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Shares of European arms makers 'turbocharged by hope for defence spending'
Stocks of European arms manufacturers surged Monday on the back of increased defence spending in Europe. On Sunday, at a summit held in London, just two days after the clash between U.S. president Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, European leaders agreed that they needed to spend more money on defense. Separately, it was reported that the parties involved in discussions to form Germany's next government are considering setting up a defense fund. A gauge of aerospace stocks and defence stocks rose around 8%, reaching a new record high. BAE Systems, Europe's largest defence company, rose by around 16 percent. Hensoldt of Germany, which supplies sensor systems for Eurofighter aircraft, rose 20% to a record high at 8:09 GMT. Rheinmetall, the Leopard 2 tank maker, soared by 18%. Thyssenkrupp MTU Aero Engines, and Renk all saw their shares rise between 3% to 13%. Leonardo, an Italian company, jumped 18% in value before it was temporarily halted from trading. Thales of France and Dassault Aviation both rose around 16%. Analysts at JPMorgan said that events in the past two weeks had "turbo charged" their thesis on the European rearmament cycles, as Europe sought to make more military equipment itself and import less U.S. equipment. In a letter, they stated that there are 30 European nations in NATO. We expect many of these countries to commit to significantly higher defense spending in the near future.
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Iron ore prices at a 6-week low due to rising US tariff tensions
Iron ore futures declined for the sixth consecutive session on Monday, as trade tensions increased between the U.S. The May contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the daytime trading 2.81% lower, at 779.5 Yuan ($106.91). In the early part of the session, prices fell to 777.5 Yuan, their lowest level since January 14. The benchmark iron ore for April on the Singapore Exchange fell 2.53% to $99,85 per ton. U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced on Friday that Mexico had proposed matching U.S. Tariffs against China, after U.S. president Donald Trump vowed to impose another 10% tariff on Chinese imports. Trump announced that he would impose 25% tariffs starting March 4 on all imports of steel and aluminum. This sparked a new round of trade tensions with China. The market discussions about China's potential plans to reduce crude steel production by 50 million tonnes in 2025 also weighed on the iron ore price. China's state planner and state-backed China Iron and Steel Association failed to respond to our request for comment. A private sector survey released on Monday showed that China's manufacturing activity increased at a faster rate in February due to a stronger demand, supply, and export orders. The survey's positive trend is in line with the official PMI data, released on Saturday. This showed that manufacturing activity in February grew at the fastest rate in three months. The reading should reassure officials about the fact that stimulus measures implemented last year have helped to recover the economy amid slow demand and a struggling real estate sector. Coking coal and coke, which are used in the steelmaking process, have both risen by 0.96% and 0.2%, respectively. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were flat. The price of rebar fell by 0.66%. Stainless steel gained 0.04%. Wire rod dropped around 0.1%. Hot-rolled coils were flat. $1 = 7.2911 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Michele Pek, Sumana Dhaniwala and Mrigank Dahniwala).
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Wall Street Journal, March 3,
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Shell is looking at the possibility of selling its chemical assets in Europe and America as part of a broader effort to focus the company on its most lucrative operations. Top executives from some of the largest U.S. Consulting firms meet with officials of the Trump Administration to defend their consulting agreements ahead of the deadline next week for government agencies justifying major consulting contracts. In a post on social media, U.S. president Donald Trump revealed the names of the five digital assets that he intends to include in the new U.S. Strategic Reserve of Cryptocurrencies. This announcement boosted the value of the assets. - Chinese buyers are circumventing U.S. export controls to order Nvidia's latest artificial-intelligence chips. Major League Baseball is planning a new television model that will include centralized deals for rights after failing to reach an agreement with Disney's ESPN. British Prime Minister Keir starmer announced on Sunday that European leaders agreed to draft a peace plan for Ukraine to present to the United States. This is a crucial step to Washington in order to offer the security guarantees Kyiv believes are necessary to deter Russia.
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Reliance shares drag down Indian stocks, which reverse their early gains
India's benchmark indices reversed initial gains on Monday as global trade worries kept investor sentiment on edge. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries also fell the most since five months. The BSE Sensex fell 0.36% at 72,903.31 by 10:34 a.m. IST. Indexes rose up to 0.6% in the opening after data revealed that India's economy grew by 6.2% during the quarter October-December, boosted by increased consumer and government spending. Hardik Matalia is an analyst at Choice Broking. He said that the markets are cautious due to the uncertainty surrounding U.S. Tariffs, in the absence any positive domestic trigger. Investors were waiting anxiously to find out if the tariffs would be implemented. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that tariffs against Canada, Mexico and an extra 10% levy will be implemented this week. Bernstein's Venugopal Arela and Nikhil Garre said that (U.S. president Donald) Trump’s policies will continue to affect the markets. Reliance Industries lost 3.7%, its lowest level in almost 16 months, and set itself up for its worst session since five years. Bloomberg News reported that Reliance Industries' RelianceNew Energy unit, which is responsible for setting up the battery cell factory, could be fined after a delay. All major sectors except auto and IT fell. Mahindra & Mahindra gained 2.1% while Eicher Motors gained 2,5% following better-than-expected monthly sales in February. Hyundai Motor India dropped 2.1% following lower-than-expected sales. On the back of positive comments from brokerages, Salesforce announced a growth rate between 7% and 8% for fiscal year 2026. Small- and mid-caps, which are more focused on the domestic market, lost 1,6% and 1,2% respectively.
