Finance

Original title: Syria Ships First Oil Cargo in Years After Trump Ended Sanctions Syria exported 600,000 barrels of heavy crude in its first oil shipment in years, as the lifting of western sanctions brings relief to its war-ravaged economy. Tanker Nissos Christiana transported the fuel from the Mediterranean port of Tartus, the Syrian Company for Oil Transport’s general manager told state news agency Sana. The domestic market is supplied since as two refineries in Baniyas and Homs are operating at full capacity, the outlet reported. ...

Original title: BlackRock Favors Indonesia Long Bonds, Unfazed by Protests BlackRock Inc. remains a fan of long-dated Indonesian government bonds, saying the high-yield debt offers enough risk compensation in the face of local political instability. The world’s largest asset manager has recently increased holdings of such bonds due in 10 to 15 years, shifting positions from shorter tenors, said Navin Saigal , BlackRock’s head of fundamental fixed income for Asia Pacific. The additions resulted from the longer-tenor notes’ milder reaction to Bank Indonesia’s surprise interest rate cut and the Federal Reserve’s dovish rhetoric last month, he said. ...

Original title: Asian Equities Set for Muted Open as Oil Gains: Markets Wrap Asian markets are poised for a tepid open on Tuesday after a subdued overnight session with Wall Street closed for a holiday. US equity futures edged higher in early Asia trading, while modest moves in Asia contracts pointed to a gain in Tokyo, loss in Hong Kong and a flat open in Sydney. The dollar was little changed against major currencies. ...

Original title: World’s Long-Dated Bonds Face a Traditionally Terrible Month Longer-maturity bonds may be in for a treacherous September, if history is any guide. Over the last decade, government bonds globally with maturities of over 10 years posted a median loss of 2% in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the worst monthly performance of the year. Original article

Original title: Emerging Stocks Rally as Alibaba Surges on AI Revenue Boost A gauge tracking emerging-market equities notched its best session in a week amid thin liquidity due to a US holiday, boosted by artificial intelligence-related stocks in Hong Kong and China after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. reported a surge in revenue from AI. The MSCI EM Index closed 0.6% higher as Alibaba jumped 19% in Hong Kong — the most in three years — as the Chinese e-commerce giant reported a triple-digit percentage gain in AI-related product revenue as well as a better-than-anticipated 26% jump in sales from the cloud division. The rally marks a break from last week’s broader Asian market decline after a tech selloff hit Wall Street. ...

Original title: Australia’s No. 2 Pension Cuts Treasuries Bet on Rising US Risks Australia’s second-biggest pension fund has grown increasingly bearish on US Treasuries due to concerns that Washington’s policies may stoke inflation. Australian Retirement Trust Pty, which oversees A$330 billion ($216 billion), is underweight US bonds through its dynamic asset allocation strategy, said senior portfolio manager Jimmy Louca in an interview last week. Original article

Original title: Mizuho Plans More Dealmaking to Become Top Asia Investment Bank Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is aiming to become Asia’s top investment bank by bolstering equity underwriting and M&A advisory, seeking to replicate the headways the firm has made in the US. Japan’s third-largest financial group plans to deepen ties between its banking and securities units in Asia and Europe in order to boost revenues, Yutaka Nanjo , head of global investment banking at Mizuho Securities, said in an interview. In the US, Mizuho wants to further leapfrog rivals to rank regularly in the top 10 for investment banking, Nanjo said. ...

Original title: Profit Outlook Drags Australia Stocks After Rocky Results Season Earnings expectations for Australia’s biggest companies are slipping after a bleak reporting season that jolted shares. The drop in forward consensus earnings estimates for the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index accelerated during August’s results period, and is now down 2.5% since the start of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That makes it an outlier in the Asia Pacific region, where overall profit projections are rising. ...

Original title: Oil Climbs in Holiday Trade With Focus on Geopolitical Risks Oil climbed within its recent narrow band as traders focused on geopolitical risks ahead of a glut that’s expected to form in the coming months. Brent traded near $68, staying in the $65-to-$70 range it’s been in for the last month. Monday’s trading is likely to be thin due to the Labor Day holiday in the US. Original article ...

Original title: Deutsche Bank to Rejoin Euro Stoxx 50 After Seven-Year Absence Deutsche Bank AG has regained its spot in the euro area’s main stock benchmark, seven years after being cast out of the gauge. The German lender joins Siemens Energy AG and Belgian-listed biotech Argenx SE in being promoted to the Euro Stoxx 50, index compiler ISS Stoxx said Monday. They replace 5G gear-maker Nokia Oyj, carmaker Stellantis NV and cognac producer Pernod Ricard SA, all of whom have seen their shares hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. ...