2025-08-28 23:56

BRASILIA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Brazil's Foreign Ministry has ordered government trade body Camex to start analyzing whether a local reciprocity law could be used against the United States, two sources from the ministry said on Thursday. The law, passed earlier this year by Brazil's Congress, establishes a legal framework for Brazil to respond to potential unilateral trade measures targeting its goods and services, including countermeasures such as tariffs. Sign up here. The move would represent an escalation by Latin America's largest economy in reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports. Brazil had so far initiated dispute consultations in the World Trade Organization. The launch of the process came as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva authorized the use of the law against the U.S., the sources said. Camex has 30 days to present a report on the matter. If it approves the use of the reciprocity law, a government working group will decide which areas Brazil should target in its measures against the U.S., the sources said. They added that the U.S. is expected to be informed on Friday about the start of the process. Brazil's Ministry for Development, Industry, Trade and Services that oversees Camex did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on imports of Brazilian goods this month, as Trump decried what he called unfair trade practices and accused Brazil of a "witch hunt" against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial on charges of plotting a coup. Products such as orange juice and aircraft, which are among Brazil's major exports, were exempted from the higher duties. Brazilian government officials have publicly complained about lack of room to negotiate the tariffs with the U.S. counterparts. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-starts-formal-process-assess-us-tariff-retaliation-say-sources-2025-08-28/

2025-08-28 22:50

Aug 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing September 4 to consider President Donald Trump's nominee to the Federal Reserve Board, Stephen Miran, it said in a notice issued Thursday. Miran, who chairs the president's council of economic advisers, has called for sharply lower interest rates given what he says is no inflation impact from tariffs, and for remaking Fed governance to give the president far stronger control over the U.S. central bank, including the right to fire its leadership at will. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-fed-pick-miran-get-senate-hearing-sept-4-2025-08-28/

2025-08-28 22:41

Weekly jobless claims fall; corporate profits rebound in Q2 Snowflake surges on AI-driven revenue forecast HP Inc gains on upbeat Q3 revenue S&P 500 +0.32%, Nasdaq +0.53%, Dow +0.16% Aug 28 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notched record high closes on Thursday after Nvidia's quarterly report fell short of investors' high expectations but confirmed that spending related to artificial intelligence infrastructure remains strong. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab dipped 0.8% after Sino-U.S. trade uncertainties prompted the leading AI chip designer to exclude potential China sales from its quarterly forecast late on Wednesday. Sign up here. Investors viewed Nvidia's report, including a 56% surge in quarterly revenue, as confirmation that demand related to AI technology remains strong, supporting a rally in AI-related stocks that has propelled Wall Street to record highs in recent years. Other AI heavyweights gained, with Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab adding 2%, Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab up 1% and chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) , opens new tab rising almost 3%. "Nvidia is such an outlier that to say it was a disappointing print is only against the bar of borderline impossible expectations," said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird. "It's clear that the primary structural driver of this market, which is AI, is not going anywhere or cooling down." The S&P 500 climbed 0.32% to end the session at 6,501.86 points, reaching a record high close for a second straight day. The Nasdaq gained 0.53% to 21,705.16 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16% to 45,636.90 points, exceeding its previous record high close on August 22. Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by communication services (.SPLRCL) , opens new tab, up 0.94%, followed by a 0.68% gain in energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab. Nike (NKE.N) , opens new tab slid 0.2% after the sports apparel seller said it was cutting less than 1% of its corporate workforce as it struggles to reclaim market share lost to rivals. Reducing worries of a slowing economy, weekly jobless claims were lower than expected, while a separate report showed corporate profits rebounded in the second quarter. Expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates to shore up economic growth have contributed to Wall Street's recent gains. Investors on Friday will focus on Personal Consumption Expenditures data. Any signs of inflation increasing could temper broad expectations for easing at the Fed's policy meeting in September. Traders are pricing in more than an 80% chance of an interest rate cut next month, according to CME Group's FedWatch. On Thursday, Fed Governor Lisa Cook filed a lawsuit challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to remove her from office earlier this week. Data analytics company Snowflake (SNOW.N) , opens new tab surged 20% after raising its forecast for fiscal 2026 product revenue, citing AI demand. HP Inc (HPQ.N) , opens new tab rose 4.6% after beating quarterly revenue estimates on growing demand for AI-powered personal computers. Packaging food company Hormel Foods (HRL.N) , opens new tab tumbled 13% after issuing a downbeat quarterly profit forecast. Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 1.2-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 28 new highs and five new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 117 new highs and 52 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 13.8 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 16.7 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/sp-500-dow-score-record-high-closes-nvidia-results-buttress-ai-rally-2025-08-28/

