MARKET MOVEMENTS:
–Brent crude oil is down 1.4% at $70.61 a barrel
–European benchmark gas is down 4.8% at 43.05 euros a megawatt-hour
–Gold futures are up 0.9% at $2,926.60 a troy ounce
–LME three-month copper futures are up 0.1% at $9,393 a metric ton
TOP STORY:
China Retaliates Against U.S. With Tariffs, Controls on U.S. Companies
China hit back at the U.S. with a slate of retaliatory measures in response to the Trump administration's latest tariff increase, escalating a trade war between the world's two largest economies.
The coordinated action across government bodies-including a series of new tariffs on American products as well as controls on U.S. companies-was announced just as the White House's additional 10% levy on all Chinese products came into effect.
Beijing said it would impose an additional 15% tariff on U.S. chicken, wheat, corn and cotton products, and an additional 10% tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, vegetables and dairy products. The new tariffs from China are set to go into effect on March 10.
OTHER STORIES:
Aramco Expects Lower 2025 Dividend After Net Income Fall
Saudi Arabia's national oil company Aramco said it expects to pay lower shareholder returns in 2025 after a fall in net profit last year.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco, said net income for 2024 fell to $106.2 billion from $121.3 billion in 2023.
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Lindt Shares Rise on Upbeat Earnings Despite Cocoa Price Pressures
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli shares rose after the group beat profit expectations and flagged further growth ahead, despite continuing pressures from high cocoa prices.
The stock rose 7.2% to 12,250 Swiss francs ($13,661) in mid-morning trade on Tuesday. Since the start of the year, shares are up more than 20%.
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Fresnillo Earnings Jump on Precious-Metal Prices, Delivers Record Returns
Fresnillo's earnings soared in 2024, supported by higher precious metal prices, prompting the miner to deliver its highest ever returns to shareholders.
The silver and gold miner said Tuesday that its pretax profit jumped to $743.9 million from $114 million in 2023. This compares with $791.7 million analysts had expected, according to a Factset-compiled consensus.
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Greenland Has the Makings of a Mining Boom. So Where Is Everyone?
A small group of directors from an Australian company traveled to the southern tip of Greenland recently, where they have been planning to extract rare-earth minerals from one of the world's richest deposits for more than two decades.
They didn't get as far as they had planned.
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Adnoc, OMV Reach Deal to Form $60 Billion Petrochemical Giant
Abu Dhabi's Adnoc and Austria's OMV reached an agreement to combine their petrochemical businesses and subsequently acquire Canada's Nova Chemicals to form a giant with a combined value of about $60 billion.
Adnoc, or Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., has turned to dealmaking to push into chemical production as part of an effort to diversify its sources of revenue and expand globally. The company last year agreed to buy German plastics maker Covestro for about $13 billion.
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Plug Power Shares Drop Premarket After Annual Loss, Further Cost Cutting Plans
Plug Power's shares were under pressure after the hydrogen-technology provider laid out plans to further scale back its operations and costs after spinning deeper into the red last year.
Ahead of the opening bell Tuesday, the shares were 4% lower. Plug Power has already fallen 30% in the new year and its shares are down about 60% over the last 12 months. It has struggled with cash burn and the outlook for renewable-energy companies has dimmed on the prospect President Trump's policies won't be as favorable to green energy as those of a Democratic administration.
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ProPetro Holding Finance Chief David Schorlemer Leaves
ProPetro Holding has parted ways with David Schorlemer, its chief financial officer since 2020.
ProPetro on Tuesday said Schorlemer has left the Midland, Texas, company, adding that he will receive payments and benefits under its executive severance plan.
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Ontario Vows to Block Power, Metal Exports to U.S. With Trump Set to Slap Tariffs
The leader of Canada's largest province, Ontario, has threatened to halt exports of electricity and critical minerals to the U.S. after President Trump said he is imposing 25% tariffs on nonenergy Canada imports starting Tuesday.
"I will shut down the electricity going down to the U.S. We will do it. It's unfortunate. I would rather ship you more electricity," said Doug Ford, who last week won a third mandate as Ontario's premier on a campaign about countering Trump.
