2025-07-22 20:17
Tariffs take $1 billion bite from GM earnings, shares tumble RTX down after cutting 2025 profit forecast S&P 500 +0.06%, Nasdaq -0.39%, Dow +0.40% July 22 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 eked out a record-high close on Tuesday, following steep losses in General Motors and a gain in Tesla as investors focused on recent and upcoming quarterly reports and watched for signs of progress in U.S. trade discussions. GM (GM.N) , opens new tab tumbled 8.1% after the automaker reported a $1 billion hit from tariffs to its quarterly results, adding more fuel to investor concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade policy. Shares of Ford Motor (F.N) , opens new tab fell about 1%. Sign up here. Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab climbed 1.1% a day before its quarterly report, while Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, also reporting on Wednesday, rose 0.65%. Optimism about heavy spending on artificial intelligence has underpinned a rally in Wall Street's most valuable companies, with the S&P 500 trading around record highs. "The market is consolidating recent gains and is in a bit of a holding pattern with some huge catalysts over the next week or two, including the August 1 tariff deadline and a lot of important Magnificent Seven earnings," said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird. Other Big Tech stocks lost ground, with Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab both losing about 1%. Shares of RTX (RTX.N) , opens new tab dropped 1.6% after the aerospace and defense giant t from Trump's trade war despite strong demand for its engines and aftermarket services. Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) , opens new tab tumbled almost 11% after its quarterly profit plunged by about 80%. U.S. trade policy remains a major point of uncertainty for investors and companies as Trump's self-imposed August 1 deadline for many countries to reach agreements with the White House approaches. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would meet his Chinese counterpart next week to discuss an extension to the August 12 deadline set for tariffs on imports from China. Other trade negotiations appeared stalled, with optimism for a breakthrough deal with India waning and EU officials weighing countermeasures against the United States. The S&P 500 climbed 0.06% to end the session at 6,309.62 points. The Nasdaq declined 0.39% to 20,892.69 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.40% to 44,502.44 points. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by healthcare (.SPXHC) , opens new tab, up 1.9%, followed by a 1.78% gain in real estate (.SPLRCR) , opens new tab. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 18.8 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 17.7 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. Philip Morris (PM.N) , opens new tab slumped 8.43% after reporting second-quarter revenue below expectations, as shipments of its ZYN nicotine pouches disappointed investors. Analysts on average expected S&P 500 companies to report a 7% increase in earnings for the second quarter, with technology heavyweights driving much of that gain, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. After last week's mixed economic data, traders have all but ruled out an interest-rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve at next week's policy meeting. They now see about a 60% chance of a reduction in September, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 4.3-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 21 new highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq recorded 73 new highs and 41 new lows. https://www.reuters.com/business/sp-500-notches-record-high-close-gm-slumps-tariffs-bite-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 20:01
Authorities close Acropolis for five hours Scorching heat also hits Bulgaria, Montenegro Wildfires burn in Greece, Kosovo, Albania ATHENS, July 22 (Reuters) - Greece and the wider Balkans sweltered under the third heatwave of the summer on Tuesday, with labourers barred from work, tourists kept away from the ruins and firefighters battling blazes scattered across the arid countryside. Couriers, food delivery riders and builders in and around Athens and other regions were ordered to pause work from midday until 5 p.m., as the temperature was expected to climb as high as 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 F), the labour ministry said. Sign up here. In the Feneo area in Corinth in southern Greece, 185 firefighters with 50 vehicles were combating a strong forest fire, helped by 15 planes and 11 helicopters. Two villages there were evacuated out of precaution as the fire raged. The governor of the surrounding Peloponnese region, Dimitris Ptochos, said the situation was difficult, local media reported. Greece has long been known for the hot, sunny summers that attract tens of millions of tourists every year. But climate change has led to longer and more severe heatwaves, as well as destructive floods and wildfires. Authorities said they would shut the ancient Acropolis