2025-05-01 09:54
May 1 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk is considering sending his government efficiency team to the Federal Reserve, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing a costly renovation of the central bank's Washington DC headquarters as an example of potential government waste. U.S. President Trump has tasked the Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab and SpaceX CEO with leading efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut government funding and reshape the federal bureaucracy. Sign up here. Musk spoke on Wednesday at a briefing in the White House, several media outlets reported. DOGE's mandate as a whole is set to continue to July 4, 2026. But Musk said DOGE could now help oversee the slashing of federal spending through the end of 2028, Axios reported, from the same briefing. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/elon-musk-says-doge-should-examine-federal-reserve-costs-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 09:34
LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - Britain's pound was steady against the dollar on Thursday but remained close to a three-year high reached earlier in the week as investors shunned the U.S. currency in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. A survey on Thursday confirmed that British manufacturing activity shrank for the seventh month in a row in April, highlighting the effects that Trump's tariffs and Britain's tax hike for employers are having on business activity. Sign up here. The pound was last at $1.3327, down less than 0.1% on the day. It touched its highest level since February 2022 on Monday, having risen 3.2% last month, its biggest monthly gain against the dollar since November 2023. The U.S. currency has been one of the biggest casualties of Trump's trade policy, as the flip-flopping on tariffs hit confidence and slashed growth expectations. "We expect the pound to remain firm against the U.S. dollar over the course of the year, though some short-term setbacks may occur following the recent rally," said UBS FX strategists in a note. Attention on Thursday was on local elections across parts of Britain, which are not historically market moving but can provide clues about future voting patterns. The right-wing populist Reform UK Party is expected to perform well, dealing a blow to the ruling Labour Party and main opposition Conservatives. ING head of FX strategy Chris Turner also pointed to this month's UK-EU summit as a potential event to watch, with expectations that Britain could sign a new security and defence pact with the bloc. "Closer European relations normally help sterling," Turner said. The pound was last at 84.99 pence per euro , little changed on the day. It fell 1.5% against the euro last month, its biggest monthly drop against the single currency since December 2022. The euro has been one of the main beneficiaries from recent shunning of the dollar, gaining against most other major currencies through April. "We think the global investment environment will be the driver for euro-pound in the coming months," said Mohamad Al-Saraf, FX research associate at Danske Bank. "If we see elevated uncertainty, widening credit spreads and positive correlation to the negative environment as we believe, we favour a weaker pound," Al-Saraf added, expecting the euro to reach 88 pence on both a six- and 12-month horizon. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-steady-against-dollar-euro-manufacturing-activity-shrinks-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 09:26
Tech earnings boost Nasdaq S&P 500 longest win streak since August 2024 Dollar rises as BoJ cuts growth forecasts Gold prices drop as focus away from safe-haven assets NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks rallied and gold prices slid on Thursday as solid earnings from big tech bolstered investor risk appetite. All three major U.S. stock indexes began the month with solid gains, with upbeat quarterly results from Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab benefiting the Nasdaq most, sending the tech-laden index up 1.5%. Sign up here. The bellwether S&P 500 extended its run of gains to eighth consecutive sessions, marking its longest winning streak since August 2024. "Clearly sparking (Thursday's) rally was better-than-expected earnings from Microsoft and Meta, and once again calming some of the over-the-top recessionary worries that we were dealing with just a couple of weeks ago," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. "But the good news is stocks have now recovered from the selloff after 'Liberation Day.'" U.S. President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on April 2, which rattled world markets for much of last month. The dollar advanced as the yen took a hit after the Bank of Japan cut its growth forecasts due to uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariff policy. Trading was thin throughout Asia and Europe due to May Day holidays. First-quarter earnings season is well past its halfway point, with 325 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 74% have beaten analyst expectations, according to LSEG. Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab are due to report after the closing bell, the fifth and sixth members of the so-called "magnificent seven" to post quarterly results, leaving chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, which is expected to release its first-quarter earnings on May 28. "The reality is the economy is slowing but not dropping off a cliff, and some of these large tech companies are confirming that," Detrick added. "It's nice to talk about something besides tariffs, especially when it's backed by some solid earnings overall by some of the large tech companies." On the economic front, U.S. factory activity remained in contraction, while jobless claims increased more than analysts expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 83.42 points, or 0.21%, to 40,752.78, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab rose 35.04 points, or 0.63%, to 5,604.11 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab rose 264.40 points, or 1.52%, to 17,710.74. MAY DAY HOLIDAY Many markets in Europe and the rest of the world were closed for the May Day holiday. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 1.47 points, or 0.18%, to 835.01. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index rose 0.02%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) , opens new tab fell 1.12 points, or 0.05%. Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) , opens new tab fell 2.97 points, or 0.27%, to 1,109.87. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab closed lower by 0.21%, to 579.81, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab rose 406.92 points, or 1.13%, to 36,452.30. The greenback continued its rebound on growing optimism over trade deals, gaining ground against the yen after the BoJ's outlook downgrade, which reduced the prospect for future rate hikes. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.52% to 100.19, with the euro down 0.34% at $1.1289. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 1.72% to 145.53. Longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields rose after factory data showed tariff-related strain on supply chains and elevated input prices, likely delaying potential rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 4.3 basis points to 4.218%, from 4.175% late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond yield rose 4.5 basis points to 4.7248% from 4.68% late on Wednesday. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 8 basis points to 3.701%, from 3.621% late on Wednesday. Oil prices reversed their earlier slump on waning fears of softening demand. U.S. crude rose 1.77% to settle at $59.24 per barrel, while Brent settled at $62.13 per barrel, up 1.75% on the day. Gold prices dropped to a two-week low, pressured by signs of easing trade tensions. Spot gold fell 1.82% to $3,227.78 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 2.76% to $3,213.80 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-pix-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 08:21
