Trump admin in talks for US stake in Venezuela oil

28. Aug 2026

(AWP Alliance News) - European equities are called to open higher as the US is reportedly in discussions over taking a stake in Venezuelan oil fields holding about a third of Venezuela's reserves.

Here is what you need to know before the European market open on Friday:

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MARKETS

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CAC 40: called up 32.8 points, 0.4%, at 8,352.67

DAX 40: called up 107.1 points, 0.4%, at 26,474.34

FTSE 100: called up 25.2 points, 0.2%, at 10,817.74

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Hang Seng: up 0.5% at 25,684.89

Nikkei 225: up 0.6% at 66,544.39

S&P/ASX 200: up 0.5% at 9,083.20

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DJIA: closed up 105.56 points, 0.2%, at 53,569.44

S&P 500: closed up 55.29 points, 0.7%, to 7,730.99

Nasdaq Composite: closed up 411.15 points, 1.6%, at 26,541.35

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US 10-year Treasury yield: 4.68% (4.66%)

US 30-year Treasury yield: 5.21% (5.18%)

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EUR: lower at USD1.1646 (USD1.1650)

GBP: higher at USD1.3590 (USD1.3588)

USD: higher at JPY159.47 (JPY159.31)

GOLD: lower at USD4,583.51 per ounce (USD4,597.90)

OIL (Brent): higher at USD89.27 a barrel (USD88.67)

(changes since previous London equities close)

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ECONOMIC CALENDAR

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08:30 EDT Canada GDP

11:00 EDT Canada budget balance

11:00 CEST eurozone economic and industrial sentiment indices

11:00 CEST eurozone consumer confidence

08:45 CEST France CPI

08:45 CEST France GDP

09:55 CEST Germany unemployment

11:00 CEST Italy consumer confidence

14:00 SAST South Africa trade balance

09:00 CEST Spain CPI and retail sales

10:00 CEST Spain current account

12:00 CEST Spain business confidence

09:45 EDT US Chicago PMI

10:00 EDT US Michigan consumer sentiment index

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TOP ECONOMIC NEWS

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US President Donald Trump's administration is in talks with Venezuela's interim government about the US taking an ownership stake in the South American country's vast oil resources, the news site Axios reported. The discussions involve more than a dozen productive oil fields with 90 billion barrels of proven reserves - about a third of Venezuela's total proven reserves of 300 billion barrels, the report said, citing two unnamed US officials. In return for a US ownership stake, private companies, including American firms, would develop the fields and return more oil revenue to Venezuela, according to Axios. Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves. The deal would more than double US oil reserves at a time when the US strategic petroleum reserve is at a 40-year low, the report said.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will step up efforts to isolate Iran economically as he hosts G20 counterparts next week, a US official said, in a gathering clouded by war and trade tensions. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the group of 20 major economies are due to convene in mountainous Asheville, North Carolina, next Monday and Tuesday. In Asheville, US officials will stress to G20 members the importance of complying with its sanctions on Iran, as it ramps up pressure on Tehran amid war in the Middle East, a Treasury official told reporters. The official signaled Bessent will make direct appeals to counterparts in bilateral meetings. But they stopped short of sharing who he had scheduled talks with and whether they include China.

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Trump insisted Russian leader Vladimir Putin would not attack Nato territory, downplaying reports that Washington had warned Moscow against a possible move on Europe. The Kremlin also dismissed the reports as "scare stories" following a rare visit to the Russian capital by CIA Director John Ratcliffe that sparked fevered speculation. The Wall Street Journal and CBS News reported that Ratcliffe had sought to dissuade Russia against striking Nato, amid US intelligence assessments that Moscow could seek to test the alliance as tensions mount over the Ukraine war. The Journal reported that Putin could test Nato with a "limited assault" within the next few years.

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The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden called for the EU to look again at using frozen Russian central bank assets to finance Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc failed to strike a deal last year on tapping the roughly EUR200 billion of Moscow's funds after objections from Belgium, where the vast bulk of the assets are held. EU countries instead resorted to another solution of providing Ukraine with a EUR90 billion loan off their own backs to help Kyiv plug budget holes and keep arming its military. However, amid fears those funds may not last Kyiv for the two years they are intended, the four EU members have written to the bloc's executive asking it to examine new ways to use the assets.

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Unemployment in Japan declined in July according to new data from the latest labour force survey. The Statistics Bureau of Japan said the jobless rate fell to 2.4% in July from a flat reading of 2.5% in June. The reading for July missed the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast that had expected no change from the previous month.

