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French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories from France and Benelux that could impact the markets in the'region or individual stocks. RENAULT/STELLANTIS :?Demand 'for electrified cars' continued to support growth in Europe's automotive market in May. This offset a sharp drop in petrol and diesel sale and allowed Chinese?brands?to expand their footprint. VALEO - French automotive supplier Valeo has signed a contract with Nissan to provide smart electric vehicle charging using'vehicle to grid technology. VIOHALCO: Belgian Industrial Group Viohalco has launched a 100% secondary bookbuilding offer to institutional investors for about 6,000,000 existing ordinary shares of Cenergy Holdings in which they currently hold 69.7%. Cenergy will not receive any proceeds from this transaction. Pan-European market data: European Equities speed guide................... FTSE Eurotop 300 ?index.............................. DJ STOXX index...................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top ?10 ?EUROSTOXX sectors...................... Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors..................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 ?European pct losers........................ Stock markets: Dow Jones ............... Wall Street Report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ London report ........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt ?items......... CAC-40................. Paris items............ World ?Indices..................................... Survey of global bourse outlook ......... European Asset Allocation........................ News in a glance Top News ............. Equities.............. Main Oil Report ........... Main currency report .....
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Copper prices fall on US rate concerns
Copper prices fell on Tuesday amid fears of growth headwinds resulting from a Federal Reserve rate hike after yesterday's closely watched U.S. Iran talks. By 0300 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper price on?the London Metal Exchange?fell by 0.51%. It was now $13,580 per?metric?ton. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract was down by 0.61% to 104,060 Yuan ($15.353.97) per ton. Many banks have predicted that the Fed will raise interest rates in this year because of persistent inflation, and due to a hawkish attitude from new chair Kevin Warsh. Increased interest rates can dampen industrial metals' growth prospects by increasing borrowing costs and slowing economic activity. National Bureau of Statistics data showed that refined copper production in China increased 2.2% on an annual basis to 1.26 million tonnes. In a note, ING analysts wrote: "Higher sulphuric 'acid by-products prices supported output and encouraged higher operating rates." Aluminum fell 1.38% at the LME, and 0.94% at the SHFE as traders weighed Gulf disruptions of supply against the stronger output in China and the rising Chinese exports. The U.S. War against Iran has caused disruptions in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, and reduced?Gulf Production to levels well below those pre-war. IAI data show that global primary aluminum output increased 3.5% on an annual basis to 6.2 millions tons in May, largely due to stronger Chinese production. China's exports of stranded aluminium wire, which are increasingly being used to ship aluminum abroad due to its tax advantages over unwrought metal, have more than tripled since April, reaching 50,224 tonnes in May. Analysts at ING wrote: "However the aluminium market will still be in deficit for this year." Zinc?lost 0.97 %, lead?lost 0.53 %, nickel lost 0.98%, and tin?fell 2.73%. On the SHFE, other metals like zinc, lead, and nickel all fell. Tin also plunged by 3.26%.
