Market Overview

China Mineral Resources Group reached a new annual iron ore supply agreement with Rio Tinto. CMRG verbally informed Chinese steelmakers of the accord on October 21 and began collecting required purchasing volumes from mills on October 22. The volume covered by the contract remained undisclosed, and both companies declined immediate requests for comment. CMRG instructed domestic mills in August to suspend negotiations with Rio Tinto for shipments from September to strengthen its bargaining position. Established in 2022, Beijing created the state-owned procurement platform to centralize iron ore buying and secure better terms amid weak domestic demand and thin steelmaker margins.

Mining · Steelorbis · Newsquawk

Brent crude rose 3 percent to $112 a barrel on Thursday, hitting a five-month high after attacks in Saudi Arabia and the strait of Hormuz threatened global oil supplies, The Guardian reported. Yemeni Houthis struck targets in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, including a civilian airport in Dammam and an oilfield, while the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted vessels in the northern Gulf and reported mines near the strait of Hormuz. The US subsequently ordered diplomats and family members to leave missions in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Aramco instructed staff in Dhahran to evacuate and work remotely. Oil prices previously peaked at $126 a barrel in April before falling to lows of $71 in July, though Kpler data shows Persian Gulf exports have since risen above prewar levels through alternative overland pipelines. Global equities declined on Thursday as investors priced in higher inflation and borrowing costs, with the Stoxx Europe 600 dropping 1 percent and the FTSE 100 falling 0.7 percent.

Theguardian

Global markets sold off sharply as escalating Middle East conflict drove oil to $112 per barrel and Tesla cut its 2026 capital expenditure guidance, Fortune reported. S&P 500 futures fell 1.02 percent prior to the New York open following a 0.58 percent rise in the previous session. In Asia, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 3.52 percent, Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 2.65 percent, and China's CSI 300 fell 1.84 percent to bring its year-to-date loss to 15 percent. European indices also retreated, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.92 percent and the FTSE 100 down 0.46 percent, while France's 10-year bond yield reached 5.1 percent. Tesla shares dropped 5.35 percent in after-hours trading after the company lowered its 2026 capex guidance to $20 billion from $25 billion. Meanwhile, SpaceX shares rose 8 percent after management issued first-quarter 2027 revenue guidance of $33 billion to $37 billion, surpassing analyst estimates by 57 percent.

Fortune

Nebius secured a $3.5 billion financing facility from Citi to fund data center development and GPU purchases, CNA reported. The facility matures in 364 days and carries an initial interest rate of 2.75 per cent over the term SOFR benchmark rate. Chief Operating Officer Ophir Nave stated the financing provides flexibility for growth in 2027 and beyond, alongside customer prepayments and operating cash flow. The Amsterdam-based company also holds around $10 billion in convertible bond debt outstanding following a $5.75 billion issue in August. Nebius can access additional borrowing against more than $40 billion in long-term contracts with investment-grade customers including Microsoft and Meta. The financing agreement follows a share selloff last week driven by declining bond values at rival neocloud firm CoreWeave.

Channelnewsasia

SoFi Technologies launched a tokenized deposit product paying a 4.4 per cent annual percentage yield on cash set aside for digital asset purchases, according to Channel NewsAsia. Cash in the SoFi Earn account carries Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protection up to $250,000 per depositor. SoFi CEO Anthony Noto stated that the offering targets idle funds in the digital asset ecosystem that previously missed out on potential earnings. The product emerges after the GENIUS Act barred stablecoin issuers from paying interest. Users of SoFi Earn can also buy crypto directly or transfer funds to external platforms. Traditional financial institutions are developing regulated alternatives to stablecoins as economic drivers push traditional finance on chain. In September, a group of 21 financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank announced plans to form a company issuing a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency in the first half of 2027.

