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Asia stocks rise as Nikkei sets record, dollar drops
Asian stocks advanced for a second consecutive day on early Tuesday trading, led by a rally in Tokyo’s benchmark after Prime Minister Sanae Takayichi's decisive victory in the Japanese election over the weekend. The broadest MSCI index of?Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.7%. Meanwhile, the Nikkei225 gained 2.8% for a third day in a row, reaching a new high. The yen strengthened for a third day. After a two day rally, U.S. equity e-minis have cooled, with S&P500 e-minis down by 0.1%. This partially reverses overnight gains on Wall Street. S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% on Monday as technology stocks recovered from last week's AI-driven selloff. Kees Verbaas is Robeco's global director of fundamental equity. He added that "the investment programmes of large companies are increasing, not decreasing... which is typically good for economic activity." "A large part of the AI supply chain is only possible because of emerging markets." Kevin Hassett, White House economist and adviser to the president, said that the Trump administration’s immigration policies could slow down labour growth in the months ahead while new AI tools boost productivity. The dollar was last down 0.4% against the yen at 155.265 yen. The dollar last fell 0.4% to 155.265 yen. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures greenback strength against a basket six currencies, fell 0.2% and was near its lowest level of the month, at 96.799. On Monday, the index recorded its largest one-day decline in two weeks. This was after a Bloomberg News article that stated Chinese regulators had advised financial institutions to reduce their holdings of U.S. Treasury Bonds due to concerns over concentration risks and market volatility. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Monday that senior U.S. Treasury officials visited China last Thursday "to strengthen channels" of communication between Washington and Beijing. The dollar last fell 0.1% against the offshore yuan at 6,9058 yuan. In a research note, Alpine Macro analysts wrote that "Elevating renminbi’s global role" is moving to the top of the policy agenda. Beijing's primary goal is to reduce the vulnerability of the dollar, not to challenge its dominance. Last week, the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds 10-years was flat at 4,184%. The Federal Reserve is expected to remain on hold through June, according to market pricing. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 17.7% chance of a 25 basis-point rate reduction at the U.S. Central Bank's next two day?meeting, on March 18. This compares to an 18.4% probability on Friday. Indonesian markets were calm at the beginning of trading in Jakarta. They rose 1% and remained largely unaffected by FTSE Russell’s decision to delay a scheduled review. Last month, the larger competitor MSCI warned that Indonesia could be downgraded to frontier status due to data transparency concerns. Brent crude fell 0.3% to $68.81 in the commodities market. Silver fell 2% to $81.74 an ounce. Gold dropped 0.7% to $5,030.02 an ounce. Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $69,337.26, and ether dropped 2.9% to 2,060.76. Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter, Stella Qiu and Shri Navaratnam Editing by Sam Holmes and Sam Holmes
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Low prices and falling shipments encourage iron ore buyers to buy, thus ending a six-day decline.
The price of iron ore rose on Tuesday, after six sessions of declines, as low prices encouraged steelmills to purchase feedstock. A drop in weekly shipments was also supportive. As of 0256 GMT, the most-traded contract for May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was trading 0.2% higher. It was 763 yuan (US$110.42) per metric ton. The benchmark March ore traded on the Singapore Exchange is now trading at $100.2 per ton. This price is above the psychological $100 threshold. According to a report by the?consultancy Mysteel, the total amount of iron ore that arrived?at 47 Chinese port decreased week-on-week between February 2-8. The low Dalian iron ore price and weak market fundamentals have encouraged steel mills to buy feedstock. Shanghai Metals Market stated in a report that despite 'the recent increase in port discharge rates, and the decline in arrivals, there is still a high level of port inventories. The Shanghai Metals Market said that there is no inflection point yet for destocking, and the high inventory levels would continue to suppress prices. ANZ Research stated that the iron ore industry is likely to experience headwinds in the coming year due to the lack of government support to combat the structural decline. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also struggled. They fell by 0.92%? and 0.86% respectively. According to the Shanghai Metals Market, market sentiment for coking coal remains subdued because of weak demand for steel products and high inventories. The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a softening of steel benchmarks. Rebar fell 0.42%; hot-rolled steel dropped 0.56%; stainless steel declined 0.57%. Wire rod rose 0.26%.
