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Standard Chartered Plc lifted its income and return outlook as it reported third-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates, boosted by a record quarter for wealth solutions.

Adjusted pretax profit rose to $1.99 billion, beating the $1.79 billion consensus analysts’ estimate compiled by Bloomberg. The performance was largely a result of the bank’s wealth management unit and global banking.

“We now expect to deliver an underlying return on tangible equity of around 13% in 2025, hitting our target a year earlier than planned,” Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters said in a statement on Thursday.

Washington will delay discussions with Beijing over the roll-out of higher port fees on Chinese ships visiting the US, a move that was aimed at challenging the Asian nation’s shipbuilding dominance.

“We’re going to postpone that while we negotiate with them about that issue,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in response to a question on whether President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had agreed on port fees at their meeting in Busan on Thursday. “We’re trying to rebuild shipbuilding,” he said aboard Air Force One.

Beijing hasn’t yet commented on the outcome of the discussions between Trump and Xi.

Gold jumped after a run of losses as traders digested comments from President Donald Trump following his closely watched meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which produced a trade deal that may stop short of a sweeping agreement.

Bullion rose as much as 1.3% to near $3,982 an ounce, after falling almost 5% over the previous four sessions. Trump said he had an “amazing meeting” with Xi and would immediately halve fentanyl tariffs to 10% in a deal that will see China restart soybean imports and pause rare-earths licensing for a year.

“This looks like an early attempt to reset the US–China narrative by re-engaging selective trade channels to restore confidence,” said Saxo Capital Markets Pte strategist Charu Chanana. “Gold is, however, still sniffing out uncertainty — pricing a soft easing bias from the Fed and lingering geopolitical risk.”

US President Donald Trump said China pledged to purchase “tremendous” amounts of American soybeans following a meeting to hammer out a wide-ranging trade deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Beijing will start buying the oilseed immediately, Trump said after talks with Xi in South Korea on Thursday, without providing any further details. Soybean futures in Chicago tumbled as much as 2.2% following the remarks.

The US soy trade with China was worth more than $12 billion last year. The lack of buying from the Asian nation has hurt American farmers and given Beijing a key bargaining chip during trade talks. Just a day before the summit, China signaled some goodwill by making its first purchases of US supplies this season.

Despite speculation that Trump might make additional concessions — including the US opening access to Nvidia Corp.’s most advanced Blackwell line or changing its policy toward Taiwan — the president indicated that the issues had not been part of the discussions. Trump and Xi did discuss access to some of the chipmaker’s other products, however.

Trump said he planned to travel to China in April, with Xi visiting the US later next year.

The leaders also agreed to work together on Ukraine, and said they would remove shipping tariffs and fees.

“We have — it was an outstanding group of decisions, I think, that was made,” Trump said.

Robert Lighthizer, the architect of President Donald Trump’s trade war in his first term, called on the US to maintain “substantial” tariffs on China, even as the world’s two biggest economies appear to have a deal that includes a rollback of some duties.

“We are transferring enormous amounts of wealth overseas, but specifically to China,” Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade representative, said on Thursday in a Bloomberg Television interview with Haslinda Amin. “We need substantial tariffs to get that back in the direction of balance.”

While it’s not clear if such hawkish views will carry enough weight to sway Trump as he negotiates with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, Lighthizer said the key issues for him go beyond politically important items including fentanyl and soybeans.

“We have — it was an outstanding group of decisions, I think, that was made,” Trump said. “A lot of decisions were made.”

Trump also said he had discussed Chinese access for Nvidia Corp.’s chips but indicated that he would not offer access to their most advanced Blackwell line.

Donald Trump also spoke about not having “time” to speak to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but added that he would want to come back and speak to him.

Trump also said that the US is in talks with Russia with regards to denuclearization.

US President Donald Trump has announced that both US and China will work together to achieve an outcome on the Russia-Ukraine war.

He added that the subject of Taiwan never came up in talks with the Chinese President.

“On a scale of 1-10, the meeting with Xi was 12,” Trump added.

US President Donald Trump announced that the tariffs on China will now be at 47% from 57% earlier.

He also spoke about the issue of rare earths, stating that it is a one-year agreement that will be extended, without providing further clarity. Trump also said that there will be no more roadblocks on rare earths.

Trump also announced that he will be visiting China in April, followed by Xi visiting the US “sometime after that.”

– Meeting with Xi Jinping was ‘Amazing’, lot of decisions were made

– Will provide conclusions on very important things

– Purchase of Soybean from the US will start immediately by China

– Both leaders agreed that Xi will work very hard to stop Fentanyl

Futures on Wall Street have cooled off after surging to highs as the much anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping ended.

More clarity is awaited on what transpired between the two leaders during the meeting.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping wrapped up their highly-anticipated summit after around an hour and a half on Thursday, concluding talks they hoped would quell an expansive trade fight that has shaken global markets.

Xi and Trump could be seen shaking hands at the end of the talks before walking together out from the meeting at an air base in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Following the talks, Trump was scheduled to head back to Washington while Xi was continuing on to the APEC meeting.

Trump predicted “a very successful meeting” as talks kicked off.

Copper retreated after hitting a record high in the previous session, leading to weakness across base metals as US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping start pivotal trade talks.