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South Korea said it will hold joint military exercises with the US and Japan in September, after Washington scaled back annual drills with Seoul in an apparent bid to encourage dialogue with North Korea. The three countries will conduct the North Korea-focused Freedom Edge exercise from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of South Korea's Jeju Island, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The multi-domain exercise is expected to include maritime missile defence, air and air-defence drills, anti-submarine warfare and cyber defence, according to Seoul's Yonhap news agency. The announcement comes after US President Trump this month ordered the countries' annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises cut from 11 days to five.

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An Irish border poll is "off the table", UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said. During a trip to Northern Ireland's capital Belfast, Burnham signalled that he was open to listening, but added that the "rifts" arising from referendums "take a long time to heal", referring to Britain's exit from the European Union, and a referendum on Scottish independence. Under the terms of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the secretary of state can decide to hold a border poll, and also places a duty on the office holder to call one if it appears likely a majority would vote for Irish unification. The people of the Republic of Ireland must also vote in favour to effect constitutional change. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant has previously said that an Irish border poll is "not top of my list of priorities".

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COMPANY CALENDAR

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Amphenol Corp Q3 results

BASF SE Q3 results

Cranswick PLC dividend payment date

Greencoat UK Wind PLC dividend payment date

ICG Enterprise Trust PLC dividend payment date

Starbucks Corp dividend payment date

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TOP COMPANY NEWS

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Visa and Mastercard said they had carried out their first international card payments in Syria in more than a decade, days after Washington delisted the country as a state sponsor of terrorism. Mastercard said in a statement that it and Qatar National Bank Group "have processed Syria's first international card payment in more than 15 years, marking an important milestone in the modernisation of Syria's payments ecosystem". Visa in a statement said it had "tested the first live international transaction in Syria", also hailing "an important milestone in supporting the country's financial services sector".

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Marvell Technology said it expects revenue growth to accelerate further through the remainder of the financial year as it raised guidance after a better-than-expected second quarter. The Santa Clara, California-based company, which specialises in semiconductor solutions for data infrastructure said net income leapt 58% to USD308.0 million in the three months to August 1 from USD194.8 million the year prior. Revenue increased 36% to a record USD2.74 billion from USD2.01 billion a year ago, compared to FactSet consensus of USD2.71 billion. GAAP diluted earnings per share grew 50% to USD0.33 from USD0.22, while non-GAAP diluted EPS totalled USD0.94, beating FactSet consensus of USD0.93.

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Autodesk raised full-year guidance following a strong second quarter, as it looked to benefit from its recent acquisition of MaintainX. The San Francisco-based software provider for the architecture, engineering, and construction sectors reported revenue of USD2.05 billion in the three months to July 31, up 16% from USD1.76 billion a year ago. Net income jumped 57% to USD492 million from USD313 million, or to USD2.33 per diluted share from USD1.46. For the third quarter, Autodesk expects non-GAAP EPS of USD3.04 to USD3.09, falling short of analysts expectations of USD3.14.

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Workday raised annual guidance as it reported strong second quarter earnings and revenue growth. Revenue for the quarter ended July 31 rose 13% to USD2.65 billion from USD2.35 billion the year before, a touch ahead of the average analyst estimate of USD2.64 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. The Pleasanton, California-based financial and human management software company said net income multiplied to USD632 million from USD228 million the year before. Diluted earnings per share jumped to USD2.57 from USD0.84 the year prior. For the third quarter, Workday expects subscription revenue of USD2.52 billion and a non-GAAP operating margin of 30%.

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Nike announced the appointment of Jane Ewing as executive vice president and chief commercial officer. The Beaverton, Oregon-based athletic brand noted that Ewing will assume her role on September 7. Ewing most recently worked at Walmart, where she served as interim chief executive for Sam's Club China and held "senior leadership roles spanning merchandising, digital acceleration and international operations."

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Assicurazioni Generali noted its "willingness to evaluate" a takeover offer by Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The Trieste, Italy-based insurer "confirms that it has initiated a process to thoroughly evaluate the business, economic and value implications of the offer, which is unsolicited and was not agreed upon in advance." Back on August 21, MPS launched bids to buy both Generali and Banco BPM, seeking to scupper a hostile takeover by its rival Intesa Sanpaolo. MPS said the all-share bids are worth around EUR34.0 billion in total, adding that it seeks to create Italy's third-largest banking group by total assets.

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Vinci said fuel prices and heatwaves weighed on July traffic, leading to a weaker month year-on-year. The Paris-based concessions and construction company said autoroutes' intercity networks traffic declined by 1.8% in July compared to the year before. Light vehicle traffic declined 1.9% year-on-year, with the company noting that traffic was "impacted by the sharp rise in fuel prices that occurred in March, and by the negative effects of heatwaves." Heavy vehicle traffic, meanwhile, declined 0.9%. Commercial movements declined 0.2% year-on-year.

