2025-08-08 05:52

Japan's Topix index rises above 3,000 for first time Nasdaq futures rise, on track for third day of gains Markets eye dovish tilt at Fed as Miran appointed SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Asian markets made an uneven recovery on Friday, with Japan's broadest stock index hitting a record high on strong corporate earnings and expectations that the U.S. would remove overlapping tariffson the country's goods. But declines on the Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia bourses underscored fragile investor confidence after a retreat on Wall Street, as traders weighed the impact of appointments to the U.S. Federal Reserve on its policy direction. Sign up here. Japan's Nikkei 225 (.N225) , opens new tab rose 2% and the Topix index (.TOPX) , opens new tab climbed more than 1% to a fresh record, trading above 3,000 for the first time. Shares in SoftBank Group (9984.T) , opens new tab rallied as much as 11% after the technology investor reported that it swung back to profit in the first quarter. Sony Group (6758.T) , opens new tab gained 6%, adding to its earnings-fuelled 4.1% advance from Thursday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab slipped 0.6% with Hong Kong leading declines, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses after nearing a one-week high. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Reserve for a few months while the White House seeks a permanent addition to the central bank's governing board and continues its search for a new Fed chair. "It locks in a vote for rate cuts at all the meetings between now and the end of January," said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank in Sydney. "Markets are already travelling with a very strong expectation that there will be a rate cut," he added. "Though there's a question mark over the whether he'll succeed in ratification in time for the September meeting." The market is also digesting a Bloomberg News report that Fed Governor Christopher Waller is the top candidate to replace Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends on May 15, 2026. Gold futures hit a record high after a report in the Financial Times that the United States had imposed tariffs on imports of 1-kg gold bars, which comprise the bulk of Switzerland’s bullion exports to the U.S., citing a letter from Customs and Border Protection. Spot gold was 0.1% lower, with bullion last trading at $3393.36 per ounce. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis , were up 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%, on track to extend gains into a third day. The rally for stocks comes "against the backdrop of an emerging titanic dovish pivot at the Federal Reserve," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to 4.2442%, unchanged from the U.S. close on Thursday, after weak demand at an auction of 30-year bonds, the latest in a string of lacklustre sales this week. The rally in Japanese stocks follows a mixed bag of earnings reports for the country's biggest exporters, as some companies such as Toyota Motor (7203.T) , opens new tab slashed their profit forecasts due to U.S. tariffs, while Sony and Honda (7267.T) , opens new tab said the impact would be less than feared. As the effective date of recent U.S. trade duties arrived, Tokyo's trade negotiator said the U.S. government on Thursday promised it would fine-tune some of its overlapping tariffs on Japanese goods to avoid the duties being paid on some products twice. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) , opens new tab fell 0.7%, with technology shares leading declines and China's blue-chip CSI 300 index (.CSI300) , opens new tab fluctuating between gains and losses, and last up 0.1%. Australian stocks (.AXJO) , opens new tab were 0.1% lower and Korea's Kospi fell 0.7%. The dollar rose 0.1% against the yen to 147.24 . Data on Friday showed Japanese household spending data rose by a slower-than-anticipated 1.3%. The data is being closely watched for clues on consumption as the Bank of Japan debates the likelihood of resuming interest rate increases. The European single currency dipped 0.1% to $1.1652, having gained 2.13% in a month, while the dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.2% at 98.188. In oil markets, Brent futures were unchanged at $66.45 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures were little changed at $63.81. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/global-markets-update-1-wrapup-1-2025-08-08/