Investors turn bullish on S.Korean won, Taiwan dollar, Malaysian ringgit Bullish bets on Philippine peso highest in 7-1/2 months Shorts bets on Indonesian rupiah trimmed, but investors still firmly bearish May 1 (Reuters) - Investors ramped up their bullish bets on most Asian currencies, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, as worries about U.S. trade policies under President Donald Trump continued to weaken the dollar. Analysts increased their long positions on the Singapore dollar , the Indian rupee , the Thai baht , and the Philippine peso , according to a fortnightly poll of 10 respondents. Sign up here. They also turned bullish on the South Korean won , the Taiwan dollar and the Malaysian ringgit for the first time since October. The dollar notched its weakest monthly performance in 2-1/2 years in April, as tariff tensions ignited fears of a global economic slowdown and dented confidence in U.S. assets. However, the greenback has steadied recently as signs of progress in broader trade negotiations, including with China, which faces the highest levies. "With risk sentiment stabilizing on tentative signs of a U.S.-China de-escalation and the bond-vigilant U.S. administration helping to curtail a UST sell-off, Asian currencies could be somewhat supported tactically," Parisha Saimbi, an EM Asia FXLM strategist at BNP Paribas, said. Long bets on the Philippines peso, which gained 2.6% in April, reached their highest since mid-September, with analysts at Barclays suggesting that the market narrative around the country being likely more-insulated from tariff threats remains intact. The Philippines has not been spared from the global trade war triggered by Trump's tariffs, but it faces a comparatively modest 17% levies compared to other Southeast Asian economies. Analysts also trimmed their short positions on the Chinese yuan and the Indonesian rupiah but bets on the latter still remained firmly in the bearish territory. The rupiah has been on a downtrend since March on concerns over fiscal health and government policies. The currency's sharp drop to a record low in early-April had prompted Bank Indonesia (BI) to intervene in the offshore non-deliverable forward market to support the currency, and the bank also held policy rates steady last week aiming to maintain rupiah stability. BNP Paribas' Saimbi said that the rupiah has scope to catch up with regional peers. Valuations are attractive to turn tactically long on the rupiah now, Saimbi said, adding that she sees scope for some portfolio inflows if risk sentiment stabilizes. The Asian currency positioning poll is focused on what analysts and fund managers believe are the current market positions in nine Asian emerging market currencies: the Chinese yuan, South Korean won, Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Taiwan dollar, Indian rupee, Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht. The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3. A score of plus 3 indicates the market is significantly long U.S. dollars. The figures include positions held through non-deliverable forwards (NDFs). The survey findings are provided below (positions in U.S. dollar versus each currency): https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/asian-fx-bulls-gain-momentum-dollar-stays-under-pressure-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 07:11
NEW DELHI, May 1 (Reuters) - JSW Steel (JSTL.NS) , opens new tab, India's largest steelmaker by capacity, has hit a roadblock in sourcing coking coal from Mongolia due to unresponsive suppliers and transport bottlenecks, three sources familiar with the matter said. The company had aimed to import 2,500 metric tons from Mongolia, while the Steel Authority of India (SAIL.NS) , opens new tab was looking to bring in 75,000 metric tons. Sign up here. India, the world's second-largest producer of crude steel, meets 85% of its coking coal requirements through imports, with Australia supplying more than half of those shipments. Steel demand has skyrocketed in the country driven by rapid economic growth and increasing infrastructure spending. In a bid to diversify its supply chain for the key steelmaking ingredient, India has been exploring partnerships with resource-rich Mongolia, which industry officials have identified as a viable source of high-grade coking coal at relatively lower prices. "There is no response from the Mongolian side, and we are finding it difficult," one of the sources said, declining to be identified due to the sensitive nature of discussions. "On one hand, transport from Russia is clogged and on the other, it may not be feasible to get it from China on a sustainable basis," the source said. Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik said over the weekend that there were logistical challenges in sourcing material from landlocked Mongolia. The Mongolian prime minister's office and JSW Steel did not respond to emails from Reuters seeking comment. Ties have soured between India and China since the 2020 clash between troops along their Himalayan border, which killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese. However, there have been some signs of thaw with the neighbours agreeing in January to work on resolving trade and economic differences. Separately, JSW Steel, which imports about close to one-third of its coking coal needs from Russia, has no plans to increase imports from Moscow, the source said. "We don't want to raise our exposure in one geography," they said. The company also sources coking coal from Australia, the United States and Mozambique. Chief executive Jayant Acharya told Reuters last week that JSW Steel was open to buying coking coal assets based on commercial and strategic viability. India's coking coal imports will accelerate due to the limited availability of the key steelmaking ingredient amid a ramp-up of steel capacity, the steel secretary said last week. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/indias-jsw-steel-faces-challenges-importing-coking-coal-mongolia-sources-say-2025-05-01/
2025-05-01 06:56
NEW DELHI, May 1 (Reuters) - India has so far purchased 25.6 million metric tons of new season wheat from domestic farmers, up from 20.5 million tons during the same period last year, India's food secretary said on Thursday. The government is hopeful that it will be able to meet its wheat procurement target of 31.2 million tons, Sanjeev Chopra told a news conference. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-buys-256-million-metric-tons-wheat-domestic-farmers-2025-05-01/
