Analysis: Indices

Political chaos leaves France sidelined as investors warm to Europe

LONDON/AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France -France is missing out on the investor optimism that has defined Europe's markets this year, hamstrung by its strained public finances and political volatility that...

Australia 'urgently seeking' details on Trump drug tariff plan

SYDNEY -Australia is urgently seeking more detail on U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs up to 200% on pharmaceutical imports, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday. ...

Oil steady on strong gasoline demand, Red Sea attacks while Trump tariffs loom

HOUSTON -Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as investors weighed strong U.S. gasoline demand data and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, while U.S. copper tariffs loomed. Brent crude...

US could collect $300 billion in tariff revenue this year, Treasury chief says

WASHINGTON -Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said the U.S. has taken in about $100 billion in tariff income so far this year, and this could grow to $300 billion by the end of 2025 as...

World's top copper producer Chile in wait-and-see mode after Trump tariff bombshell

SANTIAGO -Chile, the world's No. 1 copper producer, is in wait-and-see mode after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a surprise 50% tariff on imports of the red metal, with the Andean nation...

COMEX copper hits record after Trump says he will impose 50% tariff on copper imports

LONDON -Copper prices in the United States jumped more than 12% to a record high above $12,330 per metric ton after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would announce a 50% tariff on imports of the...

Investors put 'Liberation Day' lessons to work, scarred by tariff tumult

NEW YORK -Three months after President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs led markets to plunge and then rebound ferociously, investors are grappling with the fallout from the still-shifting...

South African minister says work on lower inflation target should not be rushed

JOHANNESBURG -South Africa's finance minister said work towards a lower inflation target was advancing but that it should not be rushed, after the central bank again stressed its preference for a...

BofA, Goldman Sachs latest on Wall Street to lift S&P 500 index's annual target

BofA Global Research and Goldman Sachs on Tuesday became the latest Wall Street brokerages to raise their year-end targets for the S&P 500 index, broadly driven by reduced policy uncertainty,...

Salzgitter soars after Germany clears military use of steel product

Shares in Salzgitter rose more than 23% in Frankfurt on Tuesday after Germany approved for military use the company's Secure 500 steel product. Their surge helped the German small-cap...

South African watchdog drops opposition to Vodacom's Maziv deal

JOHANNESBURG -South Africa's Competition Commission has dropped its opposition to Vodacom's plan to buy a 30% stake in fibre group Maziv after agreeing revised terms with the parties. ...

India's MCX to launch electricity futures as hedge against weather-driven demand shifts

MUMBAI -India's Multi Commodity Exchange will launch the country's first electricity futures contracts on Thursday, providing power generators, distribution companies, and large industrial consumers...

South Africa says Trump's 30% tariff is based on inaccurate trade view

JOHANNESBURG -South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pushed back against U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of a 30% tariff from next month, saying that it is based on an inaccurate view of...

Indonesia palm oil exports to US may fall due to tariffs, industry group says

JAKARTA -Indonesian palm oil exports to the United States may fall due to the 32% tariffs threatened on Indonesian goods, allowing competitors in Malaysia to gain market share, an industry official...

European shares rise on energy, healthcare boost; tariff uncertainty lingers

European shares ended higher on Tuesday, boosted by healthcare and energy shares while investors assessed the latest phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff rollouts, which included a new...

South African rand steady on hopes for further trade talks with the US

JOHANNESBURG -The South African rand was steady on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes the country could still salvage a less damaging trade deal with the United States after President Donald Trump extended a...

Southeast Asia, spooked by Trump tariffs, presses for more talks

BANGKOK/JAKARTA -Southeast Asia's biggest economies prepared on Tuesday to step up trade negotiations with Washington after it hit them with steep tariffs, despite a last-ditch flurry of offers to...

Novartis wins approval for first malaria drug for newborns and babies

ZURICH -Novartis said on Tuesday it had received approval in Switzerland for Coartem Baby, which it said was the first drug to treat malaria in babies and very young children. Eight...

Tariff deja vu takes hold

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rocky Swift U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that his latest tariff deadline was firm, but not 100% firm was all Asian...