2025-11-26 05:33
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Gregor Stuart Hunter: It's make-or-break time for Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves as she unveils later today a budget expected to contain tens of billions of pounds of new tax increases. Sign up here. Sterling is up 0.2% at $1.3193 in Asian trading, rising for a fifth consecutive day ahead of her speech, due to begin at 1230 GMT. In Japan, the yen rallied 0.2% against the U.S. dollar as sources told Reuters that the Bank of Japan is preparing markets for a possible interest rate hike as soon as next month, shifting the central bank onto a hawkish footing after a meeting last week between new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda. Takaichi's high approval ratings are prompting Japanese opposition parties to ramp up preparations for snap elections, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Wednesday. The kiwi dollar surged 1.2% after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut interest rates 25 basis points to 2.25%, but removed its dovish guidance, signalling an end to the central bank's easing cycle. And the Australian dollar jumped 0.5% after a hotter-than-expected inflation report reinforced bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia is also done with rate cuts for now. Oil markets have been choppy, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signalled he was ready to advance a U.S.-backed peace plan, paving the way for a relaxation of sanctions on Russian energy and additional supplies, sending oil prices tumbling to a five-week low on Tuesday. But Brent crude futures rebounded 0.4% to $62.72 after U.S. President Donald Trump backed away from a Thursday deadline for Ukraine to agree. Trump also shrugged off a Bloomberg News report that U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff coached the Russians on how to approach him on the topic. None of that confusion and volatility troubled equity markets, which enjoyed a broad rebound following cues from Wall Street after the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab rose for a third consecutive day. On Wednesday, MSCI's broadest gauge of shares outside of Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab jumped 1% as traders firmed up expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month, while the Nikkei 225 (.N225) , opens new tab surged 2% on optimism about corporate earnings. But Hong Kong and China lagged gains, with the Hang Seng Index (.HSI) , opens new tab up 0.5% after earnings from AI front-runner Alibaba (9988.HK) , opens new tab that beat estimates, but still left shares down 1.1% as the e-commerce company underwhelmed investors with its Q4 guidance and said it would decrease spending on its instant commerce business - prompting a 6% gain for rival Meituan (3690.HK) , opens new tab. Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday: UK: Autumn budget Debt auctions: Germany: 10-year government debt https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-view-europe-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 05:30
BANGKOK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The death toll in Thailand from flooding in the country's south is 33, a senior government official said on Wednesday. The causes of death included landslides and electrocution, government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/thai-floods-death-toll-33-official-says-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 05:13
Won reacting more sensitively to uncertainty, minister says Foreign exchange authorities closely monitoring market No specific policy measure announced; won trims gains Central bank expected to hold rates on weak currency SEJONG, South Korea, Nov 26 (Reuters) - South Korea's Finance Minister vowed on Wednesday to stabilise a weak won, but stopped short of introducing specific policy measures to address the situation, amid growing worries about the persistent weakness of the currency. Minister Koo Yun-cheol told a rare press conference focused on the currency market that authorities were closely monitoring "speculative trading and herd-like behaviour", adding that they would consider all available options to stabilise it. Sign up here. "It is true that our domestic market is reacting to high uncertainty in global financial markets more sensitively than other currencies due to structural demand pressure for dollars," Koo said. Koo, however, made no mention of any specific measure to address rising dollar demand in the near term, despite market expectations for policy efforts to stabilise the market, after a series of meetings with the National Pension Service (NPS), exporting companies and domestic stock brokerages. "Market attention was extremely high on the substance of the press conference, but it was bland," a local currency trader said. The won cut gains after the press conference to trade up 0.3% at 1,465.5 per dollar as of 0420 GMT, compared with a session high of 1,457.0. The currency, earlier this week, hit its weakest level since early April at 1,479.4. Referring to a consultative body formed on Monday with the NPS, Koo said it will not be aimed at pulling in the world's third-largest pension fund for a temporary measure to curb currency weakness but will focus on a long-term plan to balance investment returns and market stability. When asked about incentives for exporters to repatriate earnings and tax benefits to boost domestic stock investments, he said neither was currently being considered. The won has weakened more than 7% in the second half of 2025 amid worries over an investment package that is part of a trade deal with the United States, while also pressured by higher overseas investments by retail investors as well as the NPS. The Bank of Korea is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged on Thursday, according to a Reuters poll, as policymakers grapple with a volatile currency and an overheated housing market. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-finance-chief-vows-fx-stability-offers-no-near-term-measures-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 05:08
