2026-01-16 06:14

US stocks clock weekly losses after several stormy sessions Stocks flinch, yields rise as Trump tells Hassett to stay put Dollar gains as odds drop on Hassett for Fed chair Ebbing geopolitical risks take spotlight off gold Oil traders buy crude ahead of long weekend Jan 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street indexes ended with modest weekly losses on Friday in spite of strong earnings in tech and banking, while the U.S. dollar stood firm near a six-week high as President Donald Trump suggested he might not name his expected candidate, a rate-cutting advocate, as Federal Reserve chair. Gold slowed after a roaring ride on safe haven demand. Oil prices, however, rose as traders covered short positions ahead of a long weekend in the U.S. and continued to fret about supply risks even after Trump dialed down talk of intervening to address a government crackdown on protests in . Sign up here. Just two full trading weeks into 2026, investors have been presented with a global maelstrom, including Trump's intervention in Venezuela, stated desire to take over Greenland and threat to indict Fed chair Jerome Powell, which raised worries about central bank independence. U.S. indexes turned lower for a time and Treasury yields ticked up after Trump said he may want to keep economic adviser Kevin Hassett in his current role, eroding expectations that Hassett would succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 83.11 points, or 0.17%, to 49,359.33, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 4.46 points, or 0.06%, to 6,940.01 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 14.63 points, or 0.06%, to 23,515.39. For the week, the S&P 500 was down 0.38%, the Nasdaq declined 0.66% and the Dow fell 0.29%. Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, said one reason markets were "flat-lining" was anticipation of more earnings releases. "To finish the week around flat with the S&P 500 still within spitting distance of 7,000 - most investors will take that as a win two weeks into the year," Saglimbene said. SEARCH FOR VALUE Stock traders rediscovered their enthusiasm for AI this week after strong results from chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW) , opens new tab, even as some buyers switched out of heavyweight tech names into smaller cap stocks on the hunt for value. The financials sector (.SPSY) , opens new tab was down on the week, partly due to a proposal from Trump to cap credit card interest rates. That jostled with strong quarterly earnings from big U.S. banks which gave some positive signs for the broader economy. Consumer staples (.SPLRCS) , opens new tab, real estate (.SPLRCR) , opens new tab and utilities (.SPLRCU) , opens new tab - all sectors less susceptible to downturns, performed better. Netflix (NFLX.O) , opens new tab, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) , opens new tab and Intel (INTC.O) , opens new tab are among the household names reporting next week. "I WOULD LOSE YOU" Hassett, who has echoed Trump's calls for lower interest rates, had been seen as the front-runner for the Fed chair. Analysts have questioned whether his appointment to the Fed would undercut the independence that shields it from short-term political pressures. "Kevin Hassett is so good. I'm saying, 'Wait a minute, if I move him -- these Fed guys, certainly the one we have now, they don't talk much.' I would lose you. It's a serious concern to me," Trump said at a White House event. Betters on Polymarket pushed the odds of former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh becoming the next Fed chair to 57% from 44%. U.S. Treasury yields moved higher after Trump's remarks. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes was last seen up 6.7 basis points to 4.227%, from 4.16% late on Thursday. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.03% to 99.38, with the euro down 0.05% at $1.1599. The index had reached a six-week high on Thursday, helped by unexpectedly strong jobs data which pushed off the prospect of further interest rate cuts. Markets are betting on a 20% chance of a rate cut in March, down from roughly 50% a month ago . The yen also strengthened after Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Tokyo would not rule out any options to counter weakness in the currency. LINGERING IRAN RISK Oil prices rose as traders covered themselves by buying crude ahead of a weekend which is longer in the U.S. due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Some concerns lingered about risk to oil supply in the wake of unrest in Iran, despite receding prospects of U.S. intervention there. Potential supply increases from Venezuela weighed against those fears. Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel, up 37 cents or 0.58%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate finished at $59.44 a barrel, up 25 cents, or 0.42%. Gold gave up its spot as the biggest trade in town as investors booked profits and demand waned for safe havens. It fell more than 1% before recovering some ground to be quoted 0.44% to $4,593.28 an ounce. It is still set for its second consecutive weekly gain. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-1-pix-2026-01-16/

