August 7. The weakness is due to the Jackson Hole conference, where speeches are expected to be very important. "Some risk aversion has also started to creep in, as seen in the decline in tech shares," said Dan Smith of CommodityMarket Analytics. The odds of a Fed rate reduction next month have slipped to 82%. This has mildly supported the dollar, as investors continue to focus on Powell's ability to push back against expectations for a September rate cut. Rate expectations play a major role in the overall sentiment towards industrial materials, as their demand is dependent on economic growth. The data released on Thursday showed that new orders in the euro zone increased in August, for the first since May 2024. This helped to boost overall activity at its fastest rate in 15 months. Codelco, the Chilean copper company, announced that it would reduce its production forecast for 2025 after an accident in its flagship El Teniente Mine reduced the output by 33,000 tons. Codelco stated in March that it was aiming for a 2025 production of between 1,37 million and 1,4 million tons. Other metals saw aluminium fall 0.2% at $2,571 per ton, while zinc fell 0.9% at $2,762.50. Lead dropped 0.6%, to $1,969; tin was down by 0.3%, to $33,485; and nickel, which is now $14,960, was down 0.3%. (Reporting and editing by Polina Devitt. Mark Potter edited the article.
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Study shows that China's carbon dioxide emissions will fall in the first half 2025.
According to a study conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki, China's carbon emissions fell 1% from the same time period last year to the first half 2025. This was due to the growing use of renewable energies to generate electricity. According to a study conducted by CREA's Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for UK-based Carbon Brief, emissions from the China power sector fell by 3% over the past six months. Myllyvirta attributes the drop to the more renewable electricity generated by China's rapidly expanding fleet of solar power stations, which will see yet another record year of capacity additions in the year 2025. This puts emissions on track to a full-year decrease in 2025. A request for comment made outside of normal business hours was not immediately responded to by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. China, which is the largest CO2 emitter in the world, reported a decline in carbon dioxide emissions every year in 2022. This was due to the COVID Pandemic. China has set targets to peak emissions by 2030, and reach net-zero emission by 2060. Gas consumption for electricity increased 6% between January and June, while coal use fell 3%. Due to China's weak real estate sector, emissions also decreased in metals, cement, and steel. The study found that carbon emissions in China's chemical industry continue to rise, despite the fact that they are not increasing as fast as other sectors. In the first half, coal was used as an input in synthetic fuels and other petrochemical products. According to the analysis, China's carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 3% since 2020 due to coal-tochemicals. This could increase by another 2% in 2029. Reporting by Colleen Waye Editing Mark Potter
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Prices of gas in Europe are fluctuating as renewables offset increased demand
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas traded in a narrow band on Thursday morning as a slight decrease in temperatures, which boosted residential demand, was offset by higher renewable production. LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was up 0.65 euros to 32.42 Euro per megawatt hour or $11.08 per mmBtu at 0921 GMT. The British front-month price rose 1.32 pence to 80.33 pence/therm. However, the day-ahead price increased 0.10 pence to 80.30 pence/therm. According to Wayne Bryan, principal of gas research at LSEG, the fundamentals for the day are balanced with an increase in local distribution zone demand (residential), which is offset by a decrease in the (gas-for) power demand expected due to a stronger renewables. The forecast for residential demand has increased by 51 gigawatts per day, to 667GWh/d. LSEG data shows that temperatures will be below the normals of 10 and 30 years from Thursday to at least August 26. Gas for power is also expected to be lower on the day, with a decline of 84 GWh/d due to an increase in wind and solar energy production, as well as a rise in French nuclear capacity. Bryan said that any extensions or unplanned outages to maintenance, including those scheduled for Norwegian maintenance starting on August 27, could increase the price. LSEG data shows that Ormen Lange in Norway has begun corrective maintenance on its Ormen Lange plant, with an estimated impact of 12,000,000 cubic metres per day. It is expected to finish on September 12. Analysts at Engie’s EnergyScan wrote in a morning report that the lack of progress in the negotiations for a peace agreement in Ukraine should support energy markets. Gas Infrastructure Europe data shows that EU gas storage sites are currently 74.49% full. The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was up by 0.60 euros at 71.89 Euros per metric ton. Marwa Rashad is the reporter. (Editing by Elaine Hardcastle.)