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MORNING BID EUROPE - Trump flags crypto reserves, mum on financing
Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Crypto fans have had a great day after President Donald Trump announced on social media that he would be creating a reserve of digital assets, which included bitcoin, ether XRP, cardano, solana, and xrp. Bitcoin is around 10% higher while ether jumped by 13%. The fund's workings are still unclear and will likely be explained at the White House Crypto Summit on Friday. Analysts wonder how the reserve is going to be funded, given that the government has a debt of $36 trillion. Borrowing money to purchase crypto seems like a difficult sell. Some people have suggested that the government could use crypto seized by criminals in recent years. However, this would be only a paper transfer and not a new demand. It is also uncertain whether Trump will impose 25% tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on Tuesday. U.S. Commerce secretary Lutnick announced on Sunday that tariffs would be implemented on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday. However, Trump will decide whether or not to maintain the 25% level. Trump could also soften his stance if Mexico or Canada agreed to impose their own tariffs against Chinese imports, and/or if the levies were delayed until after the April 1 deadline for a trade study to be completed. Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracker, which is closely watched, has shifted from a positive 2.3% to a negative 1.5%. Tariffs, which are a tax on U.S. consumer spending, could hurt the economy at a time where the United States is no longer a leader. The threat of tariffs was enough to drive imports in January, bringing the U.S. Trade Deficit to its highest level ever. Normaly, this would indicate a significant drag on the GDP from net exports. However, analysts say that much of the increase in imports may have been non-monetary goods which are not counted as GDP. Even if you ignore the statistical quirks and look at the markets, they are not in the mood for any more weak data. A miss on today's ISM forecast would boost bonds to the detriment of stocks. The markets have already priced in 73 basis point cuts by the Fed for January of next year. Just a few months ago, investors thought a quarter-point cut would be too much. All of this makes Friday's payroll data even more important, especially since Fed Chair Powell will be speaking just a few minutes after the release. Beijing's response, should tariffs go through, is unknown. On Wednesday, the National People's Congress will meet and announce new stimulus measures of 2 trillion to 3 trillion dollars (about $274 billion to $412 billion). Market developments on Monday that may have a significant impact Data on the PMI in Europe, UK and US. U.S. ISM Survey for February. - Alberto Musalem, President of the Fed Reserve Bank of St. Louis and Claudia Maria Buch, Chair of ECB Supervisory Board. $1 = 7.2876 Chinese Yuan
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LME copper increases on weaker dollar, strong China data
London copper prices rose on Monday due to a lower dollar and positive economic data coming from China, the world's largest metals consumer. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange increased by 0.5%, to $9.402.5 per metric ton as of 0435 GMT. The dollar index fell 0.4% after hitting a high of two weeks in the previous session. The greenback price of commodities is cheaper for buyers who hold other currencies. A survey of factories conducted on Saturday showed that China's manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest rate in three months during February, as new orders and increased purchase volumes contributed to a significant increase in production. China is the largest consumer of base metals in the world and heavily relies on them for its manufacturing sector. Last week, U.S. president Donald Trump caused confusion when he suggested a possible deadline of April 2, in relation to tariffs against Canada and Mexico. He later confirmed the deadline for Tuesday. He announced that he would impose another 10% duty on Chinese products on Tuesday. This effectively doubles the 10% duties imposed by February 4. Kyle Rodda is a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com. He said, "I believe the markets are responding further rhetoric on U.S. Tariffs on Base Metals and hope that China's NPC could yield further economic stimuli." China's National People's Congress, scheduled to meet March 5, will likely unveil additional stimulus measures in light of the looming trade war and concerns over slow demand. LME aluminium rose by 0.5%, to $2,619 per ton. Zinc gained 1.5%, to $2,834, while nickel gained 1.7%, to $15,700. Tin rose 0.5%, to $31,455, and lead increased 0.2%, to $1,996. SHFE aluminium increased 0.2% at 20,695 Yuan ($2,840.14). SHFE copper rose 0.2% at 77,170 Yuan. Zinc rose 1.1% to 23,755 Yuan. Nickel eased by 0.1% to 126,980 Yuan. Lead gained 0.6% and rose to 17,265 Yoan. Tin rose 0.3% to 255,900 Yuan.