2025-08-08 05:26

Dollar weighed by rate cut bets, Trump's Fed pick Traders pricing two U.S. rate cuts this year Pound boosted by narrow BoE vote to cut rates SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The dollar was steady on Friday but poised for a weekly fall as U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary choice for a fill-in Federal Reserve governor stoked expectations for a dovish pick to replace chair Jerome Powell when his term ends. As concerns over softening U.S. economic momentum, especially in the labour market, boost hopes of Fed rate cuts, the dollar was down 0.6% on the week so far, against a basket of peers. Sign up here. On the day, the dollar index was little changed, at 98.1. Trump has nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran for a newly vacant seat at the Fed, while the White House seeks a permanent occupant. Miran replaces Governor Adriana Kugler following her surprise resignation last week. While investors remain worried about the U.S. central bank's independence and credibility after repeated criticism from Trump for not cutting interest rates, some analysts feel Miran's appointment is unlikely to have a material impact. "We still maintain that central bank independence is going to be very much intact," said Raisah Rasid, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Singapore. She expects the central bank to focus on incoming data and the overall health of the U.S. economy. Trump's scathing attacks on Powell and the likelihood of a dovish pick as the next Fed Chair have weighed on the dollar, although he recently backed off threats to oust Powell before his term ends on May 15. Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who voted for a rate cut in the Fed's last meeting, is emerging as a top candidate to be the next chair, Bloomberg news said on Thursday. Investor focus will now switch to next week's U.S. consumer price inflation data with economists polled by Reuters expecting month-on-month core CPI to have nudged higher to 0.3% in July. The data will offer clues to whether tariff-driven price pressures are materialising and shape the Fed's policy path. Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said on Thursday while risks to the job market have increased, it remained too soon to commit to rate cuts, with more data lined up ahead of the Fed's policy review scheduled for September 16 and 17. Traders are pricing in a 93% chance of a rate cut in September, with at least two rate cuts priced in by the end of the year. The dollar has struggled broadly this year and is down 9.5% against a basket of major peers, as investors sought alternatives, worried over Trump's erratic trade policies. Analysts anticipate the dollar to remain under pressure but see the fall unlikely to be as steep. "We're looking for a bending but not breaking sort of scenario (on the dollar)," Rasid added. Sterling hovered near a two-week high at $1.3439, clinging to Thursday's sharp gains as the Bank of England cut interest rates but only after a narrow 5-4 vote, showing a lack of conviction in its easing bias. The vote split in the BoE meet "implies one of the most hawkish versions of a 25bp cut that reasonably could have been expected," analysts at Goldman Sachs said. The pound is on course for its best weekly performance since late June. The Japanese yen was flat at 147.1 a dollar and the euro was perched near a two-week high, as investors took comfort in the prospect of talks between the U.S. and Russia aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet in the coming days, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday, for the first summit of the nations' leaders since June 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trumps-fed-governor-pick-keeps-us-dollar-under-pressure-2025-08-08/

2025-08-08 05:19

MUMBAI, August 8 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee's initial rise on Friday was capped by dollar demand from importers and short-term speculators, who were wary of the overhang from U.S. trade tensions. The rupee had rose to 87.56 at open and hit an intraday high of 87.5350, building on the momentum from unwinding of long dollar in the non-deliverable forward (NDF) market. Sign up here. However, bids for dollars surfaced soon after, halting the recovery and keeping USD/INR anchored, traders said. The rupee was quoting at 87.61 to the U.S. dollar at 10:42 am IST, up from Thursday's close of 87.7025. "There is obviously a lot of uncertainty around the U.S. tariffs," said a currency trader at a private-sector bank. "You likely will have importers err on the side of caution and take hedges. For speculators, it is either to buy (USD/INR) or remain on the sidelines." Flows remain skewed and dips in USD/INR will be bought, he added. The rupee has come under growing pressure given the trade tensions with the United States. India now finds itself among the hardest-hit countries in President Donald Trump's trade offensive following the announcement of an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods this week. The move places India on par with Brazil in facing the steepest import duties currently levied by the U.S. The escalation is particularly notable given that India was once considered a strong contender for an early and favourable trade deal with Washington. The latest measures have unsettled markets and raised concerns that the ongoing friction could impact capital flows and investor sentiment toward Indian assets. Foreign investors sold nearly $600 million in Indian equities on Thursday, preliminary exchange data showed, underscoring the cautious sentiment. The Reserve Bank of India has intervened to defend the 87.95 all-time high level on USD/INR, with traders noting action in both spot and NDF markets. This helped prevent a larger slide in the rupee. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-recovery-hits-resistance-corporates-speculators-2025-08-08/

