2024-05-22 20:49

LIMA, May 22 (Reuters) - Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals, which lost the right to operate its copper mine in Panama last year following protests by environmental groups and a court ruling deeming its contract void, is seeking to speed its copper projects in Peru, a company executive said on Wednesday. One of the three largest global copper producers, First Quantum (FM.TO) New Tab, opens new tab in Peru controls the La Granja project, worth at least $2.5 billion, and the $1.86 billion Haquira project. "These are projects that need to be accelerated," said the mining company's project development director, Steven Lewis, during a speech at a mining forum in Lima. La Granja, where fellow miner Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) New Tab, opens new tab, (RIO.L) New Tab, opens new tab is a minority partner, is a project with a 40-year lifespan and forecasted output of 500,000 metric tons per year, according to government data. First Quantum's Lewis said it has one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world. Meanwhile, the Haquira project, fully owned by First Quantum in the Apurimac region, is in the "pre-feasibility" stage. It could reach an annual output of 200,000 tons once at full capacity. "We are very busy building more positive relationships with the communities (in Haquira) to allow it to come to light," said Lewis, who did not offer a time frame for the construction of both mines in the South American country. The company shifted focus toward Peru after Panama's government decided last year to annul First Quantum's contract to operate the Cobre Panama mine there, which accounted for about 40% of First Quantum's revenue last year. "We are now working with Panama's government to ensure the environmental stability (of the project), the integrity of the copper assets, and, most importantly, the safety of our employees," Lewis said. Panama's outgoing government of President Laurentino Cortizo ordered the closure of the mine, which is currently in maintenance mode while the formal closure process starts. The incoming administration of President-elect Jose Raul Mulino, who is set to take office on July 1, will be tasked with setting guidelines for the process. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/first-quantum-seeks-speed-up-peru-projects-after-panama-debacle-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 20:35

TSX ends down 0.5% at 22,346.76 Resource stocks lead declines Oil and metal prices fall Hudbay Minerals shares lose 8.4% May 22 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday as a drop in commodity prices weighed on resource shares and as investors worried that the Federal Reserve would take its time before cutting interest rates. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) New Tab, opens new tab ended down 121.40 points, or 0.5%, at 22,346.76, after notching an all-time closing high on Tuesday. "Bond markets have been pricing in a delayed start for rate cuts but equity markets have continued to make new highs so we are seeing some pullback, mostly concentrated in equities today, as a result of those worries," said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. U.S. stocks also declined as investors digested the minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting ahead of quarterly results from AI chipmaker Nvidia, due after the closing bell. "We should note that these minutes were before the April CPI came out in the U.S. which was the first step towards getting back to better inflation readings," Kourkafas said. Canada's commodity-linked main stock index will take a breather for the rest of this year but is set to notch record highs as metal prices climb and expected lower borrowing costs bolster the outlook for the domestic economy, a Reuters poll found. The materials group (.GSPTTMT) New Tab, opens new tab, which includes metal miners and fertilizer companies, tumbled 3.1% on Wednesday as gold and copper prices gave back some recent gains. Hudbay Minerals Inc (HBM.TO) New Tab, opens new tab shares lost 8.4% on plans to raise $300.2 million in an equity offering to help fund near-term growth initiatives at its Copper Mountain unit. Energy (.SPTTEN) New Tab, opens new tab also lost ground, falling 1.2%, as the price of oil settled 1.4% lower at $77.57 a barrel. Technology was a bright spot, rising nearly 1%. It was helped by a gain of 3.3% for the shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) New Tab, opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-eyes-lower-open-commodity-prices-slip-fed-minutes-tap-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 20:15

Nvidia shares fall ahead of results; stock gains after the bell Minutes show fed officials hopeful for cooling inflation Target shares lower after weak results Indexes off: Dow 0.51%, S&P 0.27%, Nasdaq 0.18% NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as investors digested minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting but Nvidia's shares rose about 6% after the close on the semiconductor bellwether's stronger-than-expected revenue forecast. The news also drove gains in other chipmakers. Investors had focused on whether Nvidia's (NVDA.O) New Tab, opens new tab first-quarter results could meet sky-high expectations and whether the outsized rally in artificial intelligence-related stocks could be sustained. Nvidia shares, which had closed weaker, have surged about 90% this year after rocketing almost 240% in 2023. "The markets are just waiting for Nvidia to make sure that even if they beat ... what does it look like going forward and what is the forward-looking thinking with justifying where valuations are," said Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdance Capital Advisors in Hunt Valley, Maryland. "It's valuations that are more important so regardless of whether it's a knee-jerk reaction to the upside or to the downside, when we start to parse through that earnings report and look at the valuation that some of these companies are asking for, is it too high?" The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) New Tab, opens new tab fell 201.95 points, or 0.51%, to close at 39,671.04, the S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab lost 14.40 points, or 0.27%, to 5,307.01 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) New Tab, opens new tab dropped 31.08 points, or 0.18%, to 16,801.54. Stocks struggled for direction for most of the session but weakened after minutes of the Fed's meeting showed U.S. central bank officials still had faith price pressures would ease, but slowly, due to disappointment over inflation readings. The Fed's April 30–May 1 meeting followed three straight months of data that showed sticky inflation, but before more recent reports that showed price pressures could be cooling again. Stocks' rally to record highs this month has been fueled in part by AI optimism, a solid earnings season and reignited hopes for rate cuts by the Fed this year. Analysts polled by Reuters see the S&P 500 closing the year near current levels, at 5,302 points, but warned the index's strong run means it risks a correction in the coming months. Markets are pricing in a 59% chance of the Fed cutting rates by at least 25 basis points at its September meeting, down from 65.7% in the prior session, according to CME's FedWatch Tool New Tab, opens new tab. Chipmaker Analog Devices (ADI.O) New Tab, opens new tab jumped 10.86% after forecasting third-quarter revenue above expectations. Energy (.SPNY) New Tab, opens new tab was the worst performing sector, down 1.83% as oil prices fell for a third straight session. Retailer Target (TGT.N) New Tab, opens new tab tumbled 8.03% after its quarterly earnings and current-quarter forecast missed estimates. TJ Maxx parent TJX (TJX.N) New Tab, opens new tab gained 3.5% after raising its annual profit forecast. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.75-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.5-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 47 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 120 new highs and 109 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.86 billion shares, compared with the 12.01 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-muted-nvidia-results-fed-minutes-test-wall-sts-record-run-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 20:12