ruins, Greece's most-visited tourist site atop a rocky hill above Athens, for five hours from midday on Tuesday and Wednesday. Matthew Enos, an 18-year-old visitor from New Orleans, said he had not been prepared for such a heatwave when he arrived in the capital. "It's been a little tough so far. Not the greatest feeling ever," he said. "So I've just been adapting by drinking lots and lots of water." COWS GRAZE AT BOTTOM OF EMPTY LAKE Tourists sought out air-conditioned restaurants and stores in Athens, one of the most densely populated capitals in Europe, which bakes on a plain flanked by mountains. The heatwave will continue until Sunday, the Greek meteorological service said. Scorching heat also gripped neighbouring Bulgaria, with authorities urging businesses to give away water and cut physical labour during high-risk hours. On the border between Kosovo and Albania, weeks without rain and increased hydroelectric power production nearly emptied Lake Fierza. Cows ate grass in what used to be the lake bottom. In Kosovo, flames and thick smoke could be seen approaching houses in a village in the Dubrava area near a jail and a military base on Tuesday. The fire was out of control in an area of scrubland and grass, fanned by heavy winds. Elsewhere in Kosovo, Milazim Duraku, a 62-year-old farmer from Prizren, chided younger workers for seeking shelter as he picked yellow peppers for sale at market the following morning. "Those youngsters they can't stand the heat. They work only a few minutes in the evening or in the morning," he said. In Albania, firefighters assisted by four aircraft from Italy and Greece battled two wildfires at a national park in the north and near the southwestern village of Dukat. Last month, large parts of Western Europe sweltered in another severe heatwave that left many dead and triggered forest fires and health alerts across the region. In Italy, where last month's heatwave was blamed for several blackouts including in Florence and Milan, the high temperatures drove electricity consumption in June up 7.4% year-on-year, national power grid operator Terna said on Tuesday. Around the world, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with temperatures exceeding 1.5 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial era for the first time. Research published last week showed that the soil surface temperature around Athens rose in some places by as much as 10 degrees Celsius since July 2024 after fires destroyed vegetation. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/labourers-barred-work-tourists-kept-ruins-heatwave-sears-greece-balkans-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 19:54
TOKYO, July 23 (Reuters) - The dollar held losses against the yen on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan ahead of an impending tariff deadline. Trump said the agreement will result in Japan investing $550 billion into the United States and a tariff rate of 15% was set on U.S. imports from Japan. Sign up here. With an August 1 deadline looming before the imposition of sweeping import duties on trade partners, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday the administration is more concerned with the quality of trade agreements than the timing. Asked whether the deadline could be extended for countries engaged in productive talks with Washington, Bessent said Trump would make that decision. Uncertainty over the eventual state of tariffs globally has been a huge overhang for the foreign exchange market, leaving currencies trading in a tight range for the most part, even as stocks on Wall Street have scaled fresh highs. The dollar index was down 0.4% to 97.423. The greenback traded at 146.65 yen , little changed from the previous session when it slid 0.5%. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Japan would open to trade for U.S. cars, trucks, rice and certain agricultural products, among other items. Trump's announcement follows a meeting with Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, at the White House on Tuesday, according the Asahi newspaper. The euro stood at $1.1745 , down 0.1% so far in Asia. Sterling was little changed at $1.35285 . The Australian dollar fetched $0.65555 , flat in early trade. New Zealand's kiwi dollar traded at $0.6007 , up 0.07%. Also weighing on investors' minds were worries about Federal Reserve independence, given Trump has repeatedly railed against Chair Jerome Powell and urged him to resign because of the central bank's reluctance to cut interest rates. Bessent on Monday took a softer stance, saying there is no need for Powell to step down immediately, adding that he should see through the end of his term in May if he wants. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dollar-holds-losses-against-yen-after-trump-announces-japan-trade-deal-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 19:50