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Oil prices fall as traders assess supply risks amid U.S. - Iran tensions
Oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday, as traders assessed the possibility of supply disruptions following U.S. guidance to vessels transiting 'the Strait of Hormuz'. Brent crude oil futures fell 25 cents or 0.4% to $68.79 per barrel at 0102 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 23 cents or 0.4% to $64.13. Prices rose by more than 1% Monday after the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration told U.S. flagged commercial vessels to keep as far away from Iran's 'territorial water' as possible, and to decline verbally if asked to allow Iranian forces to board. A fifth of all oil consumed worldwide passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which is located between Oman and Iran. Any escalation of tensions in this area poses a serious threat to the global oil supply. Iran, along with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Iraq,?exports most of its crude oil via the strait to Asia. The guidance was released despite Iran's top diplomatic official saying last week that nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, mediated by Oman, were off to "a good start" with plans to continue. Tony Sycamore is an analyst with IG. He wrote that while the talks in Oman were cautiously positive, there was still a risk premium due to lingering uncertainties about possible escalation or sanctions tightening in the Strait of Hormuz. According to a document that was reviewed by the. The move is part of an effort to tighten sanctions against Russian oil, which is a major source of revenue for Moscow. Indian Oil Corp purchased six million barrels from West Africa and Middle East traders reported, as New Delhi pushed for a deal with Washington. (Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru)
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PLS, an Australian lithium miner, rises after a deal to supply spodumene with China's Canmax
PLS Group announced on Tuesday it had?signed a 2-year offtake contract to supply 150,000 tonnes of spodumene to Chinese lithium-battery materials maker Canmax Technologies,? sending shares of the Australian miner higher. If gains continue, shares of the lithium mining company could reach their highest trading session since 6 January if they hold. The stock is among the best performers of the ASX 200, which rose 0.3%. PLS, previously Pilbara Minerals said that the parties had agreed on a price floor of $1,000 per ton based upon spodumene concentration containing 6% Lithium (SC6). This semi-processed product is derived by separating lithium bearing minerals from ore. The miner stated that the structure provides downside protection during volatile conditions, while maintaining full exposure to price increases. The lithium demand outlook for this year has been boosted by a boom in battery storage. This is encouraging for producers who have struggled with a?slump' in prices due to oversupply since late 2022. PLS's quarterly production report from last month indicated that its?Ngungaju facility in Western Australia could be restarted due to strong interest in offtake volume. A decision is expected within the next quarter. PLS announced that the agreement for spodumene, which is used to produce lithium chemicals for 'electric vehicle batteries,' will begin in 2026. It also includes an option to extend it for another 12 months. The miner said that the agreement is "conditional" on receiving a prepayment of $100 million in unsecured debt, free of interest. Canmax's latest lithium offtake agreement follows an agreement reached in December with Australian miner Liontown.
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Asia stocks rise as Nikkei sets fresh record, dollar drops
Asian stocks rose?for the second day on early Tuesday trading, led by a rally in Tokyo’s?benchmark following Prime Minister Takaichi’s decisive victory in the Japanese election over weekend. The broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan, MSCI, rose 0.4%. Nikkei's 225, however, jumped by 2.1%. It was the third day in a row that Nikkei has reached a new record high. After a two day rally, U.S. equity e-minis have cooled down, with S&P500 e-minis down by 0.1%. This partially reverses gains made on Wall Street over night. S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% on Monday as technology stocks recovered from last week's AI sparked selloff. Kees Verbaas is the global head of fundamental Equity at Robeco. He added: "The investment programmes of large companies are increasing, not decreasing... which is usually good for economic activity." "A large part of the AI supply chains is only possible because of emerging markets." Kevin Hassett, White House Economic Advisor, said that several important economic reports are due to be released later this week, including retail sales, inflation, and delayed payrolls. He also stated on Monday that U.S. jobs gains could be lower in upcoming months, as immigration policies under the Trump administration slow the growth of the labor force and new AI tools increase productivity. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures greenback strength against a basket six currencies, traded steady at 96.97, near its lowest level of the month. The index recorded its largest one-day decline in two weeks after a Bloomberg News article that stated Chinese regulators had advised financial institutions to reduce holdings of U.S. Treasury Bonds due to concerns over concentration risk and volatility. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Monday that senior U.S. Treasury officials visited China last Thursday "to strengthen channels" of communication between Washington and Beijing. The dollar traded at 6.9167 Chinese Yuan against the Chinese yuan. In a research paper, analysts at Alpine Macro stated that "elevating the role of the renminbi on the global stage is moving up the policy agenda." Beijing's primary goal is to reduce the vulnerability of the dollar, not to challenge its dominance. The yield on U.S. Treasury bonds of 10 years increased by 0.2 basis points to 4.196%. The market continues to indicate the Federal Reserve will stay on hold until at least June. Fed funds futures indicate a 17.7% implied probability of a 25 basis-point rate cut at the U.S. Central Bank's next two day meeting on March 18 compared to an 18.4% implied chance on Friday. WTI crude oil was down by 0.1% on the commodities market, at $64.15 per barrel. Silver fell 2.7% to $81.13 an ounce. Gold dropped 0.9% to $5.018.59 an ounce. Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $69756.85 while Ether dropped 1.1% to $298.21. (Reporting and editing by Gregor Stuart Hunter, Stella Qiu)
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Stock indexes rise with US tech shares; the yen gains strength
Investors sought bargains on markets that had been beaten last week. The yen also strengthened after the election victory of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. U.S. tech shares continued to rise on Friday after a sharp drop last week. Concerns about artificial intelligence and its potential to increase competition and squeeze margins prompted a sharp sell-off of software names the previous week. The Nasdaq rose the most among the three main U.S. indexes. Oliver Pursche is senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, Westport, Connecticut, and he says that there's a "buy-the-dip" mentality in the markets. Investors were waiting for economic data that could shed some light on Federal Reserve's future interest rate path. The nonfarm payrolls for January in the United States are due to be released on Wednesday. On Friday, we will get the consumer price index for January. CME Group's FedWatch shows that traders are pricing in the first Fed rate reduction of the year in June. Pursche stated that "the bottom line is the consumer spending in Q4 was robust, the economy performed well for the year, and it is likely to be on a strong footing in this quarter Q1, which will reflect in earnings." "The other side is that we see persistent and stubborn inflationary pressures, a weakening of the job market, and a Fed, that at least for the short-term, is on pause." The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 20.20 points or 0.04% to 50,135.87. The S&P 500 grew 32.52 points or 0.47% to 6,964.82 while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 207.46 or 0.90% to 23,238.67. The Dow closed Friday above the 50,000 mark for the first. The MSCI index of stocks around the world rose 11.15 points or 1.07% to 1,053.97 and reached a new record high. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 0.7%. Stocks in Japan had risen to new highs earlier. Japan's Nikkei led the gains, rising 3.9% and reaching all-time records. A decisive majority of the ruling LDP cleared the way to more tax cuts and spending. Two-year Japanese government bonds yields reached their highest level since 1996, at 1.3%. The yen gained strength across the board and reversed six days of consecutive losses. The yen gained the most against the dollar. It had almost recovered all of its steep fall against the Japanese currency at the end of January. After Bloomberg, the dollar has also declined. reported Chinese regulators have advised Chinese financial institutions to reduce their exposure to U.S. Treasury Bonds. The dollar index, which measures greenbacks against a basket including yen and euro, dropped 0.8% to 96.83. At $1.1917, the euro rose 0.85%. The dollar fell 0.91% against the Japanese yen to 155.77. The British stock market and bonds were under pressure after Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked to resign by the leader of his party in Scotland, following two resignations in a row. London's FTSE 100 index has erased previous falls and is now higher. The 10-year gilt The yield on 30-year gilts briefly reached its highest level since November. U.S. Treasury rates rose initially, but then dipped lower ahead of this week’s economic data releases. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 0.4 basis points from 4,206% to 4.202% late Friday. Spot silver rose after trading below the record high of $121.64 on January 29. U.S. gold futures GCv1 for April delivery settled 2% higher at $5,079.40 per ounce. Oil Gained After the U.S. Department of Transportation advised U.S. flagged vessels to stay as close to Iranian territory as possible while passing through Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman. Brent crude gained 99 cents and settled at $69.04 per barrel. U.S. crude was up 81 cents. Caroline Valetkevitch reported from New York with additional reporting from Amanda Cooper in London, and Wayne Cole in Sydney. Editing was done by Chizu nomiyama and Nia Williams.
