US-CHINA: US To Secure Rare Earths In 2 Years, Sign China Deal Shortly - Bessent

• Stocks gaining ahead midday Wednesday, political distractions at bay as focus turns to fundamentals rather than the US Government shutdown as of midnight Tuesday. Additional support for equities could be tied to the Supreme Court denying Pres Trump's demand to fire Fed Gov Cook, allowing her to stay on at least until oral argument on the case is heard in January 2026.
• Currently, the DJIA trades up up 56.81 points (0.12%) at 46453.89, S&P E-Minis up 6.75 points (0.1%) at 6745.5, Nasdaq up 39.5 points (0.2%) at 22698.78.
• Leading gainers ahead midday included Health Care and Utility sector shares, pharmaceuticals leading the former: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals +9.06%, Moderna +8.75%, Biogen +7.67%, Amgen +6.75% and Eli Lilly +6.66%.
• The Utilities sector was buoyed by AES, the energy company surging 16% higher in the first half as wires reported BlackRock's GIP is in advanced talks to purchase the company. Follow-through support for other energy companies includes: Constellation Energy +3.79%, Vistra +3.33%, PG&E +3.18% and NextEra Energy +2.41%.
• Conversely, Materials and Communication Services sectors led decliners by midday. Weighing on Materials: Corteva -7.05%, Ecolab -1.95%, Linde -1.92% and Eastman Chemical -1.53%. Meanwhile, News Corp -5.62%, Interpublic Group -4.12% and Omnicom Group -3.95% weighed on the Communication sector in the first half.

• EUR/USD: Oct03 $1.1700(E1.2bln), $1.1845-55(E2.2bln), $1.1875(E1.2bln); Oct06 $1.1700(E1.1bln); Oct07 $1.1650(E1.8bln), $1.1750(E1.0bln), $1.1820(E1.7bln)
• USD/JPY: Oct03 Y148.00($1.0bln); Oct06 Y147.00($1.3bln)
• EUR/GBP: Oct03 Gbp0.8785-05
• AUD/USD: Oct03 $0.6600(A$1.5bln); Oct06 $0.6700(A$1.1bln)
• NZD/USD: Oct03 $0.6450(N$1.2bln)

• RES 4: 114-10   High Apr 7 (cont.)
• RES 3: 114-00   Round number resistance
• RES 2: 113-12/29 High Sep 18 / High Sep 11 and the bull trigger 
• RES 1: 112-31/113-00 High Oct 01 / High Sep 24 
• PRICE:‌‌ 112-22+ @ 16:41 BST Oct 1
• SUP 1: 112-01   50.0% retracement of the Jul 15 - Sep 11 bull phase   
• SUP 2: 111-26   Low Aug 26
• SUP 3: 111-13+ Low Aug 18 and a key support  
• SUP 4: 111-01+ 76.4% retracement of the Jul 15 - Sep 11 bull phase  

Prices bounced Wednesday, despite the short-term bear cycle. Recent weakness has resulted in a print below the 50-day EMA, currently at 112-10+. A clear break of this average would undermine a bull theme and signal scope for a deeper retracement. This would open 111-13+, the Aug 18 low and the next key support. On the upside, initial firm resistance to watch is unchanged, at 113-00, the Sep 24 high.