Materials Rebound After Jobs Report - Materials Roundup

Shares of miners and other commodities processors rebounded after sliding for much of the week, spurred by a strong April jobs report. After signs of a credit crackdown in China spurred fears of slowing demand there, iron-ore futures hit their lowest levels since November, a retreat of 31% from the two-and-a-half-year high hit in February. Futures prices for a pair of steel products traded in Shanghai lost as much as 8% on the week. Analysts at brokerage Morgan Stanley said a disjuncture had arisen between cyclical stocks in general, which are overbought on a technical basis and traditionally cyclical commodities stocks, which are oversold. Brazilian iron-ore miner Vale stands to gain from the recent sale of its fertilizer unit and improved cash-and-debt management, said analysts at brokerage BMO, raising their estimates. Shareholders of agricultural chemicals concern Syngenta approved a $43 billion takeover by China National Chemical, sealing China's biggest foreign deal to date.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2017 16:22 ET (20:22 GMT)