Global Stocks Fall, Metals Slump as Markets Digest Trump’s Fed Chair Pick — Commodities Roundup
MARKET MOVEMENTS:
–Brent crude oil is down 4.8% to $66.02 a barrel.
–European benchmark gas is down 12% to 34.57 euros a megawatt hour.
–Gold futures are up 1% to $4,790.70 a troy ounce.
–LME three-month copper futures are down 1.1% to $12,923 a metric ton.
TOP STORY:
Global Stocks Fall, Metals Slump as Markets Digest Trump’s Fed Chair Pick
Global stocks fell on Monday and metals tumbled as markets digested President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve.
Equity indexes in Asia and Europe followed a negative lead from Wall Street on Friday, while the massive rallies staged by gold and silver unwound further as market participants weigh the implications of a possibly slower, shallower easing cycle under a Warsh-led Fed.
Trump’s Fed pick has unleashed volatility across asset classes as investors reassess positioning in currencies, commodities and equities, particularly after the dollar rebounded, Tareck Horchani at Maybank Securities said.
OTHER STORIES:
Eldorado Gold to Buy Foran Mining for About C$3.8 Billion, Including Debt
Eldorado Gold agreed to acquire Foran Mining for approximately 3.8 billion Canadian dollars ($2.79 billion), including debt.
The companies said Monday the deal will create a gold- and copper-mining company with near-term growth opportunities and a diversified portfolio, benefiting from robust metal prices and rising demand for critical minerals.
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French Miner Eramet Removes CEO Paulo Castellari
Eramet said it has removed its Chief Executive Officer Paulo Castellari due to divergences on operating methods.
The French miner said late Sunday that the board of directors had terminated his mandate. It has appointed Chairwoman Christel Bories as its interim chief executive until a permanent successor has been found.
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BlueScope Steel Open to Better Offers After Spurning $8.8 Billion Takeover Bid
BlueScope Steel isn’t in talks with suitors Steel Dynamics and SGH but would be open to a takeover proposal that meets its expectations, the company’s new chief executive officer said in an interview.
Tania Archibald, who on Sunday succeeded former CEO Mark Vassella, also flagged a review of BlueScope’s dividend policy as she highlighted higher shareholder returns among her priorities for the year ahead.
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Chinese Gold Mining Stocks Tumble After Gold Plunges
Chinese gold-mining stocks fell broadly after the precious metal plunged following President Trump’s nomination of a new Federal Reserve chairman.
Shares of China’s largest mining company, Zijin Mining Group, lost 5.8% and 5.0% in Shanghai and Hong Kong, respectively, early Monday. Shandong Gold-Mining’s A shares fell by their daily limit of 10%, and Zijin Gold International H shares shed 4.4%.
MARKET TALKS:
Gold, Silver Likely to See Continued Volatility — Market Talk
1147 GMT – Volatility across precious metals is likely to remain high in the near term, analysts at ING say, with macro uncertainty, real-rate expectations, and the direction of the U.S. dollar continuing to drive sentiment. “While a correction was overdue after the intense rally, the scale of Friday’s decline far exceeded most expectations,” they say. “Price direction in the near term will hinge on the extent of dip?buying from Chinese investors following Friday’s retreat.” In afternoon trading, gold futures are up 0.6% at $4,775.20 a troy ounce, while silver futures rise 6.1% to $83.44 an ounce. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
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Gold’s Decline Seen as Healthy Correction After ‘Irrational’ Rally — Market Talk
1055 GMT – Gold’s recent pullback is a healthy technical correction following an “irrational” rally seen in previous days, says Yuxuan Tang of J.P. Morgan Private Bank. The move has flushed out speculative positioning and brought prices back to levels seen about two weeks ago–still up 13% in January, the Asia head of macro strategy says. The bank’s fundamental view on gold remains unchanged. Tang says that Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Federal Reserve chair doesn’t alter a broadly supportive policy backdrop for gold, while the longer-term erosion of global fiscal discipline is also unlikely to reverse. J.P. Morgan Private Bank raises its year-end gold target to $6,150 a troy ounce, with a forecast range of $6,000 to $6,300, noting that investor positioning remains far from crowded. Spot gold is down 4.1% at $4,695.84/oz.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)
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Gold, Silver Long-Term Appeal Holds Despite Pullbacks — Market Talk
1030 GMT – The longer-term structural case for precious metals remains intact, leaving room for a modest bounce in the coming days despite recent speculative unwind, Sucden Financial analysts say. Gold and silver prices tumbled from record highs after President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as Fed chair, reducing expectations for aggressive monetary easing. “Current price levels sit just above those typically associated with pure uncertainty hedging, suggesting most of the speculative appetite has unwound sharply,” the analysts say. “While that still leaves gold and silver increasingly exposed to positioning-driven pullbacks if macro sentiment turns decisively risk-off, the longer-term structural case remains intact, which could lead to a modest near-term recovery in the coming days.” (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