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Starbucks Hires Nordstrom's Cathy Smith as Chief Financial Officer
Starbucks is replacing its top finance executive, plucking Nordstrom finance chief Cathy Smith from the department-store chain, which is going private.
Starbucks on Tuesday said Smith will join as executive vice president and chief financial officer at a date to be determined, replacing Rachel Ruggeri, who has been in the post since 2021.
MARKET TALKS:
Grains Drop as New Tariffs Take Effect -- Market Talk
0911 ET - Tariffs are being levied against the three biggest customers for U.S. agriculture, which is sending CBOT grain futures lower pre-market. "Prices are reacting to the further escalation of the trade conflict," says Commerzbank in a note. The firm adds that the run-up to tariff implementation took corn, soybeans, and wheat off highs reached last month. Most-active corn is down 1.7% pre-market, while soybeans fall 1.3% and wheat sheds 1.7%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
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EU Will Need More Gas Than Last Year to Meet Storage Targets -- Market Talk
1338 GMT - The European Union will need an estimated 25 billion cubic meters more gas than last year to meet its current storage targets, according to Xi Nan, head of gas and LNG market research at Rystad Energy. EU storage levels have been depleting rapidly in recent months and are currently just under 38% full. This is more than 20% lower than this time last year. EU members are required to have facilities filled to at least 90% of their capacity by Nov. 1. Rising demand, lower wind speeds and the end of a gas-transit deal between Russia and Ukraine are expected to pose significant challenges during the summer injection season. If storage requirements remain unchanged and storage depletion continues at this rate, LNG imports could increase by 25% compared with last year, Nan says. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
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Agricultural Commodities Slump on USDA Report Fallout, Trade Conflicts -- Market Talk
1250 GMT - Agricultural commodity prices fall, with Chicago wheat futures down 1.2% at 5.42 a bushel and corn falling 1.4% to a two-month low of $4.50 a bushel. Prices have slid since the publication of the USDA estimate Thursday, which showed a significant increase in U.S. corn acreage, Commerzbank analysts say in a note. Prices are also slumping in response to the escalation of trade conflicts, Commerzbank says. An additional 10% U.S. tariff on China has come into force, and China has announced import tariffs of 10%-15% on U.S. agricultural products in response. This is reminiscent of the 2018-19 trade conflict, when China imposed punitive tariffs on U.S. soybean imports in response to U.S. import duties, which led to a sharp slump in soybean exports and prices, Commerzbank says. Soybeans fall 1.1% to $10.01 a bushel. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
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Gold Futures Rise as Tariffs, Soft Data Fuel Volatility -- Market Talk
1238 GMT - Gold futures rise, rallying on market volatility. Futures are up 1.1% at $2,933 a troy ounce. The precious metal is once again nearing the all-time record of $2,974/oz set in late February. Gold has gained as soft manufacturing data adds fuel to growth concerns, with President Trump's tariff policies set to accentuate any slowdown, SP Angel analysts say in a note. Trade tensions continue to mount between the U.S. and China after the imposition of U.S. tariffs and retaliatory Chinese levies, likely supporting gold's rise, SP Angel says. Speculation is rising that China will let the yuan depreciate to soften tariff effects and support exporters, and any further weakness against the dollar will push Chinese buyers further into gold as a safe-haven, analysts add. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
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Agricultural Commodities Slide as Trump Plans Crop Import Tariffs -- Market Talk
1050 GMT - Agricultural commodity prices slide, with Chicago wheat futures down 1.2% at $5.41 a bushel and corn futures down 1.6% at $4.49 a bushel. President Trump said the U.S. will enact tariffs on "external" agricultural products from Apr. 2 in a Truth Social post, writing that American farmers should "get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States." Trump's post didn't specify which products would be subject to tariffs. Trump's other tariffs including an additional 10% tariff increase on China comes into effect Tuesday. China has announced retaliatory measures, including a 15% tariff on wheat and corn, and a 10% tariff on soybeans, among others. Agricultural products broadly accounted for around 15% of total U.S. exports to China in 2024, ING analysts write. China's countermeasures appear relatively measured for now, they say. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
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Base Metal Prices Slip as Trump's Tariffs Come Into Effect -- Market Talk
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March 04, 2025 09:45 ET (14:45 GMT)
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