2025-04-22 04:31

April 22 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. There is an old saying that when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold. But if the malady is a self-inflicted wound, is contagion inevitable? There might be a hint of that in Asian markets today given the Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab is flat even though the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab shed 2.4% on Monday. Usually it would be down 1,000 points. And that's despite a stronger yen. Sign up here. After all, the money fleeing U.S. assets has to go somewhere, and not just to European defence stocks. Thus, according to LSEG Lipper data, investors bought a net $11 billion in European equity funds and $3.6 billion in Asian equity funds in the week to April 16, while U.S. equity funds saw an outflow of $10.6 billion. Since then, President Trump has upped the stakes by attacking Fed Chair Powell for not cutting rates as speedily as Trump would like. It's not clear if he has the power to fire the Chair, but just the appearance of threatening the independence of the central bank is another body blow for investor confidence in the full faith and trust of the United States. That saw the dollar hit another decade low on the Swissy at 0.8842, bringing losses since "tariff day" - calling them reciprocal is an insult to the English language - to more than 8%. The euro has popped above $1.1500 and the dollar is testing the 140.00 yen bulwark. Foreign investors in the U.S. who were unhedged have had a particularly painful April. Yields on 10-year Treasuries climbed to 4.41%, extending the recent jump in term risk. If Trump would consider forcing Powell out and appointing a loyalist, then the idea of, say, replacing Treasuries with zero coupon perpetual bonds might not seem so unthinkable. It's also counterproductive for Trump, since now the Fed might be less willing to cut rates for fear of being seen as bowing to political pressure. It was notable that Fed fund futures are down and remain 90% against a rate cut in May. There are at least five Fed speakers on the diary today and it'll be interesting to see how they handle this thorny political issue. Dodge, maybe. Also out today are Tesla's (TSLA.O) , opens new tab results, so investors will get to see how much bad news is already in the share price. Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday: - ECB members Knot and de Guindos speak, BoE's Breeden - Fed members speaking include Jefferson, Kugler, Barkin, Kashkari and Harker - EU consumer confidence, US Richmond Fed survey https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/global-markets-view-europe-2025-04-22/

2025-04-22 03:50

BEIJING, April 22 (Reuters) - Shares of China's CMOC Group (603993.SS) , opens new tab, jumped on Tuesday, after the miner said it would acquire Canada-listed Lumina Gold (LUM.V) , opens new tab for C$581 million ($420.7 million) in an all-cash deal. The acquisition will enable CMOC gain access to the flagship asset of Lumina Gold's Cangrejos gold project , opens new tab, with total mineral reserves , opens new tab of 659 million tons, located in Ecuador's El Oro province, the largest primary gold deposit in the south American country. Sign up here. CMOC's Shanghai-listed shares jumped more than 4%, while its Hong Kong shares rose over 8%. Shares of Lumina Gold soared by 29%. The acquisition comes at a time when gold prices have staged a rally to multiple historical highs this year, fueled by safe-heaven demand amid uncertainties around the U.S. tariff impact and lingering geopolitical conflicts. CMOC, headquarted in Luoyang city in central China's Henan province, reported an annual increase of 64% in net profit for 2024 in March, aided by a ramp-up in copper and cobalt output. The company also has assets of molybdenum, tungsten, niobium and phosphate fertilizer. ($1 = 1.3811 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/shares-chinas-cmoc-jump-after-announcing-acquisition-lumina-gold-2025-04-22/

2025-04-22 02:57

MUMBAI, April 22 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee's winning run is likely to halt on Tuesday, pressured by a drop in Asian currencies stoked by the Chinese yuan and the local currency's failure to breach a key resistance level. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated that the rupee will open at 85.22-85.24 to the U.S. dollar, compared with its previous close of 85.1275. Sign up here. The rupee failed to break past the psychological 85 mark on Monday. The 200-day moving average, currently lodged in the 84.90-85.00 zone, proved to be a resistance level, which did not surprise most market participants. A currency trader at a leading private bank noted that the rupee's inability to conquer the 85 threshold "is an issue," especially considering the broader weakness across Asian currencies. One of the main drags on the region was the onshore Chinese yuan, which weakened to near 7.31 per dollar. The People’s Bank of China set the official mid-point at 7.2075, compared to 7.2055 on Monday, despite the dollar index's slump to a three-year low. The dollar continued its slide against major peers, pressured by President Donald Trump’s criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and confrontational trade policies. Investor confidence in U.S. assets has wavered amid concerns over the Fed’s independence and the toll Trump's tariffs could exact on the U.S. economy. The unease was visible across asset classes on Monday. U.S. equities tumbled, while Treasuries declined. “Conviction levels are high that exceptional U.S. growth has been eroded and that the dollar needs to come lower,” ING Bank said in a note, adding that April is shaping up to be a pivotal month for the currency. The dollar index is down a substantial 5.7% this month, on track for its sharpest monthly drop in at least a decade. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 85.38; onshore one-month forward premium at 16.5 paisa ** Dollar index at 98.34 ** Brent crude futures at $66.6 per barrel, dropped 2.5% on Monday ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.41%, rose 8 basis points on Monday ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors bought a net $504.5 million worth of Indian shares on April 17 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors sold a net $18 million worth of Indian bonds on April 17 https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupees-winning-streak-threatened-by-yuan-losses-technical-hurdle-2025-04-22/

