Rio Tinto $RIO (-3,36 %)
$RIO (-2,98 %), Mitsui $8031 (-4,68 %) and Nippon Steel $5401 (-5 %)
$NPSCY have committed to a joint investment of US$733 million, with Rio Tinto contributing US$389 million, to develop the West Angelas Sustaining Project, part of the Robe River Joint Venture in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The project has received all necessary approvals from state and federal authorities.

Rio Tinto said the initiative will develop new iron ore deposits in the West Angelas Hub, maintain its annual production capacity of 35 million tons and expand mining well into the future. It will utilize existing processing infrastructure and build new non-processing infrastructure facilities and 22 kilometers of haul roads.

Ore from the new deposits will be transported autonomously to the hub, with first production expected in 2027. Around 600 jobs will be created during the construction phase and once operational, the project will support around 950 full-time positions.

This development is part of a series of replacement projects by Rio Tinto in Pilbara, which together aim to maintain a total production capacity of approximately 130 million tons per annum.

In addition, the pre-feasibility study for Rhodes Ridge, an undeveloped iron ore deposit with a targeted initial capacity of up to 40 million tons per annum, with first ore expected by 2030, is progressing.

The Robe River Joint Venture is owned by Rio Tinto (53%), Mitsui Iron Ore (33%) and Nippon Steel (14%).

Dow +339.86 at 42732.13, Nasdaq +340.88 at 19621.67, S&P +73.92 at 5942.47

The stock market was in rally mode, benefiting from buying interest after the recent declines. The S&P 500 closed 1.3% higher than Thursday, but was 0.5% lower since the start of the Santa Claus rally period (last five trading days of the year and first two of the new year). The index was just below its 50-day moving average (5,944).

Gains were widely spread. Market breadth favored losers with a ratio of about 3 to 1 on the NYSE and Nasdaq. 24 of the 30 Dow components posted gains and all 11 S&P 500 sectors closed higher. The consumer discretionary sector led by a wide margin, rising 2.4%, thanks to a surge in Amazon.com $AMZN (-5,92 %) and a big move in Tesla. Shares of $TSLA (-6,86 %) recovered from their 20% drop from their December highs to yesterday's close.

Other mega cap names outperformed the broader stock market and boosted index performance. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF $MGK (-3,63 %) closed 1.7% higher.

Apple $AAPL (-4,63 %) was an exception, continuing declines related to iPhone discounting and declining demand in China.

Shares of US Steel $X also went against the uptrend, slipping after the White House confirmed that President Biden will block the acquisition of Nippon Steel $NPSCY takeover. Nippon Steel Corporation and US Steel released a statement condemning the US government's decision to block the proposed acquisition of US Steel, calling it illegal.

The yield on 10-year bonds rose two basis points to 4.60% and the yield on 2-year bonds rose three basis points to 4.28%.

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