2025-04-29 05:42

MUMBAI, April 29 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is experiencing a choppy session on Tuesday amid nervousness about the possibility of heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad, leaving traders on high alert for news. After opening on a weak note, the rupee briefly touched 84.95 - its highest level this year - only to plummet to near 85.40. The drop to 85.40 was linked to stop losses and headline risk. Sign up here. The rupee was last quoted at 85.21 to the U.S. dollar, down 0.2% on the day. An FX spot trader at a bank said the rupee was "just too volatile", and that the market was "highly sensitive" to any form of India-Pakistan news. The trader emphasised the need to be very nimble and to keep position sizes small. Anxiety stemming from a Pakistani official's comments late on Monday was likely responsible for the rupee's wild fluctuations, bankers said. Pakistan's defence minister said a military incursion by neighbouring India was imminent in the aftermath of a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir last week. The price action on Tuesday showed that one headline can "change a big figure" on the USD/INR pair, a trader at a private sector bank added. Most other Asian currencies were higher on Tuesday, boosted by the softer dollar index. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-pakistan-border-strain-triggers-rollercoaster-ride-rupee-2025-04-29/

2025-04-29 04:33

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook As U.S. futures have tiptoed back upwards near early April's levels, it's the dollar that is left licking the wounds of Donald Trump's first 100 days in office as it slides towards its largest monthly drop in years. Sign up here. Traders have sold the greenback as tariffs threaten U.S. growth, productivity and dynamism, and its role as a safe harbour has come into question while Trump's chaotic communications roil markets. There are 1,362 days left until the end of his term in 2029. Tuesday brought a new walkback on parts of the automotive tariffs, which will no longer pile on top of other import levies, though that was greeted warily with European and U.S. futures up only slightly in the Asia session. Investors are looking for more concrete signs of progress in winding back the de-facto embargo levels of tariffs that the U.S. and China - the world's two biggest economies - have thrown up against each other in April. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC it was "up to China to de-escalate" while China has held off on stimulus, betting that Washington will blink first. Still, Trump's concession to automakers might show he is listening to business leaders, and indeed he is scheduled to host more than two dozen executives from Nvidia, Toyota, SoftBank and Hyundai at the White House on Wednesday. Before that, he is due to hold a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark his first 100 days. In Europe, the lights are coming back on in Portugal and Spain after Monday's huge power outage, with the root cause still unclear. Markets showed little immediate reaction to the victory of Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party in elections in Canada, where television networks were projecting a minority government. Euro zone confidence readings and inflation data for Spain and Belgium are due on Tuesday, along with earnings at HSBC (HSBA.L) , opens new tab and tariff bellwethers such as Adidas (ADSGn.DE) , opens new tab and Logitech (LOGN.S) , opens new tab. General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab and Visa (V.N) , opens new tab report during the U.S. day, ahead of mega-cap earnings at Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and Meta (META.O) , opens new tab later in the week. Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday: Earnings: Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Amundi, Adidas, BP, Logitech, General Motors, Visa Economics: Euro zone confidence, Spain and Belgium inflation Trying to keep up with the latest tariff news? Our new daily news digest offers a rundown of the top market-moving headlines impacting global trade. Sign up for Tariff Watch here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/global-markets-view-europe-2025-04-29/

2025-04-29 02:59

MUMBAI, April 29 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is set to weaken on Tuesday after comments from Pakistan's defence minister warning of an imminent military incursion by New Delhi raised concerns about a further increase in tensions between the two neighbours. This comes after a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir last week, for which India has blamed Pakistan. Sign up here. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated that the rupee will open at 85.12-85.16 to the U.S. dollar compared with 85.03 in the previous session. Following the remarks by the Pakistan official late on Monday, the 1-month USD/INR NDF briefly touched 85.50 before pulling back amid a weaker U.S. dollar. The rupee's losses would have been bigger if not for the weaker dollar, a currency trader at a bank said. Headline risk for the domestic unit has increased significantly and that likely means interbank players will lighten up their positions. The rupee and Indian equities rallied on Monday, suggesting that both markets had not priced in a further escalation in India-Pakistan tensions. DOLLAR STRUGGLES The dollar index dropped 0.7% on Monday near the 99 mark amid worries over the U.S.-China trade war. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview that it was up to China to de-escalate on tariffs, adding to a series of conflicting signals on the status of trade negotiations between the world’s largest economies. In a positive development for the rupee, Bessent said one of the first tariff deals could be reached with India. "Thus far, India seems to have come out on top both in terms of relative tariff differentials with China and its key export competitors such as Vietnam, and in terms of the speed of trade negotiations with the US on a potential trade deal," MUFG Bank said in a note. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 85.34; onshore one-month forward premium at 19.5 paise ** Dollar index at 99.06 ** Brent crude futures down 0.4% at $65.6 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.21% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors bought a net $589 million worth of Indian shares on April 25 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors sold a net $49.9 million worth of Indian bonds on April 25 https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-weaken-after-pakistan-officials-comments-heighten-cross-border-risks-2025-04-29/