July 22 (Reuters) - Hershey (HSY.N) , opens new tab has told retailers it will be taking a double-digit price increase on average across its confection portfolio due to a surge in costs of cocoa, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday. The maker of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups declined to comment on the specifics of the pricing action as discussions with its retail partners are underway. Sign up here. "This change is not related to tariffs or trade policies. It reflects the reality of rising ingredient costs including the unprecedented cost of cocoa," the spokesperson said. Cocoa prices have risen sharply in the last two years and touched a record in December due to supply problems in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Since then, the price of cocoa has fallen to an eight-month low, though it remains above levels seen earlier in the decade. During Hershey's quarterly earnings call in May, CEO Michele Buck said the company was working to absorb high input costs by adjusting the pack size and pricing together, especially on seasonal items. These actions would lead to higher prices in the second and third quarter, she had said. https://www.reuters.com/business/hershey-raise-chocolate-prices-cocoa-costs-remain-high-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 19:45
July 22 (Reuters) - PNC Bank (PNC.N) , opens new tab is working with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab to offer crypto trading to the bank's customers, the companies said on Tuesday, in a sign that crypto is moving toward becoming increasingly interconnected to mainstream finance. PNC will use Coinbase's institutional "crypto-as-a-service" platform to develop an offering that will allow PNC clients to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies. The Pittsburgh-based financial institution will also offer certain banking services to Coinbase. Sign up here. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The PNC-Coinbase partnership is a stark shift for the banking sector, which crypto companies at one point had accused of being hostile to their industry. Lawmakers earlier this year held a hearing to scrutinize U.S. banks and their regulators in response to claims they deny services to particular industries. Republicans and Democrats agreed that banks may be improperly denying services to some clients, but disagreed on the root cause. The banking industry has fiercely resisted accusations it denies services based on ideological reasons. It has instead argued that onerous, outdated and opaque rules make it difficult for banks to sometimes provide services, or explain why they cannot. CONTEXT The partnership announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have embraced cryptocurrencies and enacted industry-friendly policies. Trump signed a law on Friday to create a regulatory regime for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins, a major milestone for the digital asset sector, which has long lobbied for such a framework. Several banks including Bank of America and Citibank have said that they are exploring issuing their own stablecoins. KEY QUOTE "Partnering with Coinbase accelerates our ability to bring innovative, crypto financial solutions to our clients," William Demchak, PNC CEO, said in a statement. "This collaboration enables us to meet growing demand for secure and streamlined access to digital assets on PNC's trusted platform." https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/pnc-taps-coinbase-create-crypto-trading-offering-bank-customers-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 19:45
LNG carrier would be built in Korea, flagged in US Deal lands as US works to revive shipbuilding New US rules would require transport on US-built ships July 22 (Reuters) - Hanwha Shipping, a U.S. subsidiary of Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS) , opens new tab, on Tuesday said it ordered a liquefied natural gas carrier (LNG) valued at roughly $252 million from its own Pennsylvania-based unit Hanwha Philly Shipyard. Under the agreement, the ship will be built in Korea and flagged in the United States. It is slated for delivery in the first half of 2028. Sign up here. The deal comes as the United States works to revive domestic shipbuilding and expand its fleet of commercial and military vessels. Hanwha Systems (272210.KS) , opens new tab and Hanwha Ocean bought Philly Shipyard for $100 million in December. "This agreement looks to be a 'first step' in building out U.S. shipyard capacity," said Jefferies shipping analyst Omar Nokta, who noted that the U.S. is the largest LNG exporter with a market share of nearly 25%. Most of the vessel will be built at Hanwha Ocean's plant in Geoje, South Korea, the companies said. Workers from Philly Shipyard will travel to Geoje for training, a Hanwha Shipping spokesperson said. Philly Shipyard will oversee regulatory compliance and safety certifications required for U.S. registry. Earlier this year, the United States Trade Representative said LNG producers would be required to transport 1% of their exports on U.S.-built ships starting in April 2029. That percentage would escalate to 15% in April 2047 and beyond. Hanwha Ocean said the contract is valued at 348 billion South Korean won ($252.03 million) and has an option for an additional vessel. ($1 = 1,380.8100 won) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hanwha-build-us-flagged-lng-carrier-2025-07-22/