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Gold drops on FOMC minutes that are hawkish, with focus on Jackson Hole summit
The gold price fell on Thursday, after the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed that there was a majority in favor of keeping interest rates unchanged. Investors are now looking forward to the annual Jackson Hole Symposium later that day. As of 8:02 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2%, at $3,340.09 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery also fell 0.2% to $3382.30. Minutes of the Fed's meeting in July showed that the only policymakers to advocate for a cut were Vice Chair for Oversight Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller. Carlo Alberto De Casa is an external analyst for Swissquote. He said that the FOMC minutes are hawkish. The Fed's board continues to be inclined towards inflation control through tightening monetary policy rather than cutting costs of money. Gold that does not yield typically performs better in an environment with low interest rates. According to CME's FedWatch, the Fed has kept rates unchanged since December. However, investors expect an 81% probability of a quarter point cut by September. Investors will be watching to see if Fed Chair Jerome Powell supports measures to boost the labour market, or focuses his attention on curbing inflation. De Casa said that a hawkish Fed would have a negative impact on gold prices, but so long as the price of gold is between $3,270-3.440, there aren't any major risks (given) central banks continue to buy tonnes of gold. In the meantime, President Trump asked Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who is also a member of his party, to resign due to allegations made by a political ally about mortgages that she holds. This intensified his attempts to influence central bank. Cook stated that she "had no intention" of being pushed to resign from her post. Official data released earlier this month showed that China's central banks added gold to their reserves in July, marking the ninth consecutive month they have done so. Silver spot was down by 0.2% to $37.83 an ounce. Platinum fell 1% to 1,326.93, and palladium dropped 0.8% to $1,000.12. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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Exxaro considers larger payouts to shareholders after manganese purchase, shares rise
Exxaro Resources, a South African miner, is looking at increasing shareholder returns after it closes the deal it announced in May for manganese assets. It will not need a large cash buffer to finance acquisitions anymore, said its CEO on Thursday. The company's shares rose 9% following the announcement of a 13% rise in its half-year profits thanks to increased coal income. The company announced on May 13 that it had entered into an agreement with Ntsimbintle Holdings, and OM Holdings to purchase manganese mines in South Africa. This is part of the company's strategy to diversify its business away from coal to minerals essential for global energy technology shifts to cleaner technologies. CEO Ben Magara stated that the final transaction value is expected to be between 9 billion to 14.64 billion rand (507 million to $825 million) depending on how much minority shareholders exercise their tag-along and pre-emptive rights. After the manganese transaction, he stated that Exxaro will no longer need to maintain a cash buffer of 12 to 15 billion rands to fund acquisitions. Magara said: "We are now reviewing capital allocation framework in order to increase shareholder returns following the manganese deal." Riaan Koppeschaar, finance director at the Ministry of Finance, said that higher dividends was one option to consider. Koppeschaar stated during a call to discuss results that "we still need the manganese transactions, the final figures, before we can make final decisions." Exxaro anticipates that the transaction will be completed during the first quarter 2026. Exxaro reported headline earnings per share at 17.24 rand for the six-month period ending June 30 compared with 15.28 rand last year. It declared a dividend of 8.43 Rand per share. This is 6% more than the payout for last year. Exxaro ended the first half of 2018 with a cash balance of 12,4 billion rands. Magara said that while the miner is still looking at other metal assets, it does not expect to pursue deals as large as the manganese transaction.
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Euro stocks open flat, dollar drifts as markets prepare for Jackson Hole
Investors braced themselves for three days worth of potentially market-moving information from the Federal Reserve annual symposium in Jackson Hole. The event begins later that day and will feature central bankers from all over the world. Traders are focusing on the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Friday speech to assess the likelihood of a rate cut in September. At the opening, both the pan-European STOXX 600 and Germany's DAX indexes were little changed. The FTSE 100 in Britain rose by 0.1% while the CAC 40 in France fell by 0.1%. Michael Brown, Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone, said: "I am still an equity bull and I buy dips. This recent swoon is more an example of some of the froth that has been taken off the market's top." "Strong earnings, a resilient economy and a calmer tone in trade should all keep the path to least resistance higher. Any potential Fed easing will probably also provide a help." The underlying momentum of equities has been strong in recent months. Australia's benchmark index rose 0.9%, hitting a new record. Other Asian indexes have lost some ground, but are still close to recent highs. The Nikkei, Japan's stock index, fell 0.6% after hitting a record intraday high on Tuesday. South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.7%. The KOSPI fell to a low of six weeks on Wednesday but is still not far from the four-year-high reached on July 31. Nasdaq Futures were slightly higher after a 0.7% drop for the Nasdaq composite overnight. S&P futures were unchanged after the cash index fell 0.2%. Fed Chair Powell said that he was reluctant to reduce rates due to the expected price pressures caused by tariffs this summer. The traders increased their bets on a September reduction after a surprising weak payrolls report was released at the beginning of this month. They were also encouraged by consumer price data, which showed that tariffs had little impact on prices. A higher-than-expected reading of producer prices last week, however, complicated the policy picture. The minutes of the Fed's July meeting, where policymakers voted for rates to remain unchanged, were released overnight. They suggested that Governor Christopher Waller and Fed Vice Chair for supervision Michelle Bowman were the only ones pushing for a cut. This led traders to reduce odds for a Fed rate cut of a quarter point on September 17 to 80%, down from 84% just 24 hours before. They currently price in a total 53 basis points of easing for the remainder of the year. Donald Trump has again put pressure on the central banks overnight. This pressure will remain a major focus for traders. Investors were alarmed by his push to gain more control over Fed earlier this year and the dollar fell. Trump continued his criticism of Powell for not cutting interest rates this year earlier in the week. On Wednesday, he targeted Fed Governor Lisa Cook and demanded her resignation amid allegations that she committed wrongdoing in connection with mortgages she owned in Georgia or Michigan. Cook stated that she "had no intention" of being forced to step down. Rodrigo Catril is a strategist with National Australia Bank. He said that Trump's effort to confirm Stephen Miran would add another vote in support of rate cuts for September. If he were to remove Cook from the Fed Board, four out of seven members could be on board to lower rates. Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers chair Miran to be a Fed Governor earlier this month following the resignation of Adriana Kulgler. Toshinobu chiba, fund manager at Simplex Asset Management, says that the main focus of the Jackson Hole Conference will be on labour markets. This is a relief for some traders, who were worried policymakers would place a heavy emphasis on inflation, or the sensitive topic of central bank independence. "A number of active managers including myself believed that there was a possibility central bankers would show a hawkish position at this meeting," stated Tokyo-based Chiba. "But now that I've thought about it, the likelihood of this scenario has diminished." He added, "The U.S. labor market has been weakening recently as we've seen from the employment results in this month. So, like Powell mentioned, there is the possibility of a rate reduction." The currency market has mostly taken the recent developments in stride. The dollar index held steady at 98.33, after reaching its highest level since August 12 a day before at 98.441. The yields on U.S. Treasury two-year bonds, which are sensitive to expectations about monetary policy, increased 1.2 basis point to 3.756%, while yields on 10-year Treasury bonds rose 0.8 basis point to 4.304%. The yields on Japanese government bonds have been rising. For the first time in late 1999, the yield for 20 years has risen to 2.655% and the yield for 10 years to 1.610%. Investors are cautious about increased fiscal spending, amid pressure on the Japanese Prime Minister to resign. The dollar rose 0.2% to 147.58 Japanese yen. The Euro and Sterling were both flat at $1.1641 each and $1.3446 respectively. Gold prices fell 0.3%, to $3338 an ounce. The price of oil rose after the U.S. crude oil and fuel inventory declined more than expected. This supported expectations that demand would remain steady. Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to $67.47 per barrel after rising 1.6% the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) rose by 1.1% to $63.37 after gaining 1.4% on Wednesday.
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The Russian nuclear chief has said that the country needs to update its nuclear shield due to 'colossal' threats.
The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation stated on Thursday that the nuclear shield in Russia should be reinforced over the next few years because the world’s largest nuclear power faces "colossal" threats. Russia and the United States upgrade their nuclear arsenals, including systems to detect and intercept nuclear-armed missiles. China is also increasing its nuclear capability beyond that of Britain and France. In the current geopolitical environment, our country is under colossal threat. The nuclear shield is also a blade, and is therefore a guarantee for our sovereignty", Alexei Likhachev was quoted by the Russian state news agency RIA. We understand that the nuclear shield will only improve in the next few years. In May, U.S. president Donald Trump unveiled plans for the so-called Golden Dome missile defense shield. It was inspired by Israel's Iron Dome land-based defence shield. The shield would cost at minimum $175 billion. The U.S. Dome would intercept a variety of missiles, including hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles. It is designed to block threats from Russia and China. Military experts, however, agree that such a shield cannot intercept all missiles - especially when they are launched in large numbers by either Moscow or Washington. According to research conducted by the Federation of American Scientists, Russia has approximately 4,300 deployed and stockpiled nuclear warheads, while the United States holds about 3,700. This represents a total of 87% of world inventory. According to research, China is the third-largest nuclear power in the world with 600 warheads. France comes second with 290. Britain follows with 225. India is next with 180. Pakistan has 170. Israel has 90. North Korea has 50. Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Aidan Lewis; Editing By Aidan Lewis
James Hardie Australia shares plunge the most in two days on a weak forecast
James Hardie shares listed in Australia fell by more than 11% Thursday, and are on track for their largest two-day decline ever after the fibre cement manufacturer forecasted 2026 earnings that were below analyst expectations. The company cited a weak North America marketplace as a reason.
The share price has dropped 36% in the last two days to A$28.34, losing more than A$9 Billion ($5.78 Billion) in market value. This sell-off reflects broader investor dissatisfaction with Australia listed companies that have failed to meet their targets.
The selling began on Wednesday, after the company announced that it would have adjusted operating earnings between $1.05 billion and $1.15 billion in fiscal 2026. This was below Visible Alpha's consensus estimate of $1.23billion.
The midpoint of forecast range is also just barely above the $1.1 billion that the company earned during fiscal 2025.
James Hardie, based in Dublin, is facing a slowdown on its biggest market North America. Weaker-than-expected activity for single-family housing construction during the summer has worsened the demand for repairs and remodelling.
North American fibre cement sales dropped 12% in the first quarter to $641.80 million, and adjusted net income fell to $126.9 from $177.6 millions a year ago.
The stock is down nearly half this year. It's now 42.7% due to a decline in single-family home sales across the U.S., which has been caused by higher borrowing costs and increased inventory levels.
Macquarie analysts highlighted James Hardie’s stretched balance sheets in a note. They questioned the sustainability of their share buyback program amid $5.1 billion drawn debt that is pressing its finances.
CSL shares fell nearly 20% over the past two trading sessions, as the biotech company abandoned its main margin restoration goal for the blood plasma division. This is the second time that Australian investors have been disappointed by earnings-related issues.
(source: Reuters)