China bought cargoes worth around $300 million since Tuesday for Jan shipment Purchases come a day after call between Trump and Xi China buying US soy despite prices higher than Brazilian cargoes BEIJING/SINGAPORE, Nov 26 (Reuters) - China bought at least 10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans worth around $300 million in contracts signed since Tuesday, two traders with knowledge of the deals said, a day after the presidents of both countries spoke on the phone. The purchases of the unusually large volumes extend a surge in Chinese buying after the recent thaw in U.S.-China trade relations. U.S. President Donald Trump touted relations with China as "extremely strong" after a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday. Sign up here. Trump said he had pressed Xi to accelerate and increase Beijing's purchases of U.S. goods during the call, and that the Chinese leader had "more or less agreed". One trader said China bought about 12 cargoes, while another estimated the volume at 10–15. Each cargo is about 60,000 to 65,000 metric tons. All the cargoes are scheduled for January shipment from U.S. Gulf Coast terminals and Pacific Northwest ports, the sources said on Wednesday. The purchases come despite U.S. soybeans being priced higher than Brazilian supplies. China paid around $2.3 per bushel over the January Chicago futures contract for shipments from Gulf terminals and a premium of $2.2 per bushel from Pacific Northwest ports, well above the prices for Brazilian soybeans, which are around $1.8 per bushel over the January CBOT futures, traders said. "Commercial buyers will continue to avoid U.S. soybean imports, as prices remain higher than Brazilian beans. At these levels, crush margins are not financially viable," said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting. China, which had largely shunned U.S. soybeans for months amid a tense Washington–Beijing trade standoff, has stepped up purchases recently following late-October talks between the two countries' leaders in South Korea. State-run grain buyer COFCO has led the buying, booking nearly 2 million tons of U.S. soybeans since late October, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. The recent deals still remain well below the 12 million tons of purchases announced by the White House. However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday Chinese purchases of American soybeans are "right on schedule," citing an agreement for Beijing to buy 87.5 million tons of the U.S. product over the next three-and-a-half years. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-buys-least-10-us-soybean-cargoes-new-deals-sources-say-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 04:41
MUMBAI, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee closed marginally weaker on Wednesday, troubled by portfolio outflows and routine hedging demand from local importers, while intermittent dollar sales from state-run banks cushioned the currency's fall. The rupee closed at 89.27 against the U.S. dollar, marginally weaker than its previous close of 89.22. Sign up here. Growing expectations of a December rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve helped boost global equities, with India's benchmark equity indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab, posting gains of more than 1% - the most in a day since June. However, the positive cues did little to help the rupee, with traders pointing to outflows even as dollar sales from state-run banks limited the rupee's decline, traders said. "The market is clearly looking to go long and every dip (on USD/INR) is being bought," FX advisory firm IFA Global said in a note. The dollar index lingered near a one-week low while the offshore Chinese yuan touched a 13-month high after the country's central bank guided the market higher in tandem with a weaker U.S. currency. Against the rupee , the yuan hovered near its all-time high of 12.60 hit last week. Persistent worries over steep U.S. trade tariffs and a negative skew in trade and portfolio flows have contributed to pushing the local currency down by about 4% against the U.S. dollar and over 7% against the yuan this year. Meanwhile, dollar-rupee far forward premiums nudged higher, with the 1-year implied yield a tad higher at 2.21%, hovering near a monthly peak. With growing certainty about a Fed cut next month, traders reckon the trajectory for far forward premiums will depend more on the Reserve Bank of India's policy decision due on December 5. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in an interview on Monday that there was scope to further reduce policy interest rates but the timing would depend on the rate setting panel. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-unlikely-ride-dollar-dip-spurred-by-mounting-fed-rate-cut-conviction-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 04:39
Lotte to spin off Daesan business, merge with HD Hyundai Chemical Plan aims to ease overcapacity in South Korea's petrochemical sector Industry ministry to review restructuring plan for tax waivers and legal support SEOUL, Nov 26 (Reuters) - South Korea's HD Hyundai and Lotte Chemical have submitted a plan to the industry ministry on restructuring their petrochemical businesses, the companies said in separate regulatory filings on Wednesday. Under the plan, Lotte will spin off its business in Daesan city, South Korea, and merge it with HD Hyundai Chemical, in an effort to ease overcapacity at naphtha-cracking centres in the industry, the companies said. Sign up here. The plan is part of an industry-wide effort to ease a supply glut in South Korea's petrochemical sector. In August, President Lee Jae Myung's administration pushed firms to cut as much as 25% of the country's annual capacity, saying the sector was in "crisis" and needed to boost efficiency and raise margins. Ten petrochemical firms agreed on the goal at the time and were asked to come up with their own plans. The government aims to cut naphtha-cracking capacity by up to 3.7 million metric tons per year to resolve oversupply and improve profit margins by merging production or shutting smaller companies and has required firms to submit plans by year-end. Lotte said the merger is to increase efficiency and the stability of operations at their naphtha-cracking centres, without elaborating. The companies said they will also adjust business portfolios to focus on core businesses. The industry ministry said in a separate statement on Wednesday that the companies will "adjust some facilities" at naphtha-cracking centres and those for other products to help ease the supply glut in the industry. The ministry will review the plan in order to decide whether to offer tax waivers and legal support for the restructuring. Lotte's naphtha-cracking facilities in Daesan have a capacity of 1.1 million tons, while HD Hyundai's operations have a capacity of 850,000 tons. HD Hyundai Chemical is a joint venture created by HD Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical in 2014. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-hd-hyundai-lotte-chemical-submit-plan-restructure-petrochemical-2025-11-26/