2025-08-08 05:11

MOSCOW/SINGAPORE, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Russia has shipped its first naphtha cargo to Vietnam, as it looks for new buyers to support sales hit by Western sanctions, data from traders and shipbrokers showed. According to LSEG and Vortexa shipping data, the Malta-flagged tanker Northernlight loaded around 60,000 metric tons of naphtha in the Russian Baltic port of Vysotsk on June, 23 and delivered its cargo at Van Phong terminal in Vietnam's Khanh Hoa province. Sign up here. Nguyen Tran Trung, CEO of Van Phong terminal, on Friday confirmed the arrival of the cargo, and said owner of the cargo has since shipped the naphtha out of Vietnam. "We are operating as a customs warehouse and the cargo is not imported into Vietnam," Trung told Reuters in a telephone call. He declined to provide the next destination of the cargo or the name of the owner of the cargo. The tanker discharged up to 27,000 tons of naphtha at Khanh Hoa, one of the sources said, adding that the terminal mostly consists of bonded storage tanks. According to LSEG and Vortexa data, after the Vietnam stop the Northernlight is heading to Chinese port of Dalian to discharge the rest of its cargo. At least 15,000 tons of the petrochemical feedstock is heading there, one shipbroking source said. Since the European Union's full embargo on Russian oil products went into effect in February 2023, countries in the Middle East and Asia have become the main destinations for Russia's naphtha supplies. Naphtha is a primary feedstock in the petrochemical industry for producing olefins and aromatics, which are then used to manufacture a wide array of products, including plastics, synthetics, and various other chemicals, and also used for gasoline blending. Russia doesn’t supply oil to Vietnam, despite active cooperation in the oil industry between state companies. The only test supply was back in 2015, when a cargo of ESPO was shipped to Dung Quat refinery. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-ships-first-naphtha-cargo-vietnam-data-shows-2025-08-06/

2025-08-08 05:08

India prices hit all-time high of 102,191 rupees per 10 grams India dealers offer $9/oz discount this week China premiums at par to $2/oz this week Aug 8 (Reuters) - Physical gold demand in key Asian hubs slipped this week as a rise in prices weighed on buying interest, while higher rates encouraged some to cash in on their holdings. "Buyers aren't keen on picking up gold at these prices. In fact, some investors are offloading the coins and bars they grabbed when prices were lower," said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based gold wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji. Sign up here. In India, domestic gold prices were trading around 102,100 rupees ($1,165.45) per 10 grams on Friday after hitting a record high of 102,191 rupees earlier. Indian dealers this week quoted a discount of $9 to a premium of $2 per ounce over official domestic prices, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, compared to the last week's discount of up to $7. Jewellery exporters are not keen to buy gold, as demand from their biggest market, the United States, is likely to fall due to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank. In top consumer China, bullion changed hands at par to a $2 premium an ounce over the global benchmark spot price . Last week, dealers quoted gold between a discount of $4.2 and a premium of $12 per ounce. "Last week, we saw some buying interest, but this week prices have been on the rise, so there's less buying interest. Overall, we are seeing people buying gold on dips," said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals. In Hong Kong, gold was sold at par to a premium of $1.60, while in Singapore , gold traded between at-par prices and a $2.50 premium. "As gold prices have gone up, we see more selling from the retail and wholesale sides. We see more of them borrowing gold at this point in time because prices are edging on the higher side," said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based GoldSilver Central. In Japan, bullion was sold at a $0.25 premium over spot prices, according to a Tokyo-based trader. ($1 = 87.6060 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/asia-gold-price-rise-dulls-activity-top-asian-hubs-2025-08-08/