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Gold drops as dollar remains firm amid Fed rate hike expectations
The?U.S. dollar was stronger on Tuesday and this pushed gold prices down?more that 1%. ?dollar fell?more than 1% on Tuesday,?pressured by a firmer 'U.S. As of 0414 GMT, spot gold was down by 1.1%, at $4,142.61 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell 1% to $4160.20. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst at KCM Trade. He said that while gold had received some relief this week from lower oil prices, it was not getting any help from the U.S. Dollar, which "continues" to rise on expectations of Fed interest rate hikes. Gold is less affordable for buyers who hold other currencies because the dollar has remained near its one-year high. After the first talks in a new peace agreement, the United States lifted sanctions against Iran for 60 days starting Monday. Meanwhile, officials in Lebanon reported that fighting has slowed down under the agreement. JD Vance, the U.S. vice president, said that talks with Iranian officials held in Switzerland laid a solid foundation for a peace agreement. Iran has denied having begun to discuss its nuclear program. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee stated that the labor market is stable and that he's focused on determining whether the too-high rate of inflation will remain that way or if it will decline as the effects of high tariffs wear off, and if there's a resolution to the Middle East conflict. CME FedWatch Tool shows that traders now expect an 88% probability of a rate increase in December. This is up from 61% prior to the Fed meeting held last week. Investors are watching U.S. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, Personal Consumption Expenditures, is due this week. This data will provide further monetary policy clues. Silver spot fell by 3.3%, to $63.05 an ounce. Platinum dropped 1.9%, to $1,646.30 and palladium declined 1.8%, to $1,242.75. (Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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Investors focus on Hormuz after peace talks to reduce oil prices
Investors were looking for more clear signs of progress regarding the restoration of crude flow through the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S. Iran peace talks. Brent crude 'futures' fell 20 cents or 0.3% to $77.70 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped to $73.74 per barrel, down by 12 cents or 0.2% as of 0323 GMT. Prices dropped more than 3% after the United States granted Iran 60-days of sanctions waiver following the initial peace talks. Officials also reported a lull between hostilities and the wider agreement in Lebanon. The gradual increase in oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz has continued to impact on the market, according to ING analysts. Ship-tracking data shows that two crude tankers with just under 2,000,000 barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz Monday. This is a sign of a resurgence in traffic after Sunday's lower flows due to fears about?passage of the waterway. In a recent note, Sparta Commodities head of research Neil Crosby said: "Transits in the last few days appear to have increased sharply. (This) will be treated by the market as a proxy both for physical oil, or perhaps paper oil, as well diplomatic progress." "It seems like we'll be stuck in this bearish, risk-off, optimistic mood until something changes." Price declines follow a weekend which appeared to have put the week-old agreement in danger, with threats by U.S. president Donald Trump that he would restart the war if Iran disrupted shipping via the Strait of Hormuz following Tehran's declaration of the strategic waterway as closed. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst at KCM Trade. He said that there was a "prevailing" skepticism in the market, which stemmed from a deep-seated distrust between Washington and Tehran. This suggests that any return to oil prices prior to World War II will be delayed, rather than immediate. Separately analysts in a survey expect U.S. oil inventories, as well as distillate and gasoline inventories, to have decreased last week. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)?recorded a drop in crude oil stocks to 331.2 million barrels in the week ending June 23, 1983. This was due to the tightening of supplies in response to the U.S. - Iran conflict. Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru, and Trixie Yap from Singapore. Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Shri Navaratnam.
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Gold drops as dollar remains firm amid Fed rate hike expectations
The gold price fell on Tuesday as a result of the 'firmer U.S. Dollar' and expectations that Federal Reserve interest rates will be raised this year. Investors also assessed U.S. - Iran peace talks. As of 0228 GMT the spot gold price was down 0.7%, at $4,162.60 an ounce. It had fallen nearly 1% in the previous session. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell by 0.5% to $4180.50. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst for KCM Trade. He said that although gold had been helped by lower oil prices, it was not able to benefit from the U.S. Dollar, which continued to rise on expectations of Fed rate hikes. Gold became less affordable to buyers who hold other currencies as the dollar held steady near its one-year high. Oil prices also recovered after a sharp drop on Monday. The rise in oil prices fuels inflation fears and increases expectations for higher interest rates. Gold is usually seen as a hedge against inflation but loses its appeal when interest rates are high. After the first round of talks in a new peace agreement, the United States lifted sanctions against Iran for 60-days starting Monday. Meanwhile, officials in Lebanon reported that fighting has ceased in the country. JD 'Vance, the U.S. vice president, said that talks with Iranian officials had been a success in laying a solid foundation for a peace agreement. Iran however denied having begun discussions about its nuclear program. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee stated that the labor market is'stable' and that he is concentrating on whether the too-high level of inflation will remain that way, or if they will decline as high tariffs wear off and the Middle East conflict resolves. CME FedWatch Tool shows that traders now see 88% of the chance for a rate increase in December. This is up from 61% prior to the Fed meeting held last week. Investors are watching U.S. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, Personal Consumption Spending?data is due this week for more monetary policy clues. Silver spot fell by 1.8%, to $64.02 an ounce. Platinum dropped 1.6%, to $1.651.79 and palladium declined 0.7%, to $1.256.27. (Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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Russell: India pivots towards Russian crude and coal in order to reduce the Iran war's fallout.