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Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI is accused of using a child sexual abuse victim's decades-old images to generate new abusive material through its Grok chatbot, according to a lawsuit filed in a California federal court. The complaint, lodged in the Northern District of California by an anonymous plaintiff identified as Jane Doe 1, alleges that xAI designed Grok to alter real photographs of identifiable people into sexual content and then published the results directly to the X social media platform, formerly Twitter. The plaintiff is a victim who was first identified by the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the early 2000s and images of her abuse have circulated online for nearly two decades.

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A US federal judge ruled that sanctions imposed in February by the Trump administration against artificial intelligence firm Anthropic were illegal, finding that the government had punished the company for publicly criticising the Pentagon. The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics," Judge Rita Lin said in a 59-page decision seen by AFP. She barred the federal agencies named in the lawsuit from enforcing Trump's order to stop using the tools of Anthropic - creator of the Claude AI models - and overturned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's designation of the company as a "supply chain risk," a status previously reserved for foreign firms. The ruling makes permanent the temporary suspension of sanctions ordered by the judge in March and takes effect immediately. The government may appeal.

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Evolution Mining announced that it has acquired a 13.7% stake in Australian copper and gold focused exploration and development company Carnaby Resources. The Sydney-based gold miner obtained its stake in Subiaco, Australia-based Carnaby from the QIC Queensland Critical Mineral Fund, a Queensland Investment fund that supports businesses across the critical minerals supply chain. With this new 13.7% stake, Evolution has become the largest shareholder in Carnaby.

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Harvey Norman lifted its full-year dividend as profit increased in financial year 2026. The Sydney-based retailer said profit after tax and non-controlling interests rose 2.0% to AUD528.5 million in the twelve months to June 30 from AUD518.02 million a year ago. Basic earnings per share grew 2.0% to 42.41 Australian cents from 41.57 cents. System sales revenue edged up 3.1% to AUD9.64 billion from AUD9.35 billion. Harvey Norman declared a final dividend of 13.0 cents per share, down 10% from 14.5 cents a year ago. However, the total dividend was lifted by 3.8% to 27.5 cents per share from 26.5 cents previously.

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PEXA posted stronger financial results for financial year 2026 with the company narrowing its net loss on the back of revenue growth and a reduction in impairment charges. The Melbourne, Australia-based digital property settlement technology company narrowed its net loss to AUD15.9 million in the financial year ended June 30 from AUD76.1 million in the previous year. Diluted loss per share narrowed to 9.02 Australian cents from 42.96 cents last year. However, the company swung to a profit from continuing operations of AUD19.2 million from a loss of AUD65.6 million. PEXA revenue grew 7.2% to AUD406.9 million from AUD379.5 million.

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Virgin Australia delivered a solid financial year 2026 performance and declared its first dividend since re-listing, even as it navigated a "challenging operating environment". The Brisbane, Australia-based airline group said attributable profit rose 4.7% to AUD501.2 million in the year ended June 30, from AUD478.5 million a year ago. Basic earnings per share increased 1.8% to 66.6 Australian cents from 65.4 cents. Revenue climbed 9.3% to AUD6.35 billion from AUD5.81 billion. Virgin Australia declared a maiden dividend of 7.6 Australian cents per share, its first since re-listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2025.

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Westgold Resources reported a sharp jump in financial year 2026 profit as it extended its share buyback programme. The Perth, Australia-based gold mining and exploration company said underlying net profit after tax multiplied to AUD480 million in the twelve months to June 30 from AUD87 million a year ago. Underlying earnings per share also multiplied to 50.9 Australian cents from 9.7 cents. Revenue jumped 79% to AUD2.44 billion from AUD1.36 billion. The company also reported a total of 387,354 ounces of gold produced, 19% higher than 326,384 ounces a year prior. Gold sales increased 26% to 390,358 ounces from 308,979 ounces. Westgold multiplied its full-year dividend to 10 cents per share from 3 cents in financial 2025. Westgold extended its buyback programme to September 10, 2027, allowing the repurchase of up to a further AUD50 million in shares.

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4DMedical said its focus is on "conversion" into sales for its CT:VQ technology, as it swung to a loss in financial year 2026 on the back of a loan remeasurement. The Melbourne, Australia-based medical technology company said loss after tax widened to AUD204.4 million for the year ended 30 June, from AUD24.9 million the previous year. Revenue increased increased to AUD7.1 billion, up 20% from AUD5.9 billion year on year. The firm reported a loss per share of 3.0 Australian cents, narrowing from 14.0 cents.

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By Judy Amaca, Alliance News reporter Asia Pacific

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