2025-08-08 05:05

Trump's tariffs could strain US-India-China relations Experts doubt tariffs will change Putin's stance Potential oil market disruptions could spike global prices, carrying risks for Trump WASHINGTON/LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - From punishing Brazil to trying to curb imports of fentanyl, U.S. President Donald Trump has wielded the threat of tariffs as an all-purpose foreign policy weapon. With a Friday deadline for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or have its oil customers face secondary tariffs, Trump has found a novel, but risky, use for his favorite trade tool. Sign up here. The administration took a step toward punishing Moscow's customers on Wednesday, imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India over its imports of Russian oil, marking the first financial penalty aimed at Russia in Trump's second term. No order has been signed for China, the top Russian oil importer, but a White House official said on Wednesday secondary measures that Trump has threatened against countries buying the petroleum were expected on Friday. These are the latest in a string of Trump's tariff threats on non-trade issues such as pressing Denmark to give the U.S. control of Greenland, attempting to stop fentanyl deliveries from Mexico and Canada, and penalizing Brazil over what he described as a "witch hunt" against former President Jair Bolsonaro. While secondary tariffs could inflict pain on the Russian economy - severing a top source of funding for Russian President Vladimir Putin's war effort - they also carry costs for Trump. Oil prices will likely rise, creating political problems for him before next year's U.S. midterm congressional elections. The tariffs would also complicate the administration's efforts to secure trade deals with China and India. For his part, Putin has signaled that Russia is prepared to weather any new economic hardship imposed by the U.S. and its allies. There is “close to zero chance” Putin will agree to a ceasefire due to Trump's threats of tariffs and sanctions on Russia, said Eugene Rumer, a former U.S. intelligence analyst for Russia who directs the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Russia and Eurasia Program. "Theoretically if you cut off Indian and Chinese purchases of oil that would be a very heavy blow to the Russian economy and to the war effort. But that isn't going to happen," he said, adding that the Chinese have signaled they will keep buying Russia’s oil. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond. NEW COSTS FOR RUSSIA Secondary tariffs would hurt Russia, the world's second leading oil exporter. The West has pressured Russia since late 2022 with a price cap on its oil exports, intended to erode Russia's ability to fund the war. That cap has piled costs on Russia as it forced it to reroute oil exports from Europe to India and China, which have been able to import huge amounts of it at discounted prices. But the cap also kept oil flowing to global markets. In an early sign that Putin hopes to avoid the tariffs, the White House said that Putin and Trump could meet as soon as next week, following a meeting between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian leader on Wednesday. But some analysts are skeptical that Moscow is ready to stop the war. Brett Bruen, former foreign policy adviser for former President Barack Obama now head of the Global Situation Room consultancy, cautioned that Putin has found ways to evade sanctions and other economic penalties. And even if tariffs and sanctions cut into Russia's revenues, Putin is not under much domestic pressure. Secondary tariffs, Bruen said, could start to cause some economic pain. "But the question is whether that really changes Putin's behavior." The tariffs could also create new problems for the Trump administration as it pursues sweeping trade deals, especially with India and China. Kimberly Donovan, a former U.S. Treasury official, said the tariffs could hamper the U.S. bilateral and trade relationships with India and China. “You’ve got two major oil importers that can kind of dig in their heels and push back, knowing what the U.S. needs out of them,” said Donovan, now director of the Economic Statecraft Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. China has demonstrated leverage over the U.S. by cutting off mineral exports and new tariffs would upset a delicate balance negotiated since May to restart those flows critical to a host of U.S. industries. India has leverage over generic pharmaceutical exports and precursor chemicals to the U.S. Both countries say that oil purchases are a sovereign matter and contend that they are playing by the previous rules, namely the price cap on Russian crude. RUSSIAN ROULETTE Secondary tariffs would raise the cost of imports into the United States of products from Russia's customers, giving them an incentive to buy their oil elsewhere. Squeezing the shipments risks spiking fuel prices and inflation around the world that could pose political difficulties for Trump. The month after Moscow's February 2022 invasion, fears of disruptions from Russia pushed international crude prices close to $130 per barrel, not far from their all-time high of $147. If India were to stop buying 1.7 million barrels per day of Russian crude, about 2% of global supply, world prices would jump from the current $66, analysts said. JP Morgan analysts said this month it was "impossible" to sanction Russian oil without triggering a price jump. Any perceived disruptions to Russian shipments could propel Brent oil prices into the $80s or higher. Despite Trump's statements that U.S. producers would step in, it would be unable to quickly ramp up, they said. Russia could retaliate, including closing the CPC Pipeline from Kazakhstan, which could create a global supply crisis. Western oil firms Exxon (XOM.N) , opens new tab , Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, ENI (ENI.MI) , opens new tab and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab ship up to 1 million barrels per day via CPC, which has total capacity of 1.7 million bpd. Cullen Hendrix, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said energy shocks are never welcome, especially not amidst a softening housing market and weak job growth. A key question is whether Trump can frame any economic pain as necessary to force Russia to negotiate. "Of all his tariff gambits, this is the one that could resonate best with voters, at least in principle," said Hendrix. "It’s also one with massive downside risks." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-tariffs-russias-oil-buyers-bring-economic-political-risks-2025-08-08/