The latest Market Talks covering Basic Materials. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0131 GMT - Worley's FY 2030 earnings-growth target is ambitious versus consensus, Jefferies says. Worley CEO Chris Ashton says the company is aiming for double-digit underlying Ebita growth over the medium term to FY 2030. That is well above Jefferies' forecast of roughly 1% per annum and consensus of around 4%, the bank says. The growth outlook is underpinned by several things, including expansion in new markets and customers responding to Middle East disruptions. "Detail around near/medium-term drivers will be important for market to gain confidence in growth ambitions," Jefferies says. The bank has a hold rating and 11.48 Australian dollars a share target price on the stock. Shares are 1.8% higher at A$12.19. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
0058 GMT - Gold gains in the early Asian session. The yellow metal doesn't appear to be reacting one-dimensionally to U.S. consumer-price index data anymore, says Linh Tran at XS.com in a note, noting that rising inflation typically boosts Treasury yields and the dollar while weighing on gold. While the April data initially dragged down gold, the precious metal quickly recovered above $4,700 a troy ounce, suggesting that the market is beginning to reassess its role as a safe-haven asset and store of value, the analyst says. "In an environment where inflation is accompanied by geopolitical tensions, high energy prices, and growth risks, gold still has a strong foundation to maintain its appeal as a defensive asset," she says. Spot gold rises 0.3% to $4,701.90 an ounce. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0045 GMT - Is Mineral Resources' Bald Hill the next lithium project to restart? Jefferies thinks it could be. It highlights a significant increase in job advertisements for the Kambalda area of Australia posted by MinRes on its careers page. Analyst Mitch Ryan points out that MinRes has previously signaled it could restart Bald Hill within 4 months of any decision. "While accelerated relative to the Wodgina restart (six months) Bald Hill's capacity, simplicity and adjacency to Mt Marion leave us optimistic," says Jefferies, referring to MinRes's other lithium operations. Jefferies assumes Bald Hill restarts in 2Q of FY 2027. It sees the operation ramping up to full capacity of 1.2 million tons/year by the following quarter. Jefferies rates MinRes a hold. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1825 GMT - Front-month silver futures finish up 4.4% to $88.89 a troy ounce, making it 8 sessions out of the past 10 they've gained. Today's close is the highest settle value in over 2 months. "The rally in AI stocks--and silver's growing use within the sector--is one reason investors are likely to continue supporting the move higher," says Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. He thinks silver could soon test $100 an ounce or more. Front-month gold closes up 0.4% to $4,697.70/oz. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1723 GMT - Valvoline's stock lost recent gains following a strong F2Q performance, Mizuho says, pointing to reported shortages across the motor oil and lubricant industry. The analysts say multiple social media posts from operators and experts highlight disruptions across the motor oil supply chain due to the Iran war. The analysts expect private operators to increase prices, as Valvoline has already done so. Valvoline holds adequate supply for now and the lower end of its outlook accounts for possible supply shortages, the analysts say. Valvoline is down 2.2%.(katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1614 GMT - Agnico Eagle is adding another C$2 billion to its planned investment in Ontario to develop two mining projects in the Northern part of the province, says the Ontario provincial government. The province says the money will go toward the Detour Lake Underground project and the Upper Beaver gold-copper project, two major Ontario growth projects to expand the existing Detour Lake mine into a hybrid open-pit and underground operation, and the other developing a new gold-copper mine near Kirkland Lake. Ontario says Agnico's total planned spending and investment in the province is now at C$14 billion by the end of 2030. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1542 GMT - The bar for Agnico Eagle to chase dealmaking is high, and any capital for M&A would need to complete with the gold miner's pipeline of high-return growth projects, Chief Financial Officer Jamie Porter says. "We'll look for opportunities to add value. But the reality is we're in a very fortunate position of not having to do anything because we have that growth." Speaking at a mining conference, Porter says Agnico Eagle's balance sheet is in the strongest position in the company's history, with virtually no debt and almost $3 billion of net cash and growing. The development pipeline includes five projects that collectively represent 1.5 million troy ounces of potential annual production growth, which are low risk and include the expansion of existing mines or new construction in regions where the company has previously built. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)
1245 GMT - The proposed $18.5-billion combination of gold miners Equinox and Orla may not be every investor's cup of tea. TD Cowen's Wayne Lam expects "a mixed reaction from both EQX and OLA shareholders," citing "questions around timing/rationale for both companies, particularly with both seemingly having been set up for solid growth ahead as standalone entities." Still, Lam says the deal "appears accretive for EQX on near-term metrics and creates a larger Canadian focused producer," with greater scale and a stronger Canadian production base. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1046 GMT - Palm oil prices fell in the Asian session. Upside momentum in prices may be restrained by concerns over rising Malaysian stockpiles and an uncertain demand outlook, despite continued tensions in the Middle East supporting crude oil prices, Kenanga Futures says in a note. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for July delivery fell 41 ringgit to 4,440 ringgit a ton. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)
0832 GMT - India's consumption curbs have begun with a duty increase on gold, silver and platinum imports. As external accounts face mounting pressure amid the prolonged Middle East conflict, India's dusting off a playbook used before to arrest non-essential demand, Barclays economists say. Surging gold prices and intermittently high volumes have significantly increased the country's import bill, but tariffs aren't going to make much of a difference. The move may dampen volume demand, but high international gold prices will likely outweigh that. Barclays expects the country's gold import bill to rise further in FY 2027 from FY 2026, offsetting the volume decline. It estimates a 6 bps bump in May CPI inflation, and a 10 bps boost to June's. (fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 14, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
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