The latest Market Talks covering Basic Materials. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1126 ET - The province of Alberta shows an accelerated power buildout and large new data center loads, TD Cowen's John Mould says. Pembina Pipeline's final investment decision on the Greenlight Electricity Centre highlights "further progress for the broader data center opportunity." Mould notes investors are now looking for an end-customer final investment decision and clarity on ramp-up timing. Despite this, Greenlight power plant's C$4.3 million per megawatt capital cost "highlights the value of existing steel in the ground," particularly TransAlta's underutilized coal-to-gas fleet. He also points to Capital Power's 250 megawatt offtake agreement beginning in 2028, which could benefit from tightening Alberta power pricing. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0920 ET - Swedish miner Boliden's potential acquisition of Votorantim's 64.7% stake in Nexa Resources could create a dominant player in the global zinc market, UBS analyst Daniel Major writes. A combination of Nexa's and Boliden's operations would create the third largest zinc miner and smelter globally, he adds. Adding scale and diversification in both mining and smelting could generate some synergies from things like marketing, but UBS sees limited potential operational synergies between Boliden in Europe and Nexa in Latin America. Nexa's current consensus valuation is cheaper than Boliden's, and Nexa has more financial leverage and lower asset quality, the bank says. Nexa has $1.7 billion market capitalization, implying a current equity valuation for Votorantim's stake of around $1.1 billion, equating to around 7% of Boliden's market capitalization. Shares in Boliden rise 0.5%. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0405 ET - Gold is poised to end a volatile week on the front foot after cooler-than-expected U.S. jobs data eased investors' rate-hike expectations. New York gold adds 1.5% to trade at $4,188.10 a troy ounce in early European trade. The dollar and U.S. Treasury yields fell following Thursday's nonfarm payrolls data, in turn increasing the appeal of nonyielding gold. Gold is also supported by central banks returning to the market as buyers in May, ING analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey write.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0335 ET - London's miners rise after a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report eases expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike rates, pushing gold prices up. Higher interest rates typically weigh on nonyielding assets like gold and silver. The metal also continues to benefit from renewed concerns over the central bank's independence as President Trump continues to criticize it, MUFG's Soojin Kim writes. In New York, gold futures rise 1.4% to $4,185.30 a troy ounce and silver rises nearly 3% to $62.85 an ounce. Precious-metal miners Fresnillo and Hochschild Mining both rise around 2.2%. Anglo American gains 1.4% and commodities giant Glencore is up 1%. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0156 ET - Boliden's potential acquisition of Votorantim's 64.68% stake in Nexa Resources has some logic, Berenberg says. It would give Swedish miner Boliden an even larger position in the global zinc market and could offer some arbitrage opportunities in other metals, analysts Richard Hatch and Jasper Mainwaring write. Nexa Resources has operations in Brazil and Peru. It operates five mines and three smelters, essentially making it the Latin American version of Boliden, Berenberg says. "The clear question is what premium would likely be required for a controlling stake in Nexa, and how value-accretive would this be for Boliden." Should a deal be announced with a substantial premium attached for the stake, the bank would expect Boliden shares to come under initial pressure. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0101 ET - Darma Henwa may benefit from securing contracts outside of Bumi Resources, for which it is a core contractor, Bahana Sekuritas's Jeremy Mikael says in a research report. The company has secured its first external mining-services contract, appointed as primary contractor at the Sebuku Sejaka Coal pit at Indonesia's Pulau Laut, the analyst notes. The mandate runs for five years and is extendable to concession expiry, with a scope of up to 5 million tons per year of coal at total value of around 22 trillion rupiah. However, the brokerage cuts the stock's target price to 600.00 rupiah from 850.00 rupiah to partly reflect higher risk premium, with an unchanged buy rating. Shares are 4.7% higher at 314.00 rupiah. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
2155 ET - Gold's medium-term role as a target for asset diversification remains valid, but its price is likely to be weighed by a tougher macroeconomic backdrop, say OCBC Group Research strategists in a note. The yellow metal's demand is likely to be anchored by the official sector, with central banks indicating they intend to raise their gold reserves over the next 12 months, the analysts say. However, this is unlikely to fully offset near-term macro pressure from rising real yields and a firmer dollar as investors price in Federal Reserve rate hikes, they add. OCBC expects gold prices to reach $4,360 a troy ounce by end-2026 and $4,680 an ounce by end of 2Q 2027. Spot gold rises 1.4% to $4,180.45 an ounce.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)
2105 ET - Press Metal Aluminium's recent share price sell-off appears overdone, says Loh Yan Jin at Maybank IB. The sell-off came despite a more normalized valuation backdrop following the fading of the Middle East war premium, the analyst says in a note. She expects strong 2Q earnings, supported by still firm aluminum prices and favorable forex rates, which should drive near-term share price recovery. While aluminum prices may remain volatile as geopolitical tensions ease and supply rises, the downside to earnings is cushioned as nearly 55% of 2027 sales are hedged at around US$2,900 a ton, providing strong earnings visibility, she adds. Maybank cuts Press Metal's target price to 9.41 ringgit from 10.46 ringgit and keeps a buy rating. Shares are unchanged at 7.53 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
2059 ET - BlueScope Steel bull Jefferies expects the data-center buildout to help keep the U.S. steel market tight. Jefferies' assumptions for the infrastructure buildout point to an incremental 2 million metric tons of steel demand annually by FY 2030, or about 3.5% of U.S. steel production, says the bank. "This further underpins spreads, with upside potential given tighter balance, providing a [favorable] backdrop for North Star until at least FY30," Jefferies says. It reiterates a buy rating on BlueScope, with a A$36.00 target. Shares are down 0.2% at A$30.35. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
2011 ET - Fortescue gains a bear in Goldman Sachs on a soft outlook for near-term iron-ore prices and ongoing talks with China's state-owned buyer that could impact the company's lower-grade products. GS also cites challenges with Fortescue's Pilbara mine replacement projects. The bank downgrades the stock to sell from neutral and cuts its price target by 11% to A$16.90. "While the balance sheet is in a strong position and dividends remain robust, and monetization of renewable power is always a possibility, we see headwinds to cash flow from rising mine replacement and decarbonisation capex, and a stretched valuation relative to peers," GS says. Shares are down 2.3% at A$18.53. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 03, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
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