After the Iran conflict, when oil flows were disrupted and costs rose, India decided to buy Russian coal and crude oil to boost its energy supply. According to data compiled by Kpler, the world's third largest oil importer is expected to experience a surge in arrivals of Russian crude to a new record of 2,55 million barrels per?day (bpd). The imports of?Russia in June will be higher than the 2,13 million bpd that were imported in May. This was the third highest on record, and only behind the 2,16 million bpd for May 2023. In June, Russia's share will be slightly less than 50% of India's total crude oil imports (5.29 million bpd). This is a dramatic increase from 23% in the three-month period prior to the beginning of the war in February when Israel and the United States launched an aerial attack against Iran. India's shift to Russian crude comes after President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on buying it in an effort to boost oil supplies. The waiver ended on June 17, and the U.S. Treasury did not extend it. Theoretically, this would mean that India should cut back on its imports from Russia. However, whether they do so depends on their government's confidence and refiners' willingness to buy Middle East crude oil again. India has not stopped buying from Middle East producers. Kpler forecasts that imports from Saudi Arabia will be 349,000 bpd by June, down from the 832,000 Bpd predicted in the three-month period prior to the Iran conflict. COAL RUSSIAN India's imports of coal have also risen in the past few months. India will import 3,16 million metric tonnes of?all types of coal? from Russia in the month of June, a slight decrease from 3.27 million in may. The imports in June are 51% higher than the average for the three months before the conflict. These two months rank second and third on the list behind May's 3.76 million ton record. In June, Russia will surpass Australia as the second largest coal supplier to India. India is the world's biggest importer of coal after China. India is increasing its production of steel and is competing with Russia to buy more metallurgical coking coal. India imported 2.02 million tonnes of Russian metallurgical coke in May. This was the second highest amount ever recorded and well above the average of 1,49 million tons for the three months before the Iran War. Imports of metallurgical coke from Australia also increased in May, reaching a record 8.05 million tonnes. This was the highest since July 2013. India's steel production is expected to increase from the current 168 millions tons per year to 400,000,000 tons by 2035. An estimated 25 million tonne of capacity will be added just this year. India's thermal coal reserves are vast, but its metallurgical output is just 6%. It is also of a lower quality than the coal imported from Australia, Russia, and other countries such as the United States or Mozambique. India will likely continue to increase its imports of metallurgical coke and seek out as many suppliers as it can to reduce its reliance on Australia as the largest shipper of this type of coal in the world. Overall, Russia is likely to?remain as a major supplier of coal for India. And, while New Delhi would like to continue buying Russian crude oil - much will depend on whether or not the Trump administration tries to enforce sanctions again against Moscow. You like this column? Check out Open Interest, your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of a columnist who writes for.
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KCNA: Kim of North Korea says the country will assert its nuclear status? ?
KCNA, the state news agency in North Korea, reported that Kim Jong Un believes exercising 'the?country’s?position as a nuclear-armed state is only way to deal with an unpredictable and complex global security situation. Kim claimed that "unimaginable and astonishing events" were occurring due to the "gangsterlike" greed and power of hegemonic powers, which made confrontations more violent around the globe. He blamed the U.S., for the worsening of bloodshed in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He spoke at a Central Committee Meeting of the ruling Workers' Party that ran from Saturday through Monday, KCNA reported. Kim said that the U.S., South Korea, and Japan were making the security situation in the Korean Peninsula even more dangerous, by increasing their nuclear posture. He claimed the sole purpose of this was to attack North Korea. KCNA stated that "to steadily expand and'strengthen' the nuclear forces...and to thoroughly exercise the role of a nuclear weapon state is the correct and unique method to actively and confidently deal with the unpredictable -international military and political situations becoming more complicated in many ways," KCNA didn't elaborate on the specific actions that could be taken in relation to the country's nuclear weapons. Kim?also ordered a buildup of conventional weaponry and accelerated the construction of a strategic guided missile cruiser weighing 10,000 tons, KCNA reported. Yang Moo Jin, a professor of North Korean Studies at the University of North Korean Studies, Seoul, said that the comments show Pyongyang’s refusal to