WORLDWIDE : HEADLINES
Australia’s Piedmont Lithium signs ore supply agreement with Tesla
Australian lithium miner Piedmont Lithium PLL.AX said on Monday it signed an agreement with U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Inc TSLA.O to supply high purity lithium ore mineral from its deposits in North Carolina for an initial five-year term.
Under the agreement, Tesla will procure about one-third of Piedmont’s planned production of 160,000 tonnes per annum of spodumene concentrate, high-purity lithium ore mineral for the initial five years, the miner said in a statement.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Japanese chipmaker Kioxia postpones $3.2 billion IPO plan amid U.S.-China tensions
TOKYO – Kioxia Holdings Corp, the world’s second-largest maker of flash memory chips, on Monday postponed plans for what would have been Japan’s largest initial public offering (IPO) this year, as U.S-China tensions cloud the global chip market.
Kioxia, previously known as Toshiba Memory, had planned to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 6, offering up to 334.3 billion yen ($3.2 billion) in shares.
The delay highlights how disputes over trade and technology between Washington and Beijing have cast a shadow over the global chip industry and affected companies across the supply chain.
Full coverage: REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : FINANCE / MARKETS
Dollar near two-month high as investors look to more data, U.S. political developments
TOKYO – The dollar hovered near a two-month peak against at a basket of currencies on Monday as investors look to a barrage of upcoming economic data and political developments in the United States before making any fresh bets on the U.S. currency.
While a rebound in U.S. stocks on Friday has helped to curb the ascent of the dollar, deemed as a safe-haven, signs of slowdown in the nascent economic recovery and political uncertainties have kept investors on guard.
The dollar index stood at 95.544 =USD. Last week it hit a two-month high of 94.745 last week and posted its biggest weekly rise since early April.
The euro changed hands at $1.1635 EUR=, having dropped to $1.16125 on Friday to its lowest level in two months.
The British pound stood at $1.2767 GBP=D4, slightly above Wednesday’s two-month low of $1.2676.
Data on U.S. currency futures positions released on Friday pointed to more upside in the dollar’s recovery, with speculators holding a big net short position in the greenback.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Asian shares stutter ahead of U.S. presidential debate, oil dips
SYDNEY – Asian shares were on the defensive, while oil prices edged lower on Monday as investors were cautious ahead of a U.S. Presidential debate and as coronavirus cases spike again in a blow to global economic recovery hopes.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.04% to 547.79, not too far from a two-month low of 543.66 hit last week.
The index is set to end the month deep in the red after three straight monthly gains as the pandemic continues to wreak economic havoc around the world and raises investor anxiety about sky-high valuations.
Particularly worrying is a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Europe, dousing earlier hopes that authorities might have started to exert some control on the outbreak and raising further strains on businesses already grappling with losses.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.65%, partly on a lower yen, while South Korea’s KOSPI index gained 0.8%.
Australia’s main share index slipped 0.2% as investors were cautious despite positive news on the coronavirus front with new infections in the country’s second-most populous state of Victoria down sharply and allowing authorities to ease some of the mobility restrictions.
New Zealand’s benchmark index was 0.6% weaker.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Oil edges lower as rising virus cases cloud demand recovery outlook
SINGAPORE – Oil prices dipped again on Monday as rising coronavirus cases upset hopes for a smooth recovery in fuel demand, with crude on track for its first monthly fall in many months after slipping last week.
Brent crude LCOc1 edged down 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $41.84 a barrel by 0003 GMT after dropping 2.9% last week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was at $40.12 a barrel, down 13 cents or 0.3%, following a 2.1% decline last week.
Brent is on track to fall for the first month in six while WTI is headed for its first monthly loss since April as renewed mobility curbs in various countries following more coronavirus cases cloud the outlook on fuel demand recovery.
Full coverage: REUTERS