2026-01-16 06:05

LITTLETON, Colorado, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The year 2025 in the LNG sector will be one for the history books after production and exports of the super-chilled fuel smashed records and raked in billions of dollars in revenues across the global liquefied natural gas supply chain. A 25% surge in LNG purchases by European countries was a key highlight and raised hopes among gas sellers that further growth in gas use in economies such as Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom is in store for 2026 and beyond. Sign up here. On the other hand, lower imports by three of the five largest LNG buyers - all in Asia - have raised profit concerns, especially among exporters banking on selling the even greater volumes of LNG expected to hit the market this year. As 2026 gets underway, here are some of the growth markets and soft spots that will be closely eyed by the LNG sector. EUROPE'S STAYING POWER The steep climbs in LNG purchases by several European countries in 2025 beg the question whether the region can sustain such a voracious appetite. On the plus side, Europe's generation of electricity from gas-fired power plants posted its first annual rise last year since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine snarled regional gas flows in 2022. Total European gas-fired electricity output during January to November was 1,009 terawatt hours (TWh), according to think tank Ember, up 3.4% from the same months in 2024 and the first year-over-year increase for that period since 2021. Further increases in gas-fired power generation will obviously trigger further LNG import demand, especially in markets with shortages of alternative power sources. Europe's broader industrial economy, however, remains hobbled by weak manufacturing and consumer demand, and output among gas-intensive sectors such as chemicals and fertilizers remains near historic lows in top regional producer Germany. Until a synchronised upturn in consumer and business activity takes root, it's likely that Europe's overall demand for natural gas may remain patchy, which may cap any further increases in LNG import interest over the near term. Another question for LNG exporters is whether Europe's LNG purchases in 2025 were artificially inflated as several countries attempted to narrow their trade gaps with the United States during trade talks with the Trump administration. European imports of LNG from the U.S. last year jumped by close to 60% from 2024 levels, data from commodities intelligence firm Kpler shows. That outsized jump in U.S. purchases - well above the increase in Europe's total LNG imports - suggests the region may have been trying to curry favour with President Donald Trump as European and U.S. policymakers discussed trade deals. With international focus now turning more to geopolitical concerns - such as the U.S. interest in acquiring Greenland - it is possible that European countries may prove less keen to please President Trump in 2026. If that's the case, volumes of U.S. LNG imports aimed at reducing trade deficits in 2025 may get curbed in 2026. ASIA'S PLATEAU? LNG exporters also have questions about the state of demand in Asia, which accounted for around 64% of all LNG imports last year, data from Kpler shows. Total shipments to Asian buyers last year were just over 613 million cubic meters, marking a nearly 5% fall from 2024. While a 5% volume slip was not much of a concern through 2025 given the steep growth in sales to Europe, LNG exporters will be anxious if Asia's overall appetite remains weak this year and Europe's buying pace also slows. The top two overall LNG importers - China and Japan - registered LNG import cuts of 15% and 2% respectively in 2025. The synchronized dip in imports by such critical markets will remain a cause for concern in 2026, especially if China's economy remains sluggish and trade relations with the United States and other markets remain chilled. Rapidly expanding renewables power generation in China and steadily recovering nuclear power generation in Japan are further causes for concern as those power sources squeeze gas out of generation mixes. LNG purchases by number four importer - India - also dropped by 7% last year, yet another source of worry among LNG exporters who had hoped India would be a steady growth market. Higher global gas prices have resulted in a steady decline in gas-fired electricity generation in India so far this decade, bringing as well a sharp slowdown in spending on gas distribution and storage infrastructure. Bullish forecasters argue the steady swell in planned LNG exports will drive global prices lower and reignite demand for the fuel in fast-growing but cost-sensitive economies like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. They may be right, but with benchmark natural gas prices near three-year highs and rising in the United States - the top global gas producer - it may be hard for LNG exporters to drive sale prices lower over the near term. That may leave LNG exporters in 2026 focusing on already established markets, struggling in Europe to grow sales much from last year's levels and hampered in Asia by patchy demand as China's economy struggles for growth. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/what-excites-worries-lng-exporters-2026-2026-01-16/