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Metals Refiners Umicore, Johnson Matthey Fall on Precious-Metals Selloff — Market Talk
1011 GMT – Shares in metals refiners and car-catalyst makers Umicore and Johnson Matthey fall, reflecting a precious-metals selloff. Shares in Belgium’s Umicore trade 6.5% lower, making it one of the biggest decliners in the Stoxx Europe 600 index. Meanwhile, shares in U.K.-based Johnson Matthey drop 2.5%. The two companies refine platinum-group metals and their share prices and earnings are typically affected by fluctuations in the price of precious metals. Some analysts had said in recent weeks their shares could benefit from higher PGM prices, but were vulnerable to any price pullback. Despite the latest drop, Umicore shares are still up about 92% over the past year, and Johnson Matthey’s up 61%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
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OPEC+ Offers No Guidance Beyond March, Signaling Flexibility — Market Talk
1008 GMT – OPEC+ didn’t provide guidance on production policy beyond March, signaling it is keeping its options open amid a highly unstable geopolitical backdrop. As widely expected, the alliance confirmed plans to keep production quotas steady in March–the final month of a three-month supply freeze–but offered no indication of what will happen in April or in the second quarter. “The group is prioritizing flexibility over signaling, which is understandable given the very high geopolitical uncertainty,” analysts at DNB say. Their next meeting is scheduled for March 1. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
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Silver Recovers Some Ground but Remains Far Below Recent Highs — Market Talk
0945 GMT – Silver prices return to positive territory after crashing 31% on Friday, though they remain well below last week’s highs as a record-setting rally in precious metals unwinds sharply. In early trading, futures in New York rise 3.9% to $81.58 an ounce after hitting a low of $71.20 earlier in the session. “While the initial trigger was the nomination of Kevin Warsh, which helped spark a rebound in the dollar, the depth of the slump was driven by a cascade of futures selling linked to the unwinding of ETF and options positions,” analysts at Saxo Bank say. Meanwhile, CME Group said it would raise margin requirements for precious-metal futures on Monday, increasing the cost of holding positions. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
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Pandora and Richemont Shares Rise After Precious-Metals Selloff — Market Talk
0944 GMT – Shares in Pandora and Richemont climb following the selloff of precious metals. The prices of gold and silver continued to decline after President Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh to head the Federal Reserve exacerbated a selloff in precious metals. Both the Danish group and the Swiss jeweler have been contending with a surge of precious-metals prices in recent months that became one of their main headwinds. Pandora trades 8.2% higher at 550.80 Danish kroner, while shares in Richemont are up 2.3% at 153.05 Swiss francs. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)
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Copper Slides Below $13,000 Amid Broad Commodities Selloff — Market Talk
0930 GMT – Base metals retreat amid a broader commodities market selloff, with London Metal Exchange copper futures slipping back below $13,000. “The heavy selling in the precious metal sector weighed on sentiment across the broader metals markets,” analysts at ANZ say. “Copper retreated from its record high amid frenzied trading as investors liquidated positions.” Copper surged past $14,000 a ton last week, driven by a weaker dollar and strong investor demand for physical assets as well as a spike in activity on China’s exchanges. In early trading, LME copper futures are down 1.5% to $12,877.50 a metric ton, while aluminum is down 2.3% to $3,063.50 a ton. The U.S. dollar index is up 0.2% to 97.18, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for overseas buyers. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
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Natural-Gas Prices Pull Back After Weather-Driven Rally — Market Talk
0917 GMT – Natural-gas prices retreat sharply after last week’s rally, as milder weather forecasts eased concerns over supply. European benchmark Dutch TTF gas slump 11.6% to 34.72 euros a megawatt-hour, with U.S. futures for March delivery slide 16.3% to $3.646 per million British thermal units. Last week, a massive winter storm in the U.S. boosted heating demand and disrupted pipeline deliveries to LNG export terminals, just as cold weather in Europe and Asia was supporting stronger demand. Now, “forecasts turned milder, erasing last week’s weather?driven gains,” ING analysts say. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
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Gold Slips Below $5,000 After CME Raises Margin Requirements — Market Talk
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02-02-26 0717ET
