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The Australian share market has closed higher following reports US President Donald Trump is willing to wind up its military campaign against Iran without first reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
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The lender says the market regained momentum in March, but rising mortgage and energy costs could hit consumer confidence.
The Greenbushes lithium mine in the state’s South West generated a $624 million profit for its three joint venture owners, a far cry from its bumper $6 billion profit two years ago.
Pickleball paddle producer Devi Wei has a message for U.S. shoppers.
“Americans will have to pay more,” the Chinese businessman told CNBC at a Beijing trade show last week at the China International Exhibition Center.
Because of the recent swings in oil prices resulting from the Iran war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Wei, who founded his own exporting business, Huijin Trade, has had to hike prices on his paddles and pickleballs by as much as 20%, he said.
Wei’s goods are made with polypropylene, a plastic material derived from oil and made in the Middle East, a dominant producer in the global industry. The war in Iran has stalled shipments of oil and its products through the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns among Chinese manufacturers at the trade fair about further disruption across the global supply chain.
“I might have to go even higher,” Wei said. “Maybe double if the Iran war doesn’t stop soon.”
Surging oil prices are filtering into prices of all kinds of products that rely on the commodity for manufacturing.
James Li, who makes scarves and said he sells a third of his inventory to the U.S., has marked up his polyester products by 5%.
“This scarf is 30% polyester,” Li told CNBC from his trade show booth. “We will definitely pass on the extra cost to our customers.”
Wang Mingming, a general manager of toy manufacturer Jinming Gifts, said he is hoarding two months’ worth of the plastic polymer PVC, but isn’t sure he can hold off charging more for his figurines.
“In our industry, these materials are almost irreplaceable,” Wang said. “If oil prices rise any further, we really won’t be able to manage.”
Cameron Johnson, senior partner at Shanghai-based supply chain consultancy Tidalwave Solutions, said he foresees competition for oil-related products among entire sectors if the crisis at the Strait of Hormuz isn’t resolved soon. A prolonged impasse in the critical waterway also raises the possibility of product shortages.
“If this goes on into May, everyone will be in big trouble and there will be triage between industries,” Johnson said, predicting autos and the medical field would be granted higher priority. “There is no visibility when new supply will come.”
Perhaps the biggest worry among China’s manufacturers is what costlier oil will mean for discretionary spending by consumers worldwide.
More money for gas means less for Wei’s pickleballs.
“Ordinary people are getting squeezed the most from the high oil price,” he said. “Their spending power just isn’t what it used to be.”
Shares in Matrix Composites & Engineering rose strongly today but are still slightly below the price at which Advanced Innergy Holdings plans to bid for the Perth company.
The last month, coinciding with the Iran war, was particularly brutal and accounted for a 4% decline. The currency, which touched an all-time low of 95.21/$, had briefly advanced to 93.59/$ in the early hours, its strongest level on Monday. The trading amplitude for the unit was one of the widest Monday.
Intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the last 15 minutes of trading lifted the local currency to close at 94.83/$ on the last trading day of the year. It closed at 94.81/$ on Friday.
The rupee was widely expected to strengthen on Monday.
AgenciesRupee Seen Staying at 94-95 per Dollar
This was following Friday’s central bank directives to curb lenders’ open positions in FX to $100 million. However, high dollar demand from oil companies, importers and hedge funds caused the rupee to retrace its steps and trade at record lows, traders said.
“The curbs by RBI created an arbitrage between NDF and onshore rates. With simultaneous buying in the NDF market and selling in the domestic market, along with year-end dollar demand from oil companies and corporates, the rupee came under pressure,” said Anil Bhansali, head of treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.
The rupee is expected to remain between 94/$ and 95/$ on April 2, when the market opens after a 2-day holiday.
Currency markets are closed on March 31, April 1, and April 3, making this a short trading week.
The currency opened at 93.59/$ on Monday and depreciated continuously till about 3:15 PM to a low of 95.22/$. At these levels, dollar sales by the RBI helped trim losses, allowing the rupee to close slightly stronger.
“Push for dollars from oil companies, importers, hedge funds and corporates was very high due to sharp rupee appreciation in the morning,” said Kunal Sodhani, head of treasury at Shinhan Bank India.
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Trump said the U.S. was in serious discussions with a “more reasonable regime” to end the war, but repeated his threat to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk U.S. attacks on Iranian oil wells and power plants. Iran described U.S. peace proposals as unrealistic.
Investors have been focused on how oil prices will impact the global economy after they shot up since the start of the war.
“The administration continues to send mixed messages,” said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.
“When the messages seem good, to the extent they are believed, it helps the market. If something they say implies a more aggressive approach, the market sells off.”
At the same time the conflict has been escalating. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia entered the war over the weekend. All three of the major indexes started the day higher after logging sharp declines in the previous session. Since the war started, the Dow, the Nasdaq and the small-cap Russell 2000 have all confirmed correction territory, ending 10% lower from their record-high closes.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 25.52 points, or 0.40%, to end at 6,343.33 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 153.16 points, or 0.73%, to 20,795.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.27 points, or 0.12%, to 45,219.91. Comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave some support to stocks. Powell said longer-term inflation expectations appear to be holding despite the current energy shock, and the Fed does not yet need to make a decision on how to react to the latest troubles. Both U.S. crude oil and Brent settled higher.
Money market participants have priced out any easing from the Federal Reserve this year, compared with two cuts expected before the war began, per the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. The S&P 500 energy index was down slightly and technology stocks were among the biggest drag on the S&P 500. On the flip side, the financial index gained after the U.S. Department of Labor issued long-awaited guidelines intended to clarify how trustees can add alternative assets to 401(k) retirement plans.
Shares of asset managers climbed with Blackstone and KKR both higher.
‘Fox Across America’ radio host Jimmy Failla says there’s not enough ‘shame’ depending on cell phones on ‘Kennedy.’
A Chick-fil-A restaurant is offering families free ice cream if they put away their phones for their entire meal.
Complex, an account on X covering culture, posted a photo Sunday showing a sign advertising that the Chick-fil-A Towson Place location has an incentive for families to be phone-free during meals.
“Introducing our Chick-fil-A® Cell Phone Coop Challenge,” the sign read.
SOLO DINING SURGES 52% AS AMERICANS EMBRACE ‘ME-ME-ME ECONOMY’ OVER SHARED MEALS
Teens using their phones. (Matt Cardy / Getty Images)
“Ask a Team Member for a coop, place all phones in the coop, and enjoy your meal together,” the message continued. “After you finished let a Team Member know and everyone at the table will receive a Icedream® Cone as a reward.”
“Grab a coop and take the challenge,” it read.
The Chick-fil-A restaurant in Towson Place, Maryland, also advertised the challenge in a recent Facebook post, writing, “Take the Dine-in Cell Phone Coop Challenge at Chick-fil-A Towson Place. Ask a Team Member for a coop, place all phones in the coop, and enjoy your meal together without distractions. When your table finishes, let a Team Member know and everyone will receive an Icedream Cone as a reward. Are you up for the challenge?”
If families stay off their phones during their meal, they will receive an Icedream® Cone as a reward. ( Felix Hörhager/picture alliance via Getty Images)
A 2023 study found that 68% of households have a person using their phone during a meal with others. It also found that 65% of respondents do not like it, and 42% feel using phones during meals is rude.
Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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A minor uses their phone in a room. ( / Getty Images)
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