2026-01-16 05:38

Chinese regulators have required asset sales in past deals Concentration in copper, iron ore marketing could be among top concerns, analysts and lawyers say Rio Tinto had been exploring asset-for-equity swap with China's Chinalco before Glencore talks announced BEIJING/MELBOURNE, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The proposed tie-up between Rio Tinto (RIO.L) , opens new tab, (RIO.AX) , opens new tab and Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab could require asset sales to secure regulatory approval from top commodity buyer China, which has longstanding concerns about resource security and market concentration. The two mining giants revealed last week that for the second time in two years they were in early merger talks - potentially creating the world's largest mining company with a market value of more than $200 billion. Sign up here. But analysts and lawyers said the scale of their sales to China means any deal will need approval from Beijing, as have past mining mega-deals such as Glencore's $35 billion purchase of Xstrata in 2013. China's antitrust regulator is likely to be concerned about a combined entity's concentration in copper production and marketing as well as iron ore marketing, several analysts and lawyers told Reuters. Beijing may also see an opportunity to force asset sales to friendly entities, they added. Even before the Glencore talks were made public, Rio Tinto had already been exploring an asset-for-equity swap aimed at trimming the 11% holding of its biggest shareholder, state-run Aluminium Corporation of China, known as Chinalco. Rio Tinto's Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea and Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia were among the assets of interest to Chinalco, sources said then. To get the Glencore deal over the line, assets in Africa are especially likely sales candidates as Latin America has become less accepting of Chinese investment, according to Glyn Lawcock, an analyst at Barrenjoey in Sydney. "China will see this as an opportunity to squeeze out assets," he said. China's commerce ministry, its market regulator and Chinalco did not respond to questions about the deal. Glencore and Rio Tinto declined to comment. GLENCORE PRECEDENT Glencore has been here before. In 2013, Chinese regulators forced the Swiss-based company to sell its stake in the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, one of the world's largest, to Chinese investors for nearly $6 billion in exchange for blessing its takeover of Xstrata. "The Las Bambas deal is still looked at as a very successful solution and it's going to be a potential playbook that regulators can draw on," a China-based partner at an international law firm said on condition of anonymity. Glencore also agreed to sell Chinese customers minimum quantities of copper concentrate at certain prices for just over seven years as Beijing was concerned the merged group would have too much power over the copper market. Copper assets are in even higher demand today given the metal's role in the green transition and artificial intelligence. Rio Tinto and Glencore are shifting their focus to the metal, as are rival miners including Australia's BHP (BHP.AX) , opens new tab. Chinese regulators will also be examining a planned $53 billion copper-focused merger between Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab and Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) , opens new tab, Teck CEO Jonathan Price said in September. POLITICAL CHALLENGES Copper's rising importance is politicising the metal. The White House has alluded to China's dominance over the supply chain as a direct threat to national security , opens new tab and it remains to be seen how it would react to major mineral asset sales to Chinese interests. A combined Rio Tinto-Glencore would market about 17% of global copper supply, according to Lawcock, although analysts at Barclays say the share of mine production is only 7.5% and unlikely to trigger major antitrust concerns. Nonetheless politics has doomed deals before. U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm walked away from a $44 billion deal to buy NXP Semiconductors in 2018 after failing to get approval from Chinese regulators in what was seen as a response to the trade war then underway between Washington and Beijing. The inability to get Chinese regulators on board similarly sank Nvidia's proposed takeover of Arm Ltd. In previous resource deals, however, Beijing has given approval as part of a bargain. A year before the sale of Las Bambas, Beijing required major changes to a tie-up between Japan's Marubeni and U.S. grain merchant Gavilon, citing food security concerns. "Clearly this would be a long, complicated deal from a regulatory approval perspective," Mark Kelly, CEO of advisory firm MKI Global Partners, wrote in a note, "and the presence of Chinalco on Rio’s shareholder register always complicates this picture further." https://www.reuters.com/world/china/rio-tinto-glencore-merger-may-need-asset-sales-win-over-china-2026-01-16/

2026-01-16 05:33

Markets were set to end the week on a high on Friday as the artificial intelligence trade regained momentum, but more crucially for investors, attention will be on the yen and whether Tokyo could ‌soon step in to prop up its currency. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday Tokyo "won't rule out any options" to counter the yen's weakness, including potential coordinated intervention with Washington. Sign up here. Her comments were the latest in a string of jawboning from authorities in Tokyo this week, in a bid to stem declines in the currency which ‌is already down about 1% for the year thus far. The yen rose on Friday, with its gains further bolstered by a Reuters report that some Bank of Japan policymakers see scope to raise interest rates sooner than markets expect. But it remains on the cusp of the ‍key 160-per-dollar level after its fall to an 18-month low this week revived talk that intervention could be imminent. The latest bout of yen weakness has come from the prospect of a snap election in Japan next month, where investors expect Prime ⁠Minister Sanae Takaichi could be handed a stronger mandate to pursue more stimulus. But it remains to be ‍seen how much yen weakness authorities are willing to tolerate, given its impact on the cost of importing fuel, ‌food and ‌various materials that could push up prices of broader consumer products. Elsewhere, oil prices extended their steep declines from the previous session and safe-havens gold and silver halted their sparkling rally after U.S. President Donald Trump adopted a wait-and-see posture towards the unrest in Iran, having earlier threatened intervention. Trump said he had been told that ⁠killings in Iran's crackdown ⁠on protests were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions. The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, held near a six-week high as investors pared back bets of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year following a slew of upbeat economic ‍data on Thursday. Markets are now pricing in a 67% chance that the Federal Reserve will stand pat on rates in April, up from 37% a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Odds for a steady outcome in June have also risen to 37.5%, compared to 17% last month. Key ‍developments that could influence markets on Friday: - Fed's Collins, Bowman, Jefferson speak - U.S. industrial production (December) - U.S. National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) housing market index (January) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-view-europe-2026-01-16/

