Updates

** Shares of U.S. rare earths producer MP Materials Corp MP.N rise 11.2% to $23.13, hitting a nearly 16-month high of $23.82 earlier in the session

** China has banned exports to the U.S. of items related to the minerals gallium, germanium and antimony, the latest action escalating trade tensions between the countries

** MP produces neodymium and praseodymium — the two most in-demand rare earths

** MP will likely benefit from heightened geopolitical tensions as the only scaled producer of rare earth materials in the western hemisphere - Baird Equity Research

** Though neodymium and praseodymium were not specifically named in recent sanctions, scrutiny on critical materials from the U.S. as well as China will increase - Baird analysts

** Brokerage views further tariffs, bans or future grants for expanding production as potential catalysts for the stock

** Including session's move, MP's stock was up 16.7% YTD

(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru)

((Sukriti.Gupta@thomsonreuters.com;))