2025-08-28 22:22

Mechel says industry economics are under heavy strain Sector battered by low prices, sanctions and strong rouble MOSCOW, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Mining company Mechel (MTLR.MM) , opens new tab reported worsening losses on Thursday and said it had suspended output at one of its mines, a sign of a deep crisis affecting Russia's coal industry. The sector is struggling with a host of problems including low coal prices, international sanctions and the strength of the rouble, which makes its exports less competitive. Officials say about 30 enterprises, producing a total of around 30 million metric tons a year, are at risk of bankruptcy. Sign up here. The government agreed a set of measures in May to support the sector, including by deferring tax payments. But coal companies' combined net losses soared to 185.2 billion roubles ($2.29 billion) in the first half of the year from 7.1 billion roubles a year earlier, the Rosstat statistics service said. In its half-year report, Mechel said: "Under the current circumstances, we have decided to suspend production of unprofitable product types, partially redirecting resources toward products that are more in demand in today's realities." The company said it had temporarily suspended operations at one mine and certain open-pit coal mine sections. It said it was substantially cutting output of unprofitable coal grades as part of a plan to streamline production and investment. Mechel said the economics of the industry have come under severe strain due to declining coking coal concentrate prices, rising operational costs, rouble appreciation, and sanctions-related constraints. Its coal output in the first half of 2025 dropped 28% to 3.66 million tons, while coking coal concentrate sales fеll 15% to 1.7 million tons and thermal coal sales declined 21% to 1.37 million tons. At a time of high interest rates, the company's situation is further complicated by its net debt burden of 252.7 billion roubles. In May, it received a three-year deferral on payment of arrears in tax, fees and insurance premiums totalling 13.8 billion roubles. Mechel posted a half-year loss of 40.5 billion roubles, up from 16.7 billion roubles a year earlier, and said it was continuing to negotiate with creditors on further deferrals on paying back the principal on its debt. ($1 = 80.8455 roubles) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russias-mechel-halts-some-coal-operations-industry-faces-crisis-2025-08-28/

2025-08-28 22:00

South Korean leader and President Trump held summit this week South Korea not currently allowed to reprocess nuclear fuel Reprocessed fuel can be used for nuclear weapons Minister says Seoul wants to reprocess for industrial and environmental purposes SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Thursday the U.S. and South Korea have agreed to discuss nuclear fuel reprocessing following a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung this week. "We operate 26 nuclear power plants, buying and bringing in fuel for them every time ... We have been feeling the necessity of being able to reprocess it and to make our own fuel through concentrates," Cho said in a live televised interview. Sign up here. "In order to do this, cooperation with the U.S. is most important. We need to change the nuclear agreement, or use another method under the agreement (between the countries). So it is very meaningful that we decided to begin discussions in that direction." South Korea is not allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel - which can be used to make nuclear weapons - without U.S. consent under an agreement , opens new tab between the countries. Changing that agreement would mark a major policy change for the United States, which has long sought to limit the number of countries with this capability as part of non-proliferation efforts. Cho has said previously that Seoul's intention is for industrial and environmental purposes, not for nuclear armament. He reiterated on Thursday that "any talk about wanting our own nuclear arms or having potential nuclear capabilities through revision (of the agreement) would be something that the U.S. could never accept in terms of overall nuclear non-proliferation." The U.S. State Department did not give specific responses when asked if the U.S. was open to changing the agreement and what sort of discussions it had agreed to, but a spokesperson said: "America has a longstanding policy to limit the spread of enrichment and reprocessing capabilities around the world and to seek the highest nonproliferation standards achievable in all 123 agreements." Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act allows cooperation with other countries developing civil nuclear capabilities, but specifies nonproliferation criteria, including limiting uranium enrichment. South Korea has no nuclear arms, but borders North Korea, which does. It is currently protected under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, but amid growing concerns about the reliability of U.S. security guarantees, polling shows that up to 75% of the South Korean public is in favor of the country building its own nuclear arsenal. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the U.S.-based Arms Control Association, told Reuters last week there was no practical industrial or environmental need for South Korea to start reprocessing, or for a domestic uranium enrichment capability for its energy programme. In July, Kimball and other non-proliferation advocates wrote to U.S. lawmakers expressing concern about executive orders Trump signed in May mandating a government study to evaluate potential civilian use of plutonium fuel, saying that premature implementation could foster the spread of sensitive nuclear weapons-related technology and increase risks of proliferation. The letter said that the U.S. could not effectively discourage countries from recycling weapons-usable plutonium from civilian fuel if it did so itself. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/south-korea-us-agree-discuss-nuclear-reprocessing-minister-says-2025-08-28/

