European Gas at Four-Year High on Winter Supply -3-

0720 GMT - Malaysia's consumer sector could face rising competition from Chinese merchants expanding overseas with low prices, potentially squeezing local retailers' margins, AmInvestment Bank analyst Heng Yii Paul says in a note. Consumers' growing focus on value is expected to favor essential goods and discount retailers, while discretionary businesses face greater pressure from price competition and rising costs, he reckons. However, government aid and steady demand should support defensive players. Heng prefers businesses with strong value propositions, resilient demand and limited exposure to competitive pressures, such as his sector's top picks 99 Speed Mart Retail, Nestle (Malaysia) and Eco-Shop Marketing. AmInvestment Bank maintains an overweight rating on Malaysia's consumer sector. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

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BlueScope Bull Cheers Solid Result From Australian Operations -- Market Talk

0302 GMT - While BlueScope Steel highlights better-than-expected U.S. steel spreads in upgrading its 1H earnings estimate, it is a solid performance by the steelmaker's Australian business that has caught RBC Capital Markets' eye. "Of particular interest for us was the upgrade provided for the Australian assets, which have faced a deterioration in East Asian spreads over the recent weeks," says the broker. BlueScope spoke of "resilient domestic demand and stronger demand for 'value-added' products for which we had taken a more conservative view in our estimates," it says. RBC reiterates an outperform rating on BlueScope. It has a price target of 38.00 Australian dollars a share. The stock is up 3.4% at A$33.46. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

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Iron Ore Falls Amid Weak Steel Mills Profitability -- Market Talk

0253 GMT - Iron ore prices are lower in early Asian trade amid steel mills' poor profitability. China's steel mills have a strong inclination to control production volume and purchase on an as-needed basis, say Tongguan Jinyuan Futures analysts in a research note. The blast furnace operating rate across 247 Chinese steel mills last week stood at 80%, down 4.3% from the same period last year, they note. With overseas iron ore arrivals at Chinese ports remaining elevated, supply-side pressure persists, they add. The most actively traded January iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is down 0.4% at 668.5 yuan a ton. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

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Brazil President's Reelection Likely to Shape New Rare Earths Frontier -- Market Talk

0250 GMT - The reelection of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will likely shape the development of a budding rare earths industry in the South American nation, widely viewed as key to loosening China's grip on global supply. Lula wants Brazil--home to the world's second-largest rare-earth reserves after China--to not just export raw ore, but rather build processing plants that can separate rare earths, produce metals and eventually manufacture magnets. State coordination is crucial to that plan. Lula has also said Brazil won't favor the U.S. over China. By contrast, his opponent Flávio Bolsonaro, while similarly seeking to capture value beyond extraction, favored a more market-driven approach, with less government intervention and closer ties to the U.S. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

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Copper Prices Fall as Stronger Dollar Weighs on Sentiment -- Market Talk

0248 GMT - Copper prices are lower in early Asian trade as mounting macroeconomic uncertainty and a stronger dollar weigh on market sentiment, Everbright Futures analysts say in a note. Lingering concerns over global growth and uncertainty around U.S. copper import tariffs are adding to headwinds, while the prospect of continued inventory inflows into the U.S. is easing supply tightness elsewhere, they say. Still, historically low domestic Chinese inventories and persistent supply-side constraints could offer some support to prices, they add. The three-month LME copper contract is down 0.5% at $14,246.00 a ton. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

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Palm Oil Falls Amid Profit-Taking, Higher Inventories -- Market Talk

0239 GMT - Palm oil falls in Asian trading, weighed by profit-taking and elevated palm oil inventories, AmInvestment Bank says in a note. However, seasonal buying ahead of festivals in India, the world's largest palm oil importer, has been a key source of demand. Traders will also watch export estimates, production outlooks and price movements in competing vegetable oils and crude oil, it adds. AmInvestment Bank pegs resistance at 4,852 ringgit a ton and support at 4,784 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for January delivery is down 24 ringgit at 4,794 ringgit a ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2026 12:44 ET (16:44 GMT)