Futures on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 1.4% on Thursday, pulling back from a surge to an all-time high in the previous session that capped a 28% year-to-date advance.

The pullback comes amid renewed caution across metals markets, with investors awaiting the outcome of a rare meeting between Trump and Xi in South Korea. The talks are expected to address trade frictions and industrial policy, but the potential lack of immediate policy signals has kept sentiment subdued.

Japan’s central bank on Thursday kept benchmark interest rates steady at 0.5% in its first meeting after Sanae Takaichi took power as the country’s prime minister earlier this month.

The decision was in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters, and comes even as inflation has stayed above the central bank’s 2% target for 41 months in a row.

Oil edged lower as traders tracked a high-stakes summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and looked ahead to an OPEC+ meeting that may endorse another supply hike.

Brent fell toward $64 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near $60. The leaders of the two largest economies are expected to finalize a trade deal at the meeting in South Korea, which began on Thursday morning. Trump may also use the exchange to lean on Beijing to curb buying of Moscow’s oil after his administration imposed sanctions on two Russian producers.

“Investors are looking past a cautious Fed and price the chance of a Trump–Xi thaw,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets in Singapore. “With AI momentum also providing a tailwind, that could unlock the next leg higher for equities.”

“Even though the Fed communication was more hawkish than the market had expected, the news of Nvidia’s market cap exceeding $5 trillion and Alphabet’s favorable earnings announcement are supporting tech-related stocks in Asia,” said Tomo Kinoshita, global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management.

Xi told Trump he felt “very warm seeing you again” and said he was “ready to continue working with you to build a solid foundation for China-US relations.”

“We do not always see eye to eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then,” Xi said. “And in the face of wind, waves and challenges, you and I, at the helm of Chinese relations, should stay the right course and ensure the steady sailing forward of the giant ship of China-US relations.”

Xi and Trump are expected to hammer out the details of a framework agreement, negotiated over the weekend in Malaysia, that would see the Chinese pause a rare-earths licensing regime for at least a year and resume soybean purchases in exchange for lower US tariffs.

Trump on Wednesday predicted that he would reduce the 20% tariff he placed on Chinese goods over exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals, suggesting Beijing may be able to secure a rate of duty on many goods that keeps the country competitive with other regional manufacturing rivals.

That reduction would come in addition to the US scrapping plans for a 100% tariff Trump had threatened to implement on Nov. 1, as well as export controls on a broad swath of critical software. Trump’s administration is expected to roll back levies and fees hitting Chinese ships.

China is also increasingly wary as US trade and technology moves begin to ripple through its relationships with other countries.

Beijing is using its dominance in rare earth materials as leverage to counter Washington’s semiconductor restrictions. On October 9, China expanded its rare earths licensing regime to cover products — including advanced chips — with even just 0.1% of China-sourced rare earths.

(From Emily Tan Of CNBC.)

Donald Trump said that Xi Jinping is a great leader of a great country and that they are going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time.

Xi Jinping, in his remarks thanked Trump and appreciated his contribution to a ceasefire in the region. He added that he is ready to work with Trump to lay a solid foundation for two-way ties between the two countries.

We are going to have a successful meeting, I have no doubt. but he is a very tough negotiator, Thats not good.

On whether a deal will be signed today, Trump said “Could be. We have a great relationship, We have always had a great relationship.”

The much awaited meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping has begun in Busan, South Korea.

Clarity is awaited on trade, tariffs and a host of other issues.

US futures have recovered from the lows and turned positive ahead of the meeting.

Watch this space for ALL THE LIVE updates.

US restrictions on Chinese access to Nvidia chips and other advanced American technology have accelerated over the last three years. Now, it’s uncertain whether Nvidia can recoup the China market share that it says has gone to zero.

“What the Chinese themselves are hoping for is not to be as constrained with technology,” Johnson said. “Is the U.S. done? Or is this going to continue and continue and continue?”

Trump on Wednesday alluded that export restrictions on Nvidia’s fastest AI chips — the Blackwell graphics processing units — could be discussed when he meets Xi.

(From Emily Tan of CNBC.)

The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

The 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting is being held in Gyeongju where he is expected to meet US President Donald Trump. CGTN is the English-language news channel of state-run China Global Television Network, based in Beijing, China.

Beijing’s most practical ask is for the US to roll back tariffs on Chinese goods. The duties more than doubled in just two weeks back in April, before both sides agreed to 90-day pauses of the duties, with the latest set to expire in mid-November.

There has been a lot of back and forth over whether Donald Trump will impose the additional 100% tariff on China from November 1, despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying it is “effectively off the table.”

The South Korean benchmark KOSPI continues to make new records, gaining another 1.5% after local media reports released details of the trade deal with the US.

South Korea will invest $200 billion in the U.S., with an annual cap of $20 billion a year, while the remaining $150 billion of its $350 billion total pledge announced earlier this year will be used for shipbuilding cooperation, according to local media reports.

Futures on Wall Street have seen a sharp recovery after the initial losses.

The Dow futures are now up 40 points, compared to losses touching 100 points just a few minutes earlier.

Nasdaq futures are also up by a similar quantum, while S&P 500 futures are up 15 points.NewsLive TVMarketPopular CategoriesCalculatorsTrending NowLet's Connect with CNBCTV 18Network 18 Group :©TV18 Broadcast Limited. All rights reserved.