Basic Materials Roundup: Market Talk

The latest Market Talks covering Basic Materials. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0832 GMT – Major iron-ore producers, such as Rio Tinto and BHP, have driven the sell-side turning bullish on the mining sector, Citi analysts write in a research note. “Iron ore—which is a key earnings driver—has increased 10% in the past six months, taking stock prices of the iron-ore heavy miners along with it,” they say. Over the past six-to-nine months, stock ratings on miners have changed in favor of buy ratings with 55% of analysts recommending buy and 4% sell, from 50% and 12% respectively in April, Citi says. “It would appear as though the upward moves in equity prices are already a few steps ahead of consensus ratings and target price upgrades,” the analysts add. (christian.moess@wsj.com)