The latest Market Talks covering Basic Materials. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1102 ET - President Trump's announcement of raising the Section 232 aluminum tariff to 50% is being welcomed by Century Aluminum Company, who operates 2 of the 4 remaining active primary aluminum smelters in the U.S. The Chicago-based company says that the higher tariff will help the company move forward with its plans to open its first new smelter in roughly 50 years. Trump announced that he would raise tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel from 25% to 50%, effective June 4. Aluminum producers domestically and abroad are hoping that higher tariffs will allow for a new domestic smelters to be a reality, with Emirates Global Aluminum announcing a tentative plan to build such a facility in Tulsa, Okla. last month. Century Aluminium surges 24%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1059 ET - Canadian steel and auto parts companies stocks take a hit from another round of fresh levies on steel and aluminum. Late last week, President Trump said he would double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50%, which sent shocks across sectors that rely on the metal for their business. Among the biggest losers of the session are Algoma Steel, a Canadian steelmaker, as well as auto parts manufacturer Magna International. Linamar and Martinrea International, other car parts were also hit. Business jet manufacturer Bombardier, which has likened its business to the autosector, is also down. Tariffs on the industry have been a major overhang since February when the first of Trump's levies were applied at 25%. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0915 ET - Higher import duties on steel and aluminum may be behind today's dollar weakness, Goldman Sachs' Stuart Jenkins write. On Friday, Trump announced that tariffs for both products will double to 50% from 25% starting Wednesday. Jenkins says that metals account for a small portion of U.S. imports "and should have a modest impact" on the country's effective tariff rate. He says, however, that the episode shows the administration has other avenues to implement tariffs, as the authority evoked so far is being challenged in courts. The WSJ Dollar Index falls 0.6%, to 95.24, its lowest level since September 2023. The greenback weakens 0.7% versus the yen and 0.6% against the euro. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

0513 ET - Some Anglo American investors might view their new Valterra Platinum shares as a special dividend and opt to sell them, investment director at AJ Bell Russ Mould writes. Some shareholders might not want to hold investments in a single commodity company and could therefore liquidate their position, he adds. Anglo American retains a 19.9% stake for now but plans on selling this down over time, he adds. Valterra's shares trade around 2,860 pence.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0434 ET - A potential increase to 50% import duties from 25% by the U.S. on steel would be a headwind for EU-listed steel companies which export to the country, Jefferies analysts Cole Hathorn and Tommaso Castello say in a research note. For example, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal faces an estimated $100 million a quarter hit under a 25% tariff scenario, the analysts say. That quarterly impact would rise, totaling an estimated more than $500 million a year, if tariffs increase to 50%, they add. A rise to 50% tariffs would also affect Austria's Voestalpine, Jefferies says, increasing the hit to the company to more than 80 million euros from an initial 30 million to 40 million euro impact under 25% tariffs. (pierre.bertrand@wsj.com)

0350 ET - Shares in European steel companies like ArcelorMittal and Thyssenkrupp fell in early European trading as President Trump threatened to double import taxes on steel and aluminum. On Friday, said that tariffs on imported steel and aluminum would increase to 50% from 25% from June 4. Thyssenkrupp shares traded 2.6% lower, while shares of ArcelorMittal trade 2.2% lower. Meanwhile, shares of SSAB and Acerinox, both of which have operations in the U.S., traded 3.6% and 5.5% higher respectively. (pierre.bertrand@wsj.com)

2220 ET - Major Japanese manufacturers, such as Toyota Motor and Nippon Steel, will likely overcome the negative impact of Trump's tariffs in the next two to three years, according to Rakuten Securities strategist Masayuki Kubota. "If [Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel] is realized, it would increase Nippon Steel's production in the U.S., which would in turn increase Toyota and other Japanese automakers' procurement in the U.S. and help mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs on auto, steel and aluminum," Kubota says in a research note. He adds that it might be difficult for Japan to win an exemption from those tariffs, although it could avoid additional so-called reciprocal tariffs other than a 10% baseline duty. (megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com)

2209 ET - BlueScope Steel shares rise 7% to A$24.33, extending a year-to-date rally fueled by bets that it will benefit from U.S. tariffs on steel imports. The Australian steelmaker runs the North Star mini-mill in Ohio and the U.S. is its top region for growth. BlueScope is working to boost volumes at North Star by another 10% following the completion of an expansion that increased output by nearly 50%. Trump on Friday threatened to double tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, stoking renewed interest among buyers of BlueScope's stock. Trump said tariffs on the two metals would increase to 50% from the current 25%, effective June 4. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2042 ET - It's been a bruising run for Australian lithium stocks but Morgan Stanley analyst Rahul Anandfinds reasons to be positive. MS has overweight calls on Mineral Resources and Pilbara Minerals. The bank's bullishness reflects strong momentum in electric-vehicle sales in China, up some 51% on year between January and April. "Lithium's woes have come from too much supply rather than a shortage of demand," says MS of prices of the commodity. "Excess supply is driving the weakness, meaning cuts are needed to drive a rebound." (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 02, 2025 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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