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By Christine Chen and Shivangi Lahiri SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Treasury Wine Estates on Monday pulled its earnings guidance for 2026 and paused an A$200 million ($130 million) share buyback, citing weak sales of its flagship Penfolds wines in China and distribution challenges in the U.S. The announcement sent shares of Treasury, one of the world's top five winemakers by volume, down 14% to A$5.99, their lowest point in more than 10 years. Treasury said sales of Penfolds in China had been weaker than expected due to changing alcohol consumption habits, including fewer large-scale banqueting occasions. China has been central to the Melbourne-based winemaker’s growth since Beijing lifted steep import tariffs that had kept the iconic label off shelves for more than three years. "If the performance trends indicated by the preliminary data continue through F26, Penfolds depletions targets for F26 in China are unlikely to be achieved," the company said. As a result, it said it was no longer appropriate to retain Penfolds guidance for low- to mid-double-digit earnings growth in 2026 and 15% earnings growth in fiscal 2027. "The complete withdrawal of guidance for Penfolds in FY26 and FY27 speaks to the high level of uncertainty caused by evolving consumption dynamics in the Chinese market," RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner said. In the U.S., Treasury said its operations had been disrupted by the exit of its distributor in California, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC). The transition to new partner Breakthru Beverage Group would cost around A$50 million in sales, it said, with negotiations continuing over roughly A$100 million of inventory held by RNDC. The setbacks led Treasury to withdraw its group-wide earnings forecast for the 2026 fiscal year and pause a planned A$200 million share buyback programme announced in August. It already repurchased about A$30 million of shares. RBC’s Toner said the pause on the remainder of the buyback was "unexpected" but "prudent in our view in the context of near-term trading uncertainty". The winemaker said several initiatives were being implemented to mitigate the impacts of a weaker Chinese market in the year to June 2026, including pursuing opportunities to re-allocate product to select customers in other key markets. Treasury will hold its annual general meeting on Thursday. ($1 = 1.5333 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney and Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio, Diane Craft, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sonali Paul)

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(Corrects company name in paragraph 6 to Republic National Distributing Company. RNDC was incorrectly named in TWE release.) (Reuters) -Shares of Treasury Wine Estates slumped on Monday to their lowest point in more than 10 years after the Australian winemaker suspended its A$200 million ($130.02 million) share buyback plan and withdrew EBITS growth outlook for fiscal 2026. The decision comes in response to an uncertain outlook for its flagship Penfolds business in China, as well as challenges facing its Treasury Americas portfolios. Treasury Wine, the country's largest standalone winemaker, had earlier flagged a shift in alcohol consumption behaviour in China as large-scale banqueting gives way to smaller-scale occasions, resulting in slower depletion of its Penfolds stock in the key market. Shares of the firm fell as much as 14.2% to A$5.99 by 2310 GMT, hitting their lowest level since September 2015. The firm noted that depletion for its Penfolds business "remains weak relative to plan", with the firm now no longer retaining its forecast for the same for low- to mid-double-digit EBITS growth in fiscal 2026 and approximately 15% EBITS growth in fiscal 2027. In its Treasury Americas portfolio, depletions were impacted by the closure of Republic National Distributing Company's (RNDC) operations in California, which was the company's incumbent distributor. While the firm looks to mitigate the full impact to fiscal 2026 EBITS associated with RNDC's closure, it still flagged increased uncertainty of its occurrence, thereby withdrawing its forecast for the segment. Similarly, given the uncertain outlook around trading conditions and expectations, Treasury Wine said it is prudent to pause the buyback until greater clarity is available. "Several initiatives are now being implemented to mitigate the expected impacts in China in F26, including pursuing opportunities to re-allocate product to select customers in other key markets in a manner that is sustainable and minimises the risk of parallel imports back into the China market," the winemaker added in its statement. ($1 = 1.5382 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio, Diane Craft and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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(Reuters) -Jefferies Financial Group said on Sunday its exposure to bankrupt auto parts maker First Brands Group is limited and any potential losses will be "readily absorbable". First Brands, which makes filters, brakes and lighting systems for the automotive industry, filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its lenders began investigating irregularities in the company's financial reporting. Jefferies said its total indirect exposure to First Brands could lead to some financial losses over time, including about $43 million through its Point Bonita fund and about $2 million tied to First Brands' bank loans via its Apex platform. Financial firms exposed to First Brands include Jefferies, which disclosed $715 million in exposure through Leucadia Asset Management, and UBS, which is assessing its exposure on more than $500 million tied to the company. Reuters reported last week that Morgan Stanley's asset management unit had asked investment bank Jefferies to return some money it invested in the latter bank's Point Bonita Capital fund, citing a person familiar with the situation. Shares in Jefferies fell 8% in after-hours trading on Friday. (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Subhranshu Sahu)