2026-01-16 05:26

Deal includes $5.2 billion in equity, $2.33 billion in debt It marks Mitsubishi's biggest acquisition Mitsubishi aims to strengthen gas value chain TOKYO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) , opens new tab said on Friday it would take over the U.S. shale production and infrastructure assets of Aethon Energy Management for $7.53 billion to strengthen its gas value chain. The deal - the biggest acquisition to date by Mitsubishi - would give the company a substantial natural gas operation adjacent to the U.S. Gulf Coast and the energy export facilities being developed there. Sign up here. The transaction includes $5.2 billion to acquire Aethon's equity interests and $2.33 billion of net interest-bearing debt. "Building on our North American energy platform - including shale gas development in Canada, midstream marketing and logistics operations in Houston, liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports via LNG Canada and Cameron LNG - this acquisition further strengthens our integrated energy business," Mitsubishi said in a statement. The deal is the latest example of a Japanese company investing in the U.S. energy sector after Tokyo positioned gas as its key transition fuel beyond 2050 and as Japan prepares for surging power demand from data centres driven by the artificial intelligence boom. Mitsubishi is a major player in the global LNG sector across the full value chain, from upstream production to trading, marketing and logistics. It holds stakes in multiple LNG projects worldwide, including in projects in Malaysia, Oman, Australia, Russia, the U.S. and Canada, giving it equity LNG production of 15 million metric tons per year. The upstream assets of Aethon primarily focus on the Haynesville shale formation in Louisiana and East Texas. The holdings have made it one of the largest privately held U.S. gas producers, with output of 2.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, equivalent to 15 million tons per year of LNG. Mitsubishi said it reached an agreement with Aethon and its existing stakeholders, including the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and RedBird Capital Partners, for a total equity investment of $5.2 billion. The deal is expected to close in the April to June quarter, subject to regulatory approvals. The Japanese company plans to use cash, debt financing and other methods to pay for the deal, a company spokesperson said. In October, JERA, Japan's top power generator, said it would buy U.S. natural gas production assets for $1.5 billion, and Japan Petroleum Exploration (1662.T) , opens new tab said in December it would acquire Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings (VRIH), which owns U.S. tight oil and gas assets, for $1.3 billion in its largest-ever deal. Shares in Mitsubishi extended their decline following the news, trading down 1.5% against a flat broader benchmark Nikkei 225 index (.N225) , opens new tab. Reuters reported in June last year that Mitsubishi was in talks to acquire the assets of Aethon Energy Management. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mitsubishi-take-over-texas-louisiana-shale-gas-assets-753-billion-2026-01-16/

2026-01-16 05:21

MUMBAI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee slid to its worst one-day fall in nearly two months on Friday, as elevated dollar demand from importers alongside maturing positions in the non-deliverable forwards market hurt the South Asian currency. Intermittent dollar sales from state-run banks, most likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, helped limit the currency's fall, traders said. Sign up here. The rupee closed at 90.8650 per dollar, down 0.6% on the day to log its worst drop since mid-November last year and inching closer to its all-time low of 91.0750 hit in December. The currency was down about 0.7% week-on-week. The local currency's weakness also contributed to pushing dollar-rupee forward premiums to 3-week highs as importers locked in hedges while interbank traders held on to a paying bias. "The depreciation pressure on the INR is likely here to stay, especially in the absence of an India-US trade deal," analysts at ANZ said in a note. India's merchandise trade deficit for December stood at $25.04 billion, data released on Thursday showed. The data also pointed to resilience in exports to the U.S. despite steep tariffs. While the RBI's interventions to support the currency limit near-term weakness they also throw up a challenge by draining rupee liquidity from the banking system, which exerts upward pressure on local borrowing costs. "The optimal policy course will be to tolerate a more flexible exchange rate such that liquidity can be boosted to levels sufficient to support domestic demand," ANZ's note said. Meanwhile, Asian currencies were largely rangebound and the dollar index hovered near a six-week high after upbeat U.S. economic data left traders trimming bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts. Markets are now pricing in a 67% chance that the Federal Reserve will stand pat on rates in April, up from 37% a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Odds of cuts in January and March are around 5% and 20%, respectively. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-drop-hawkish-fed-comments-moderating-trade-deficit-rbi-lend-support-2026-01-16/