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Health officials confirm that Israeli strikes have killed five people in Gaza
Health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes killed five Palestinians on Gaza's border with Egypt. This is the latest in a series of violent incidents to threaten a four-month old truce, brokered by the United States. Two people riding electric bikes were killed in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza by an airstrike, according to medics. Israeli drone fire later killed a woman and troops in Khan Younis, south of Gaza. Palestinian medics confirmed that Israeli gunfire killed another man in Jabalia, north Gaza. Israeli forces had killed four militants the day before in Rafah, a southern city. They emerged from a tunnel underground and fired on troops. Israeli military did not directly comment on the four people who were killed in Rafah on Tuesday. Instead, they said that they had launched attacks against what it called?Hamas militants as a response to Monday's attack. Gaza City saw dozens of Palestinians gather at the funerals for three people who were killed in an Israeli airstrike that struck an apartment block on Monday night. The bodies of two men were identified by the green Hamas flag wrapped around one body and the green Hamas ribbon worn on the forehead of another. It was not possible to determine the identities of the victims. TRADING BLOAME Israel and Hamas repeatedly blamed each other for violating the ceasefire agreement, which is a crucial element in U.S. president Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza War, the deadliest, most destructive conflict between Israel and Palestine over generations. Next, Trump's plan calls for Hamas to disarm, Israel to withdraw its troops from Gaza and an international peacekeeping force. Hamas, which has rejected calls for it to "lay down its weapons", and Israeli officials have said they are preparing to return to war. Gaza's Health Ministry reports that at least 580 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire after the ceasefire agreement was struck in October. Israel claims that militants have killed four soldiers in Gaza during the same time period. According to Israeli statistics, the Gaza war began with the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 on southern Israel which killed over 1,200 people. According to Palestinian data, Israel's air war and ground conflict in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 72,000 Palestinians since then.
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Cleveland-Cliffs slumps after quarterly revenue misses estimates
Cleveland-Cliffs' shares fell over 17%?Monday after the steelmaker reported a fourth-quarter profit that was below Wall?Street expectations. Shares of the company were trading at $12.22 and were on track for their largest single-day decline since October 21. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves stated that the company's performance in 2025 would be affected by the weak production levels of the automotive industry, the termination a 5-year contract for slab supply with ArcelorMittal, and the impact the Trump administration’s sweeping metal tariffs will have on its Canadian operations. Goncalves stated that "Canada became a dump for producers who were trying to avoid US tariffs and downstream Canadian manufacturing suffered as well." Commercial contracts lagged behind despite the tariffs, which boosted U.S. spot steel prices. The industry had to adjust to an older price index, leading to a 'lower fourth-quarter selling price. Tariffs have further hurt the sales of?the automobile sector?, which accounts for 28% of Cleveland-Cliffs quarterly steelmaking revenues. The bottom line of U.S. carmakers has also been hit by higher production costs. LSEG data shows that the company's revenue for the quarter decreased marginally to $4.31 Billion from a previous year, which is below analyst expectations of $4.59 Billion. The total revenue for 2025 also dropped to $18.61 from $19.19 billion. The steel producer, however, posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss. Its adjusted loss per share was 43 cents in the quarter that ended on December 31 compared to 68 cents one year earlier. Analysts, on average, had expected a loss per share of 60 cents. Goncalves stated that the company expects to incur higher costs during the next quarter due to "the recent spike in utilities costs" and a change in (product) mix, before returning to normal in Q2, with improved steel pricing and increased shipment volumes. The company wants to?finalize a deal in the first half 2026 with Korean steelmaker Posco. The median price target compiled by LSEG of 15 brokerages that cover Cleveland-Cliffs was $13. By 2025, this stock would have gained 41.3%. Reporting by AnshumanTripathy and AatreyeeDasgupta from Bengaluru, Editing by MajuSamuel and Shakesh Kuber
Gemfields says discontent might disrupt Mozambique ruby mine
Gemfields Group said on Tuesday disturbances were possible at its largest ruby mine in Mozambique, after individuals torched structures in villages close by in intensifying discontent connected to October's. contested election.
Mozambique's leading court on Monday confirmed long-ruling celebration. Frelimo's success in the election that has triggered protests by. opposition groups that state the vote was rigged.
A minimum of 130 people have actually been killed in clashes with authorities,. according to the civil society tracking group Plataforma. Choose, and the operations of other foreign miners running in. Mozambique, including South32, have been affected.
Gemfields said in a declaration that groups connected with. the prohibited mining and trading of rubies have actually made the most of. the political discontent.
It stated instigators had on Monday set fire to the cops. station in Namanhumbir, a village near Gemfields' Montepuez. Ruby Mining Limitada (MRM) in the northern Cabo Delgado. province.
An MRM workplace, a neighborhood centre and a neighborhood radio. centre developed by the company in Namanhumbir were also set ablaze.
Based upon the trajectory of the continuous situation, there may. be interruptions to MRM's mining operations resulting from this. unrest, Gemfields said.
In another town near MRM's operations, a water borehole. was screwed up, and in a 3rd town individuals torched the authorities. station, the home of a regional cops leader and the. administrative workplaces of Namanhumbir district.
MRM is 75% owned by Gemfields and utilizes about 1,400. individuals, the business's site says.
Frelimo has actually been consistently accused by challengers and. election observers of rigging votes, although it has actually rejected. those accusations. The electoral commission has actually not commented on. claims of fraud in this year's election.
(source: Reuters)