Canadian dollar falls 0.3% against the greenback Touches its weakest level since May 9 Price of U.S. oil settles 1.4% lower Canadian bond yields rise across the curve TORONTO, May 22 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened to a near two-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as oil prices fell and an uncertain outlook for U.S. interest rates weighed on investor sentiment. The loonie was trading 0.3% lower at 1.3695 per U.S. dollar, or 73.02 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest level since May 9 at 1.3698. "I would say nothing is really working in Canada's favor today," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex LLC. "You've got a stronger U.S. dollar, higher U.S. interest rates, weaker stocks, weaker oil." U.S. bond yields rose and the greenback (.DXY) New Tab, opens new tab notched gains against a basket of major currencies as Federal Reserve officials acknowledged disappointment over recent inflation readings in the minutes from the central bank's latest policy meeting. Wall Street's major indexes fell and the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, headed lower for a third straight day. U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.4% lower at $77.57 a barrel. The loonie could soften further if investors dial back expectations for Fed rate cuts, Chandler said, adding "I think the market is still pricing in too strong of a chance of two cuts this year from the Fed." The move lower for the loonie comes after data on Tuesday showed Canada's annual rate of inflation falling to a three-year low of 2.7%, raising bets that the Bank of Canada would begin cutting interest rates at its next policy decision on June 5. Canadian government bond yields moved higher across a more deeply inverted curve. The 2-year rose 4.6 basis points to 4.216%, while the 10-year was up 1.7 basis points at 3.601%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-hits-2-week-low-wall-street-retreats-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 20:03

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is expected as soon as Wednesday to announce a $100 million settlement with JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) New Tab, opens new tab over trade reporting lapses, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The same source said that the bank has also agreed to admit as part of that deal that it broke the agency's rules. That admission, which has not previously been reported, would be a win for the CFTC which has been pushing for companies to assume more accountability for wrongdoing. A spokesperson for the CFTC declined to comment. A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to comment, but referred to previous statements that the bank self-reported the violation and that it found neither misconduct nor any harm to customers. JPMorgan previously agreed to pay $348.2 million to U.S. bank regulators over a related issue. The banking regulators said the misconduct occurred between 2014 and 2023 and that JPMorgan failed to properly monitor billions of trades across at least 30 global trading venues. In a regulatory filing earlier this month, the bank said it would ink another resolution on the matter with a third U.S. regulator, which a source told Reuters at the time was the CFTC. The CFTC's enforcement director, which oversees commodity and swap markets, last year detailed new policies for the agency, including an effort to seek admissions of wrongdoing. Financial firms typically push back against such admissions in both civil and criminal matters, as it can open them up to additional costs from private litigation. But regulators have said they can be an important deterrent of wrongdoing. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/jpmorgan-poised-pay-100-million-over-cftc-trade-reporting-violations-source-says-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 19:44

SAO PAULO, May 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA) New Tab, opens new tab said on Wednesday the country's antitrust regulator Cade approved the new terms of an agreement that will free up the company from selling some of its oil refining and natural gas assets. The new terms of the agreement, originally signed in 2019, have been approved by the regulator's board, Petrobras said in a securities filing. The government of then-President Jair Bolsonaro had set the terms in a broad initiative to reduce Petrobras' share in Brazil's oil and gas sector, opening the market for new companies with prospects of more investment. The change will allow Petrobras to retain control of Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto Bolivia-Brasil (TBG), which operates a natural gas pipeline that connects Bolivia and southern Brazil. It will also be able to retain control over five refineries. Under the previous terms, Petrobras sold off its stake in three refineries. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/petrobras-says-antitrust-watchdog-agreed-free-company-asset-sales-2024-05-22/