The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0905 ET - BJ's Wholesale Club is winning over customers at the gas pump, as prices remain elevated across the country. The warehouse club chain says comp gallons were up double digits during the latest quarter, marking an acceleration from 1Q and serving as "a clear signal of the share we continue to take," CEO Bob Eddy says on a call with analysts. "Gas prices are about as visible as it gets for consumers," he says. "There's a price on every street corner, and our members know that we offer great value." Eddy says that strong volume growth, coupled with a favorable pullback from peak gas prices, drove fuel profit dollars ahead of expectations and meaningfully contributed to the company's overall results. Shares climb 1.5% premarket. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0854 ET - Treasurys trade sideways as investors grapple with a more hands-on approach to bond markets by the Trump administration. Many economists are skeptical that increasing buybacks of long-term debt will sustainably keep yields down, without attacking fiscal deficits. Meanwhile, crude oil prices keep ticking higher, sparking inflation fears. Gold rises 1% and bitcoin rallies 6%. U.S. manufacturing and services PMIs are expected to edge higher, according to WSJ consensus. The 30-year yield is at 5.246%, slightly up from yesterday's settle of 5.237%. The 10-year is little changed at 4.698% and so is the two-year at 4.187%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)
0837 ET - The recovery in gold prices reflects a shift away from U.S. Treasurys toward alternative assets amid uncertainty clouding the fixed income market and growing concerns about the sustainability of U.S. public debt, XS.com senior market analyst Samer Hasn says in a note. "I believe it is futile to discuss the potential paths for the yellow metal as a safe haven," he says. The Treasury Department's decision helped weaken the impact of high bond yields on gold and other non-yielding assets, "which might explain capital rotating back toward those assets." Flows into physical gold exchange-traded funds also helped fuel the upward trend, Hasn adds. Gold is up 1.5% at $4,639.80 an ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0823 ET - BJ's Wholesale Club posts stronger-than-expected sales and solid comps in 2Q, JPMorgan analysts say in a research note. The largely positive report gave the warehouse club chain confidence to raise its adjusted earnings outlook for the year, especially as gasoline sales outperformed expectations. JPM estimates that gas sales provided 20-cents-a-share worth of upside to the recent quarter, offset by a roughly 4-cents-a-share of selling, general and administrative reinvestment. The analysts note BJ's often reinvests in SG&A when gas profits come in better than expected, driving membership retention and making the lap next year easier. Shares gain 2.5% premarket. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0551 ET - Eurozone flash PMIs continue to indicate stubborn growth despite various downside risks, ING's Bert Colijn says in a note. The composite PMI rose marginally to 52.1 in August from 52.0 in July, indicating that the business economy is growing at a steady rate. Despite oil prices above $90 per barrel again, the surveys show softening inflationary pressures, taking away some immediate concerns of core inflation quickly moving higher on the flare-up of the Middle East conflict, Colijn says. "The eurozone economy has been quite resilient so far, and momentum remains surprisingly decent." However, continued elevated oil prices and a higher repricing of interest rates in recent weeks suggest there are factors slowing growth, he says. (edward.frankl@wsj.com)
0352 ET - Shares in London-listed miners rise as gold and silver prices are boosted by a weaker dollar and concerns around fiscal risks. The precious metals are bouncing back after dropping earlier this year, with investors expecting inflation to stay high as central banks keep interest rates where they are, Jefferies analysts say in a note. "While gold and silver have rebounded in recent weeks, we continue to believe the market is underestimating the implications of growing fiscal deficits, elevated debt levels, and currency debasement," the analysts say. Antofagasta is up 5%, Fresnillo rises 3.8%, Endeavour Mining increases 3% and Anglo American is up 2.9%. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
0346 ET - Oil prices slip but are still headed for a weekly gain of around 5% after President Trump vowed to launch sweeping measures aimed at further isolating Iran's economy. Prospects for an imminent resolution to the conflict and reopening of Hormuz remain distant, keeping a significant geopolitical premium embedded in prices. "With the Middle East crisis showing few signs of easing, the risk of further disruption to regional energy flows continues to support crude and refined product prices," analysts at Saxo Bank say. In early European trading, Brent crude is down 0.3% to $93.50 a barrel, while WTI futures slip 0.5% to $86.42 a barrel. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0253 ET - Bitcoin rises around 4% to a 12-week high of $75,681, according to LSEG data. The cryptocurrency is boosted by a combination of regulatory momentum, institutional spot demand, lower-yield expectations and forced short covering, Zaye Capital Markets' Naeem Aslam says in a note. President Trump has urged lawmakers to pass a "fair version" of the Clarity Act, a proposed U.S. federal bill aimed to create a clear legal framework for crypto currencies and digital assets. "That materially changes the regulatory risk premium surrounding bitcoin because clearer rules can make banks, asset managers and corporations more comfortable allocating capital to the sector, while the possibility of additional sovereign holdings strengthens bitcoin's scarcity narrative," Aslam says. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
0158 ET - Bangchak Corp.'s refinery and non-refinery businesses are performing stronger than expected, ttb wealth securities' Yupapan Polpornprasert says in a research report. The Singapore gross refining margin, used as a benchmark price reference by the Thai petroleum and energy conglomerate, has been higher than expected, the analyst notes. Uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing refinery disruptions in Russia continue to constrain global refined product supply. The refinery market outlook is also bright with limited new capacity additions over the next few years, supporting a strong gross refining margin. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to 60.00 baht from 41.00 baht with unchanged buy rating. Shares are 5.8% higher at 50.25 baht. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0148 ET - U.S. Treasury yields are slightly higher in Asian trade as investors remain cautious despite the Treasury's announcement Wednesday of an increase in securities buybacks. "Concerns about large budget deficits and extensive borrowing from tech companies seem to be back in focus," SEB's Pia Fromlet says in a note. In addition, the lack of a solution in the Middle East continues to raise oil prices, the economist says. Brent oil is back above $90 per barrel, last trading at $93.46, down 0.3% on the day. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rises 1 basis point to 4.707%, while the 30-year yield is up 1.8 basis points at 5.254%, according to Tradeweb data. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
0116 ET - Up to now, European Central Bank policymakers are likely to have taken some comfort from the relatively restrained indirect pass-through of the energy shock to prices of other items, Daiwa Capital Markets analysts say in a note. "Certainly, pressures have been largely concentrated in the early stages of the production chain and in sectors most exposed to prices of hydrocarbons," they say. But with wholesale oil and gas prices having shifted higher again in recent weeks, so too have risks that indirect and second-round price effects will become steadily more pronounced and long-lasting, they say.
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