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

0804 GMT - Hochschild Mining could still meet its full-year guidance despite weaker volumes at its Mara Rosa and San Jose mines, which caused first-quarter production to miss expectations, RBC Capital Markets analysts Marina Calero and Laura Chan write. The miner has time to recover lost volumes and a strong performance from Inmaculada could offset weakness at Mara Rosa, they write. However, the analysts lower their full-year gold production target 3.7% to 361,000 ounces and subsequently cut expectations for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 6.1% to $575 million. Shares fall 12% to 268.2 pence. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0802 GMT - There are signs that American companies are racing to build up on European inventory before the re-imposition of sweeping import tariffs, Pantheon Macroeconomics' Melanie Debono writes in a note. According to closely-watched surveys of the private sector set out Wednesday, French manufacturing production expanded this month, a surprise amid a general downturn in business activity. New orders fell back, but that was largely due to a fallback in domestic demand, the surveys show. "This suggests some kind of tariff front-running as firms across the Atlantic in particular get orders in before any incoming rise in U.S. trade tariffs at the end of the quarter," Debono says. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

0754 GMT - AkzoNobel posted earnings for the first quarter that surpassed expectations, Jefferies analysts write in a note. The Dutch paints company reported adjusted Ebitda of 357 million euros, surpassing Jefferies forecast and consensus expectations by 5% and 3%, respectively. "We expect share price support on the earnings beat," the analysts say. The group confirmed its guidance for the current year of adjusted Ebitda above 1.55 billion euros. AkzoNobel also flagged a manageable tariff impact, noting limited trade flows between the U.S. and China, they say. Shares are up 7.2% at 55.44 euros. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

0505 GMT - PCBL Chemical stands to benefit from improving global outlook for carbon black demand, Ambit Capital analysts say in a research report. This demand is expected to grow at 4% CAGR to 18.5 million metric tons by 2030, aided by rising consumption in polymers and electric-vehicle applications beyond traditional tire markets, the analysts say. The Indian carbon-black producer is also ramping up efforts in specialty carbon black applications, which offer higher profitability and cater to the growing market of cables and EV batteries, the analysts add. Ambit Capital initiates coverage of the stock with a buy rating and a target price of INR550.00. Shares are 1.8% lower at INR414.50. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0128 GMT - Uranium miner Paladin Energy leads the ASX 200 higher, notching a share-price rise of 22% on a stronger-than-expected performance in 3Q and comforting words around the impact of Trump's tariffs. Production and sales were 28% and 43% of consensus forecasts, respectively, despite bad weather in the quarter, says Barrenjoey. "Average realized price of US$69.9/lb was also a 7% beat, representing a 2% premium to the benchmark price," analyst Glyn Lawcock says. Cost of production was also 15% below consensus forecasts. The stock is up 21% at A$4.83. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0102 GMT - Every cloud has a silver lining. That is Canaccord Genuity's view of Perenti's decision not to pursue an extension to its contract at the Khoemacau Copper Mine. Canaccord lowers its FY 2026 Ebita forecast by 3% as a result of that decision, but notes that this was the contract most at risk and that Perenti's balance sheet will be stronger as a result. "While this is a negative, the outlook for the company remains upbeat, and we view this as bad news out of the way," analyst Cameron Bell says. Canaccord retains a buy call on Perenti and raises its price target by 9.6% to A$1.48/share. Perenti is unchanged at A$1.33. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0051 GMT - Northern Star Resources' acquisition of De Grey Mining could spur development of an underground mine at the Hemi gold project in Australia's Pilbara region, contends Macquarie. Northern Star is Macquarie's top pick of gold producers among the 50 biggest stocks on the ASX. Macquarie says its base case for Hemi is grounded in De Grey's definitive feasibility study, which pointed to an annual output of 530,000 oz of gold over a decade. Still, Macquarie also assumes an underground mine that could boost production by 8% to 570,000 oz annually. "We also assume pre-production capex of A$1.9 billion and an all-in sustaining cost of A$1,500/oz, which are 38% and 19% higher than the definitive feasibility study, respectively," albeit in line with consensus, Macquarie says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0043 GMT - Perenti's decision not to pursue an extension to its contract at the Khoemacau Copper Mine could see it beat guidance for free cash flow, suggests Macquarie. Perenti's contract ends on June 30, and Macquarie notes it has underperformed internal performance hurdles. Macquarie expects the completion of the contract to support stronger margins in FY 2026. "We expect Perenti to be able to replace revenue and earnings from both new tenders and also scope expansion on current projects," the bank says. Perenti will sell all equipment to MMG with the final value not yet known. Perenti's FY 2025 free cash flow guidance is more than A$150 million and Macquarie thinks the equipment sale could generate proceeds of some A$60 million. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2240 GMT [Dow Jones]--Steel Dynamics expects market conditions are in place for domestic steel consumption to be solid through this year and into the following years, said Mark Millett, the company's chairman and chief executive. Underlying steel demand improved in the first quarter, Millett said, with customer orders rebounding and backlogs increasing at the company's steel and steel fabrication operations. "Steel prices improved throughout the quarter from the lows seen in the second half of 2024 as trade actions have seen imports decline from recent highs," Millett added. He said some uncertainty from certain customers related to recent trade actions has been seen. "Overall, we believe demand for lower-carbon emission, U.S. produced steel products coupled with lower imports will support steel pricing and demand." (stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com)

1841 GMT - Containerboard, which is used to make the cardboard boxes that ship goods around the world, is a good proxy for the broader economy, Jefferies analyst Phil Ng says. Recently, though, demand has been choppy: "It's been a little weaker in March and April--not fallen off a cliff, but demand has been more muted." As a result, containerboard manufactures including International Paper, Smurfit Westrock and Graphic Packaging have culled capacity in order to keep supply and demand in check. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1348 GMT - The International Monetary Fund projects fuel commodity prices to fall by 7.9% in 2025, with a 15.5% drop in oilprices and 15.8% lower coal prices partly offset by a 22.8% rise in natural gas prices. U.S. tariffs unveiled on April 2 exacerbated an already bearish outlook for oil "with supply growth expected to likely outpace tepid global demand growth through 2025 and 2026," the IMF says in its World Economic Outlook. "Upside price risks from potential disruptions in oil supply from countries subject to sanctions or a de-escalation of trade barriers are offset by the possibility of a further escalation in the trade war and additional increases in OPEC+'s production schedule." Oil futures are up after yesterday's selling, with WTI 1% higher at $63.70 a barrel and Brent up 0.6% at $66.68 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 23, 2025 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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