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The oil price recovers after positive Chinese manufacturing data boosts some optimism
Oil prices rose on Monday, as positive manufacturing data from China - the world's largest crude importer - led to renewed optimism about fuel demand. However, uncertainty remained over a possible Ukraine peace agreement and potential U.S. trade tariffs, which could have a negative impact on global economic growth. Brent crude rose 36 cents or 0.5% to $73.17 a bar by 0439 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was $70.10 a bar, up 34 cents or 0.5%. Prices rose on Saturday after data showed that China's manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in 3 months in February. New orders and increased purchase volumes contributed to the solid increase in production. Investors are looking forward to China's annual parliament meeting that begins March 5 for more measures to help its battered economic situation. Tony Sycamore, IG's market analyst, said that one possible reason for the price increase was the fact that the China NBS Manufacturing PMI returned to expansionary territory at the weekend. He warned that the outlook for the economy of the country may not be encouraging, as another round on tariffs on exports will begin on March 4. Goldman Sachs analysts were more optimistic about the data. They said in a report that it suggested a stable or slightly improved economic activity in China by early 2025. However, the additional 10% U.S. duty may lead to retaliatory actions. Brent and WTI both posted their first monthly drops in three months last month as the threat from tariffs imposed by the U.S. The mood improved following a Sunday summit where European leaders showed their support for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and pledged to do more to assist his nation. This was just two days after U.S. Donald Trump had clashed against him and Zelenskiy had cut short a Washington visit. Zelenskiy stated on Sunday that, while he believes he can salvage his relationship with Trump, the talks must continue behind closed door. He said that he was ready to sign an agreement on minerals with the United States and believed that the U.S. were also ready. In a recent note, ING analysts led Warren Patterson stated that it was unclear where the U.S. is now. This makes a peace agreement seem further away than a week earlier. This is changing the hopes of energy markets for a possible easing in sanctions. Another plant in Ufa, Russia, is reportedly on fire. In addition to the ongoing attacks against Russian refineries, there are concerns over its refined product exports. A poll revealed that analysts expect oil prices to remain largely unchanged in 2025. They estimate Brent will average $74.63 per barrel. This is because they believe any negative impact of further U.S. sanctioned will be offset by an ample supply, and a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Eight international oil companies operating in the region said they would not resume shipments through Turkey’s Ceyhan port due to the lack of clarity regarding commercial agreements and payment guarantees for past and future shipments. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger, Gerry Doyle and Florence Tan)
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RIA reports that Russia has brought an end to the fire at a refinery in Ufa.
Authorities in Ufa, Russia, said that firefighters had brought down a fire at the Ufimsky Refinery. Residents of the surrounding areas are not in immediate danger, they added, though the cause and size of the blaze were unclear. LSEG data show that the Bashneft owned refinery is located about 1,500 km (932 mi) east of Ukraine's border. Russian media reports that its oil supply comes primarily from Bashkiria in the surrounding area and western Siberia. The emergency ministry of the region said on Telegram: "A fire broke out... in the vicinity of the incinerator." The emergency ministry of the region posted a message on Telegram, saying that "a fire broke out... in the area of the incinerator." Residents of the nearby area are not at risk. It added that emergency responders, equipment, and air quality monitoring were present at the scene. SHOT News, among other Russian channels, reported that the fire was caused by an explosion in the refinery. However, they could not independently confirm the reports. No reports were received overnight of an attack by drones on Bashkiria. This region is sandwiched between Volga and Ural mountains. Ukraine did not immediately comment. Its forces have targeted Russian energy infrastructure in an attempt to disrupt Russia's ability to fund its war in Ukraine and to undermine the Russian economy. Reporting by Lidia Kelley in Melbourne, Editing by Jamie Freed & Clarence Fernandez
Guinea-Bissau President threatens to expel ECOWAS Mission, bloc says
The political and economic group said that Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo had threatened to expel a mission sent by the Economic Community of West Africa States to his country.
The dispute over the end of Embalo’s presidential term that began in 2020 has increased tensions and could lead to unrest in this nation, which has had a long history of military coups.
The opposition in the tiny West African country says Embalo should have been out of office last week. However, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled it would end on September 4.
Embalo said that the presidential and legislative election will not take place until November 30, despite his role as ECOWAS's chairperson from mid-2022 through mid-2023.
In a Sunday statement, ECOWAS announced that it had sent a team from February 21-28 with the United Nations Office for West Africa & the Sahel to reach a consensus about how to hold elections this year.
It added: "The Mission left Bissau early on the morning of March 1st, after threats from H.E. Umaro Sissoco Embalo to expel it."
Embalo met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. Guinea-Bissau was a Portuguese colony until 1974 when it gained its independence. (Reporting and writing by Anait Miridzhanian, editing by Hugh Lawson).
(source: Reuters)