FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

US Natural Gas Update: Futures Drop Ahead of US-Iran Negotiations in Pakistan

-- US natural gas futures were down on Tuesday ahead of the second round of peace negotiations between the US and Iran in Pakistan, as the two-week ceasefire is set to expire.

The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous benchmark both dropped 0.21% to $2.82 per million British thermal units.

US Vice President JD Vance is headed to Islamabad, Pakistan, leading the US delegation during the second round of negotiations with Iran on Tuesday.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has also authorized the country's top negotiators to participate in the talks, after initially being reluctant, according to a report by Axios.

The markets remain optimistic about a favorable outcome from the second round of negotiations, after US President Donald Trump said it was "highly unlikely" that the ceasefire, set to expire on Wednesday, would be extended during an interview with Bloomberg on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Golden Pass LNG export facility in Texas received its first tanker on Monday, adding to the country's LNG export capacity, which had been operating at full capacity for the past several weeks.

Weather forecasts continued to turn bullish, with large parts of the Central and Eastern US expected to see below-normal temperatures from April 28 to May 4, according to the National Weather Service.

Related Articles

Asia

Shakti Pumps (India) Invests INR100 Million in EV Mobility Unit

Shakti Pumps (India) (NSE:SHAKTIPUMP, BOM:531431) said it has invested 100 million Indian rupees in its wholly owned subsidiary Shakti EV Mobility by subscribing to 10 million equity shares, according to a Tuesday filing to the Indian stock exchanges.Shares of the company rose 1% in Wednesday's trade.With this, Shakti Pumps' total investment in the EV mobility unit has increased to 650 million Indian rupees, the filing said.The investment is aimed at supporting business expansion of the subsidiary, it added.

$BOM:531431$NSE:SHAKTIPUMP
Asia

Challenger's Fiscal 2026 Q3 Update Missed Consensus Across Key Life Metrics, Jarden Says

Challenger's (ASX:CGF) fiscal 2026 third-quarter update missed consensus across key Life metrics, with FM outflows significantly worse than expected, driven by institutional equity mandate attrition in both Australian and global equities, according to a Tuesday note by Jarden.The firm's redemption of all CGFPC notes on May 25 simplifies the capital structure, reduces the AT1 coupon burden, and is earnings-per-share accretive.Jarden sees balanced risk/reward for Challenger in the future, with catalysts including capital management flexibility from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority reform, as well as expanding retirement partnerships across superfunds.It lowered its fiscal 2026 sales forecast to reflect weaker institutional fixed-term sales, partially offset by higher retail annuity sales as partnerships come online.The investment firm retained its neutral rating on Challenger and raised the price target to AU$8.70 per share from AU$8.60 per share.

$ASX:CGF
Asia

Proya Cosmetics 2025 Profit Down 4%, Revenue Slips 2%

Proya Cosmetics (SHA:603605) posted 2025 attributable net profit of 1.50 billion yuan, down 3.5% from 1.55 billion yuan the previous year.Earnings per share slid to 3.80 yuan from 3.92 yuan, according to a Wednesday filing with the Shanghai bourse.Operating revenue declined 1.7% year over year to 10.6 billion yuan from 10.8 billion yuan.Shares of the cosmetics maker were up over 1% in recent trade.

$SHA:603605