Channelnewsasia

BYD will open pre-sales for the refreshed Denza N8 on October 26 ahead of an official market launch in November, Cnevpost reported. The large 5-seat electric SUV will offer single-motor rear-wheel-drive and triple-motor all-wheel-drive variants, according to regulatory filings from July. The vehicle measures 5,150 mm in length, 1,999 mm in width, and 1,820 mm in height, with a 3,075 mm wheelbase. Single-motor variants deliver peak outputs of 320 kW and 370 kW, while the triple-motor version uses the e3 platform to put out a combined 890 kW across one front and two rear motors. The model incorporates BYD's second-generation Blade Battery alongside flash charging technology rated for a usable charge in 5 minutes and a near full charge in 9 minutes. The original N8 launched in August 2023 as a plug-in hybrid before discontinuation, while the new version revives the nameplate exclusively as an all-electric offering to complement the 6-seat N8L.

Cnevpost

The Indian government notified the Telecommunications (Regulatory Sandbox) Rules, 2026, creating a controlled framework for startups, companies, and researchers to test innovative telecom technologies and services. The rules replace the draft Telecommunications (Regulatory Sandbox) Rules published in November 2024. Under the notification, the Central Government can establish sandboxes on its own initiative or approve proposals submitted through a designated portal. The framework grants exemptions from specified provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997. A regulatory sandbox can operate for an initial period of up to 24 months. The government may extend this validity by up to 12 months at a time. Applicants must submit a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 10,000 alongside preliminary lab testing reports and required documents. The rules prohibit commercial sales or availability of products and services undergoing trials. Approved applicants must obtain prior consent from participating users and cannot charge them for participation. Participants must retain testing records for at least one year after the sandbox validity expires.

Bignewsnetwork · Tele Net

Bitcoin fell to around $81,800 on Thursday, sliding nearly 3% from a late-Wednesday peak near $84,800 that briefly challenged resistance at the $85,000 level. Mixed earnings reports from Tesla and Meta revived doubts over artificial intelligence spending, weighing on global equities and pushing Nasdaq 100 index futures down 1.32%. Tesla reported third-quarter capital expenditure of $4.73 billion, missing projected forecasts of $7.96 billion and renewing skepticism over the tech sector's infrastructure investments. Decentralized finance tokens led the broader crypto decline, with the CoinDesk DeFi index dropping 5.6% while the broader CoinDesk 5 lost 2.5%. Derivatives activity surged as trading volumes in crypto futures climbed 19% to $226.6 billion, though total open interest fell 2.46% to $141.8 billion as traders closed existing positions rather than opening new risk. Liquidations jumped 52% to $431.1 million during the reversal, leaving Bitcoin resting near a key support zone between $80,000 and $81,500 that marks the cost basis for U.S. spot exchange-traded funds.

Coindesk · Cointelegraph

Barclays is eliminating 5,000 jobs across its global workforce as part of a technology-driven cost reduction plan. The cuts represent 5 percent of the bank's total staff, with 1,000 positions already closed and the remaining 4,000 expected to be cut by the end of 2026. Approximately 60 percent of the reductions are concentrated in support functions including developers, while operational and functional roles are also affected. The lender reported a third-quarter pre-tax profit of £2.3 billion, marking a 12 percent rise year on year that matched LSEG-compiled forecasts. Group income for the period reached £7.4 billion, falling short of the £7.61 billion analyst estimate. Net interest income held at £3.91 billion, while the CET1 capital ratio ticked down to 14.2 percent from 14.3 percent at the end of the second quarter. Return on tangible equity dropped to 11.7 percent from 16.1 percent.

Bbc · Cnbc

China benchmark CSI 300 index entered bear-market territory on Thursday, falling 20 percent from its June peak amid a prolonged sell-off, CNBC reported. The index tracking 300 large stocks listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen declined for 10 consecutive weeks, dropping 2.6 percent over the week. Chinese firms face declining profit growth and intense competition that has eroded margins, following the country posting its weakest growth in industrial profits this year in September. The second-largest global economy previously posted its slowest growth in over three years in the second quarter, pressured by a property sector slowdown and weak consumer demand. Retail investors drive 90 percent of daily trading volume in China compared to 20 percent to 25 percent on the New York Stock Exchange, according to HSBC data. Shaun Rein of China Market Research Group expects further selling pressure driven by geopolitical uncertainty and deteriorating consumer confidence. Retail investors are increasingly shifting toward safer assets such as time deposits due to sluggish labor conditions and a weakening property market.

Cnbc