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(Reuters) -Shares of Treasury Wine Estates slumped on Monday to their lowest point in more than 10 years after the Australian winemaker suspended its A$200 million ($130.02 million) share buyback plan and withdrew EBITS growth outlook for fiscal 2026. The decision comes in response to an uncertain outlook for its flagship Penfolds business in China, as well as challenges facing its Treasury Americas portfolios. Treasury Wine, the country's largest standalone winemaker, had earlier flagged a shift in alcohol consumption behaviour in China as large-scale banqueting gives way to smaller-scale occasions, resulting in slower depletion of its Penfolds stock in the key market. Shares of the firm fell as much as 14.2% to A$5.99 by 2310 GMT, hitting their lowest level since September 2015. The firm noted that depletion for its Penfolds business "remains weak relative to plan", with the firm now no longer retaining its forecast for the same for low- to mid-double-digit EBITS growth in fiscal 2026 and approximately 15% EBITS growth in fiscal 2027. In its Treasury Americas portfolio, depletions were impacted by the closure of Republic National Distribution Company's (RNDC) operations in California, which was the company's incumbent distributor. While the firm looks to mitigate the full impact to fiscal 2026 EBITS associated with RNDC's closure, it still flagged increased uncertainty of its occurrence, thereby withdrawing its forecast for the segment. Similarly, given the uncertain outlook around trading conditions and expectations, Treasury Wine said it is prudent to pause the buyback until greater clarity is available. "Several initiatives are now being implemented to mitigate the expected impacts in China in F26, including pursuing opportunities to re-allocate product to select customers in other key markets in a manner that is sustainable and minimises the risk of parallel imports back into the China market," the winemaker added in its statement. ($1 = 1.5382 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio, Diane Craft and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -Battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) said on Monday its third-quarter operating profit likely rose 34% as U.S. consumers rushed to buy electric vehicles to take advantage of government incentives that expired on September 30. The South Korean company, which supplies EV batteries to General Motors and Tesla, estimated its operating profit was 601 billion won ($420 million) during the July to September period, up from 448 billion won in profit a year earlier. The preliminary figure beat a 528 billion won profit forecast compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate that was weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate. Its profit may have been boosted by the surge in U.S. EV sales ahead of the end of a $7,500 federal tax credit in September, analysts said. LGES warned in July of a further slowdown in EV demand by early next year due to the elimination of the tax credits as well as U.S. import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump's administration. LGES shares were up 1.5% in a wider market that was down 1.4%. The company would have made a 236 billion won operating profit excluding U.S. battery manufacturing incentives it received under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the company said in a regulatory filing. LGES will release detailed earnings on October 30. ENERGY STORAGE, GEORGIA RAID LGES has tried to boost production of batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) to offset sluggish EV demand and improve profits in the second half of this year. The company has signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla with energy storage system batteries, as the U.S. automaker looks to reduce reliance on Chinese imports due to tariffs. In September, LGES suffered a setback with its joint battery factory with Hyundai Motor in the United States. Construction has been suspended in the wake of an immigration raid on the Georgia facility in early September that led to the arrest of hundreds of South Korean workers. Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz said last month the factory was facing a minimum startup delay of two to three months after the raid. LGES said early this month that it would gradually resume U.S. business trips for its employees and subcontractors, a day after the Trump administration agreed to allow South Koreans to work on equipment at U.S. sites under existing temporary visas. ($1 = 1,429.9300 won) (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill and Jamie Freed)

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HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China stocks fell sharply on Monday as a renewed trade war between Washington and Beijing hit risk appetite and spurred profit-taking in a share market hovering near its highest level in a decade. The blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index fell nearly 2% in early trading. Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark was down more than 2%. Defying the broader selloff, China's strategic sectors including rare earths and semiconductors were up in early trade. However, investors and analysts believe the sell-off will be less severe than the panic-selling seen in April, when U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off a global tariff war. Bond prices are expected to rise on Monday. Trump on Friday unveiled additional levies of 100% on China's U.S.-bound exports, along with new export controls on critical software by November 1, in a reprisal against China curbing its critical rare earth exports. The threats, made after Asian markets closed, sent U.S. and European markets sharply lower. An index tracking Nasdaq-listed China stocks tumbled 6%, while the U.S.-listed KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF plunged 7%. TRADE WAR WORRIES RETURN "In the short term, the revived trade war will weigh on China's stock market," said Wang Yapei, a Shanghai-based hedge fund manager. But he expects the turbulence to be short-lived, betting China and the U.S. will eventually work through negotiations, as "the cost of large-scale conflict is too high for both powers." Investors also expect policy support from Beijing to help soothe investor nerves while betting that Trump may back down slightly. China described Trump's latest tariffs on Chinese goods as hypocritical on Sunday and defended its curbs on exports of rare earth elements and equipment, but stopped short of imposing new levies on U.S. products. Trump appeared to seek to ease tensions in a social media post overnight, saying "The U.S. wants to help China." Charles Wang, chairman of Shenzhen Dragon Pacific Capital Management Co, said growing geopolitical uncertainty means China will likely further ease monetary policy to aid economic growth, boding well for stocks. A correction could also create buying opportunities in Chinese tech stocks, which would benefit from Beijing's stepped-up self-sufficiency drive amid growing threats of "a Sino-U.S. tech decoupling," he said. In addition, investors are inspired by signs that China is proactively restricting rare earth exports before the U.S. has time to build its own supply chains, he said. Not using this leverage now is "like saving your trump card for too long and missing your chance to use it." TACO AGAIN? China Merchants Securities said geopolitical tensions benefit Chinese sectors including artificial intelligence, robots, defence, innovative drugs and chipmaking. "Any correction would give long-term investors a chance to buy the stocks at lower prices," the brokerage said. But Trump's proposed 100% tariff hike will torpedo export-oriented sectors including electric motors, electrical equipment, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, furniture and bedding, according to Xiangcai Securities.  If the increase materialises, "it will wipe out profit at most Chinese exporters," the brokerage said in a note.  Many analysts, however, think the chance of triple-digit tariff is slim. "This statement is more of Trump's signature negotiation tactic—applying maximum pressure to bolster bargaining leverage and force concessions during trade talks," Changjiang Securities said in a report.  "It will likely again play out as TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out)." Lu Ting, Nomura's Chief China Economist, said continued economic and trade clashes between the two superpowers are inevitable. "However, in the near term, both sides are still reliant on one another…so we believe this latest escalation is more about posturing for incoming negotiations and meetings," he said, seeing "a decent chance" of a Xi-Trump in-person meeting during the APEC annual summit in South Korea later this month. (Reporting by Summer Zhen in Hong Kong and Samuel Shen in Shanghhai; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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