2025-04-22 00:31

SEOUL, April 22 (Reuters) - South Korea will implement smaller tax cuts on oil products from May, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Tax breaks will be extended until the end of June, with the rate adjusted to 10% for gasoline, from the current 15%, and that for diesel and liquefied petroleum gas butane to 15% from 23%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/south-korea-implement-smaller-fuel-tax-cuts-may-2025-04-22/

2025-04-21 23:17

Indexes down: Dow 3.19%, S&P 500 3.27%, Nasdaq 3.48% Trump's criticism of Powell raises concerns over Fed's independence Sino-U.S. trade tensions deepen, affecting global tariff negotiations Tesla slips after report of delay in Model Y launch FIS jumps after brokerage upgrade NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks suffered steep losses on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, prompting investors to worry about the central bank's independence even as they grapple with the effects of Trump's ongoing, erratic trade war. All three major indexes tumbled more than 2%, with big losses in the "Magnificent Seven" group of megacap growth stocks weighing heaviest on the tech-laden Nasdaq. Sign up here. The S&P 500 closed 16% below its February 19 record closing high. If the bellwether index closes 20% below that all-time high, that will confirm the index has entered a bear market. Trump escalated his criticism of Powell on Monday, saying the U.S. economy is headed for a slowdown "unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates NOW," in a bellicose Truth Social post which raised concerns over the Fed's autonomy. "Countries that have an independent central bank grow faster, have lower inflation; they have better economic outcomes for their people," said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management in St. Louis. "And politicians trying to influence the Fed is a really bad idea, and it's very scary for the market." The Sino-U.S. trade rift deepened after Beijing warned other countries against striking deals with the United States at China's expense, adding fuel to the spiraling tariff war between the world's two largest economies. "Companies are ... not sure how to respond, waiting for final answers from the United States about tariff rates," Ellerbroek added. "What makes it dispiriting, I think, is the fact that this is like self-inflicted; we're in this situation by choice, by this administration's choice." The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 971.82 points, or 2.48%, to 38,170.41, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 124.50 points, or 2.36%, to 5,158.20 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 415.55 points, or 2.55%, to 15,870.90. All 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 ended in negative territory, with consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab and tech (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab suffering the biggest percentage losses. First-quarter earnings season shifts into higher gear this week with dozens of closely watched firms due to report. So far, of the 59 companies that have reported, 68% have beaten Wall Street expectations, according to LSEG data. As of Thursday, analysts expect aggregate first-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 8.1%, year-on-year, down from the 12.2% growth projected at the beginning of the quarter, per LSEG. Notable earnings on the docket this week include Magnificent Seven members Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, and a host of high-profile industrials including Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab, Northrop Grumman (NOC.N) , opens new tab, Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) , opens new tab and 3M (MMM.N) , opens new tab. Artificial intelligence heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab dropped 4.5% after Reuters reported that Huawei Technologies planned to begin mass shipments of an advanced AI chip to customers in China as early as next month. Tesla dropped 5.8% after Reuters reported that the production launch of its stripped-down version of the Model Y was delayed. FIS (FIS.N) , opens new tab gained 2.4% after a brokerage upgrade. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 4.76-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 77 new highs and 180 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,205 stocks rose and 3,174 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.63-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and nine new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 28 new highs and 184 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 13.89 billion shares, compared with the 18.87 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. (This story has been corrected to say February 19, not June 19, in paragraph 3) https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-drop-trump-takes-aim-powell-2025-04-21/

2025-04-21 21:56

CHICAGO, April 21 (Reuters) - Grains merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM.N) , opens new tab will permanently close its soybean processing plant in Kershaw, South Carolina, later this spring as part of a cost-cutting and consolidation push announced earlier this year, the company confirmed to Reuters on Monday. ADM has been cutting jobs and downsizing some operations since it announced in February that it planned to cut costs by $500 million to $700 million over three to five years. Sign up here. "After exploring a wide variety of alternatives, we've determined that our Kershaw crush plant no longer aligns with our future operational needs," ADM spokesperson Dane Lisser said. The company, still reeling from an accounting scandal last year that sent its stock price tumbling, is now facing stiff headwinds amid rising trade tensions between the United States and key markets including top soybean importer China. The Kershaw plant will be the first U.S. soybean processing plant to close following a multi-year, industry-wide expansion amid soaring vegetable oil demand from biofuels makers, according to industry sources. But the biofuel sector has more recently been throttling back production due to U.S. biofuels policy uncertainty and the potential for a worsening trade war. The Kershaw plant is the smallest of more than a dozen dedicated soy processing facilities operated by ADM in the United States, with the capacity to crush 50,000 bushels a day, according to industry sources. ADM said it will help Kershaw employees find new jobs and provide financial severance for those that elect to leave the company, but did not disclose the number of workers impacted. The Kershaw plant employed between 11 and 50 workers, according to South Carolina Department of Commerce data. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/adm-closing-soybean-processing-plant-kershaw-south-carolina-2025-04-21/