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Albemarle soars as Chinese mining giant Zangge orders surprise halt on lithium production

Albemarle Corp. shares surged nearly 8% Thursday, leading the S&P 500, after lithium prices jumped on news that China’s Zangge Mining was forced to halt production

The Charlotte-based chemical manufacturing company is the world’s most valuable publicly traded lithium producer with mines across North America, Chile, and Australia. On Thursday, local officials in Qinghai province ordered the suspension over unspecified compliance issues, putting a stop to operations expected to pump out 11,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate this year.

The news sparked a rally across the sector, with lithium futures hitting a three-month high and stocks like Sigma Lithium and Sociedad Quimica y Minera also rallying. Zangge, which is majority owned by Zijin Mining, said there’s no timeline yet for restarting production, adding uncertainty to a market that’s already dealing with supply pressures.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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