2025-08-28 21:40

Dollar lower as focus turns to Fed policy easing Nvidia revenue forecast higher than expectations but not a blowout US economic data positive for market NEW YORK, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average registered record closing highs on Thursday, even as Nvidia shares slipped amid uncertainty over its China business, while the dollar weakened against the euro and yen as traders anticipated U.S. interest rate cuts soon. Leading artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia's shares (NVDA.O) , opens new tab ended 0.8% lower as questions around the Sino-U.S. trade war clouded a better-than-expected revenue forecast from the company, released after Wednesday's market close. Still, investors viewed Nvidia's report, including a 56% surge in quarterly revenue, as confirmation that demand related to AI technology remains strong. Sign up here. Other AI heavyweights gained, with Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab up 2% and Broadcom (AVGO.O) , opens new tab up 2.8%. The Nasdaq climbed as well, while the S&P 500 posted a record high close for a second straight day. While there is some confusion over what will happen with China, Nvidia "didn't say anything that pointed to a significant slowdown in anything, so that took away a major risk or overhang this morning," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also dismissed concerns about an end to a spending boom on AI chips and said opportunities will expand over the next five years. Another plus for stocks was economic data, Tuz said. The day's data showed the U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the second quarter, in part driven by business investment in intellectual property such as AI. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 71.67 points, or 0.16%, to 45,636.90, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab rose 20.46 points, or 0.32%, to 6,501.86 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab rose 115.02 points, or 0.53%, to 21,705.16. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 3.30 points, or 0.35%, to 956.34. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index fell 0.2%. Concerns over France's fiscal path are likely to stay in focus for European markets following Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's gamble to win backing for his deeply unpopular debt-reduction plan via a confidence vote next month. The euro was up 0.35% at $1.1678. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar weakened 0.28% to 146.97. Investors are keen to find out more about prospects for interest rate cuts ahead of the Federal Reserve's September 16-17 policy meeting. On Wednesday, New York Fed President John Williams said it is likely interest rates can fall at some point, but policymakers will need to see what upcoming data indicate about the economy to decide if it's appropriate to make a cut at the September meeting. Traders currently are pricing in roughly 84% odds of a rate cut in September, according to CME's FedWatch tool. In total, they see 138 basis points of cuts by the end of 2026. Also key this week will be a report on Friday on U.S. personal consumption expenditures - the Fed's preferred inflation measure. Investors were still digesting news on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Cook filed a lawsuit on Thursday claiming U.S. President Donald Trump has no power to remove her from office, setting up a legal battle that could reset long-established norms for the U.S. central bank's independence. U.S. Treasury yields were mixed, with some investors taking profits from a recent rally in two-year notes. The yield on the interest rate-sensitive two-year note was last up 1.6 basis points at 3.639% after falling to 3.611% on Wednesday, the lowest since May 1. The benchmark 10-year note fell 2.7 basis points to 4.211% and reached 4.203%, the lowest since August 5. “The big driver is the Fed story. Bond markets love rate cuts,” said Padhraic Garvey, regional head of research, Americas, at ING. Oil prices rose, and gold prices hit a five-week peak. Spot gold rose 0.6% to $3,416.14 per ounce, hitting its highest level since July 23. Brent crude futures gained 57 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $68.62 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $64.60 a barrel. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-7-graphic-2025-08-28/