denuclearize and its push for recognition as a nuke state. Yang stated that North Korea has "once again" reaffirmed the fact that denuclearisation discussions are off-limits. Yang added it would only enter into negotiations "as an equal nuclear weapons state," possibly focusing more on arms reduction than dismantlement. He said that such talks would require the acceptance of a minimal deterrent, and sanctions relief. This is fundamentally different from proposals for phased denuclearisation, like those made by South Korean president Lee Jae Myung in his letter to the U.S. Donald Trump was at the G7. Yang claimed that Pyongyang was using references to the U.S. South Korea Nuclear Consultative Group (a?body aimed to deter North Korea's threat of nuclear weapons) and Seoul's ambitions for a nuclear submarine to justify their nuclear buildup. North Korea has ignored a?slew? of sanctions imposed between 2006 and 2017, by the United Nations as well as the U.S., which prohibited Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles that could deliver them. Its stance is alarming regional powers. The U.S.A., China, and South Korea have been trying to convince it for years that nothing will make them give up their atomic weapons. Kim said that the party meeting was also a chance to highlight the push for modernisation of coal mining and redevelopment of mining communities. Yang noted that coal remained North Korea's primary energy source, despite plans to upgrade it in order to ease chronic energy shortages. (Reporting and editing by Matthew Lewis, Ed Davies and Jack Kim in Seoul)
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Iron ore nears a four-month low due to rising supply and tepid consumer demand
Iron ore prices continued to fall on Tuesday, hitting a near -four-month-low. This was due to expectations of rising shipments by major suppliers as we approach the end of the second quarter and a seasonally weakening steel demand. The most traded iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.74% by 0300 GMT to 737 Yuan ($108.81), after reaching its lowest since February 24, 736 yuan. By 0250 GMT the benchmark 'July Iron Ore' on the Singapore Exchange had fallen 0.45% to $97.8 per ton. This was its lowest price since February 25. For a fourth consecutive session, the contract has been trading well below an important psychological level of $100. The miners will be increasing their shipments to meet the?guidance target this month. Analysts said that this coincides with a seasonally weakening of demand. This could lead to a 'pile-up' in portside inventories, which will put pressure on the price of steelmaking ingredients. Analysts at broker Maike Futures also said that the macroeconomic data was downbeat, especially retail sales which dropped for the first three-year period. This raised expectations about a possible decline in steel consumption. Ore prices have also been impacted by the fall in cost support as a result of the progress made in the peace talks between the United States & Iran. Iron ore prices have remained stable despite a lacklustre demand, despite rising?freight costs and input costs triggered by energy price spikes caused by the Middle East conflict. On gloomy demand forecasts, coking coal, and other steelmaking components, fell by 0.98%?and 3.24% respectively. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have been largely weakened. Rebar fell 0.42%, while hot-rolled coils dropped 0.45%, and wire rod fell 0.3%. Stainless steel also dropped 1.26%.
Coach says that despite Senegal's problems, the World Cup dream is not dead.
Senegal is in a difficult position following two?World Cup losses, but coach Pape Bouna Thiaw has said that?his team's hopes to progress at the tournament remain alive.
Senegal was expected to be one of the strongest contenders in North America for the World Cup but they lost their first Group I match 3-1 to France, and then went down to Norway 3-2 on Monday.
Thiaw said, "It was a tough game against a very powerful Norwegian team that put us in very difficult situations because they were very efficient."
"We conceded two goals just before the half and just after the second half.
"But we need to congratulate Norway and I encourage my players to not be despondent, because it wasn’t easy." We were hoping for a good result, and to leave with three points. But this didn't happen for us tonight.
Both France and Norway, which beat Iraq earlier this year in Philadelphia 3-0, are on six points. They will both advance to the next round.
Senegal's best chance is to finish in the top eight of their group, but they must beat Iraq on Friday in Toronto to have any hope.
Thiaw: "We have one more match, and it's important that we focus on the last game and try to get three points. Then, let's cross our fingers."
"I think it's too soon to declare that we have failed. We're not dead. We're in a not-so-good position and it's true that this is the first World Cup where Senegal started with two losses.
"But we still have a chance to qualify and we're going focus on the last game. We're going to focus on the last game and try and get three points.
He added, "Once you get to the next round it's a new tournament."
(source: Reuters)