2025-04-29 00:20

SAO PAULO, April 28 (Reuters) - Steelmaker Gerdau (GGBR4.SA) , opens new tab on Monday posted a slight beat in its core earnings for the first quarter, saying the United States' changes in steel trade policy helped offset weaker results in its home base of Brazil. Gerdau, Brazil's largest steelmaker by market capitalization and the owner of mills across the Americas, posted adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 2.4 billion reais, beating the 2.29 billion reais seen by analysts in an LSEG poll. Sign up here. Still, the adjusted EBITDA fell nearly 15% year-on-year, while adjusted net profit declined 39% to 758 million reais. Gerdau noted, however, that adjusted EBITDA remained nearly stable quarter-over-quarter due to stronger results in North America. In the earnings report, the firm said the higher demand in the United States was partly seasonal, "but also customers' reaction to changes in US trade policy, increasing inventory levels and favoring the purchase of domestically produced steel." Net revenue in North America increased more than 16% from the quarter ended in December, while falling 3.5% in Brazil. Gerdau's total net revenues stood at 17.38 billion reais in the quarter, above the 17.06 billion reais expected in an LSEG poll. ($1 = 5.6537 reais) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazilian-steelmaker-gerdau-posts-slight-core-earnings-beat-us-revenue-rises-2025-04-29/

2025-04-29 00:18

Woodside greenlights first new US LNG plant under Trump administration Decision 'de-risks' investment opportunity for potential equity partners, CEO says Trump tariffs seen as advantage due to project maturity and locked-in costs SYDNEY/HOUSTON, April 29 (Reuters) - Australia's Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab gave final approval to build a $17.5 billion liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana, confident a pro-fossil fuel U.S. administration and strong demand will give it competitive returns. The company's decision, announced on Monday, marks the first financial go-ahead to construct an LNG plant in the U.S. since President Donald Trump returned to office declaring an energy emergency and promising to unleash U.S. energy onto the world. Sign up here. Chief Executive Officer Meg O’Neill said Trump’s desire for “American energy dominance” boded well for the project, slated to deliver first gas in 2029, and the imposition of tariffs could even work to Woodside’s advantage. "The tariffs complicate things and create volatility. But in some ways, that gives us an edge," she told Reuters, citing the project’s headstart against other proposed U.S. plants, a fixed-price contract with construction firm Bechtel, and the fact all purchase orders for long lead items had already been issued. "Those costs are locked in ... We're able to take a (final investment decision) and other projects will probably be doing a bit of a recycle." The project also has the advantage of being in a foreign trade zone, which gives it relief on some customs duties. Construction would mostly involve U.S.-based contractors, workers and services, O'Neill said, while around half of the equipment and materials would be sourced in the U.S. Woodside said Louisiana LNG would help it produce around 24 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) from its worldwide LNG portfolio in the next decade, making up over 5% of global supply, to service demand in Europe and Asia. The project is expected to generate $2 billion in annual net operating cash in the 2030s, offering an internal rate of return of 13% and a payback period of seven years. “The project benefits from access to abundant low-cost gas resources in the United States and boasts an asset lifespan of more than 40 years,” O’Neill said. Louisiana governor Jeff Landry said the project was the biggest single foreign direct investment in his state’s history. “We are working with President Trump to deliver on America’s energy potential,” he said. Stonepeak, which has taken a 40% stake in the project's infrastructure arm, will contribute $5.7 billion towards the expected capital cost. O’Neill said Woodside was on an “aggressive” timeline to bring partners to further reduce its equity in the project. Analysts have estimated a further 20%-30% sale of its holding company stake would be needed to achieve its 50% selldown target, which they see as crucial to reduce the risks it faces with the huge project. Woodside’s shares rose 1.2% after the announcement but underperformed the broader energy subindex (.AXEJ) , opens new tab, up 2.4%. O'Neill said the final go-ahead for Louisiana LNG further de-risks the project for potential partners, declining to comment on whether Woodside was talking to Kuwait Petroleum. “The ship is sailing. It's now time for you to write your cheque and get your seat on the ship because there are others knocking at the door,” she said. ($1 = 1.5596 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/woodside-energy-commits-175-billion-louisiana-lng-project-2025-04-28/

2025-04-28 23:28

Iron Bridge timeline under review, assessment due by June Fiscal 2025 shipment and CAPEX guidance remain unchanged Quarterly shipments align with consensus estimate April 29 (Reuters) - Australian miner Fortescue (FMG.AX) , opens new tab posted higher third-quarter iron ore shipments on Thursday in line with analyst expectations, as output recovered from a train derailment in the same quarter a year earlier. The iron ore producer, chaired by its billionaire founder Andrew Forrest, posted quarterly iron ore shipments of 46.1 million metric tons (mt), compared with 43.3 million mt reported a year earlier. That was largely in line with a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 46.8 million mt. Sign up here. The uptick in iron ore shipments comes despite Fortescue facing significant weather disruptions, including a five-day closure of the port of Port Hedland and operational constraints from Tropical Cyclone Zelia that drove a 7% quarter-on-quarter decline. Shares of the world's fourth-largest iron ore miner rose as much as 2.1% to a four-week high of A$15.8, outperforming a 0.3% rise in the broader mining sector (.AXMM) , opens new tab. Fortescue said it continues to review the timeline for its Iron Bridge operations to reach full production capacity of 22 million mt annually, with an assessment of key processing equipment expected to be completed by June. For its green energy division, Fortescue is reassessing development timeframes for its Arizona Project in the U.S. and its Queensland-based Gladstone PEM50 Project, with "greater clarity" on external factors affecting these projects expected by June. The company maintained its fiscal 2025 iron ore shipments guidance of 190 million-200 million mt, including 5 million-9 million mt for Iron Bridge on a 100% basis. Projected 2025 capital expenditure of $3.5-$3.8 billion also remains unchanged. Fortescue delivered its first T 264 Power System to mining equipment manufacturer Liebherr during the quarter. The system is designed to convert diesel mining trucks to zero-emission vehicles as part of the company's decarbonization efforts. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australias-fortescue-shrugs-off-disruptions-post-higher-quarterly-iron-ore-2025-04-28/