2025-01-30 11:30
Jan 30 (Reuters) - India's Shree Cement (SHCM.NS) , opens new tab reported a slump third-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by weak prices and a slowdown in activity in a seasonally weak period. The company's consolidated net profit plunged 72.5% to 1.93 billion rupees ($22.3 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31. Total revenue from operations dropped 12% to 45.73 billion rupees. KEY CONTEXT Cement prices have been falling for most of last year, including a 11% on-year drop in the December quarter, which is also a seasonally weak one as the pace of construction activity slows. However, market leader UltraTech (ULTC.NS) , opens new tab and its closest rivals, Adani Group-owned Ambuja (ABUJ.NS) , opens new tab and ACC (ACC.NS) , opens new tab, benefitted as their acquisition spree helped bolster volumes. However, while UltraTech and ACC reported upbeat results, smaller companies such as Dalmia Bharat (DALB.NS) , opens new tab and Orient Cement (ORCE.NS) , opens new tab succumbed to low prices. PEER COMPARISON * The mean of analysts' ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell ** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT OCT-DEC STOCK PERFORMANCE -- All data from LSEG -- $1 = 86.6120 Indian rupees Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indias-shree-cement-posts-725-plunge-q3-profit-weak-demand-prices-2025-01-30/
2025-01-30 11:28
Russia's oil output down to 516 mln T in 2024 Russia's gas output up to 685 bcm in 2024 Russia has so far defied forecasts of oil output collapse Oil and gas revenues rose to $108 bln last year in Russia MOSCOW, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Russia's oil and gas condensate production reached 516 million metric tons, or 10.32 million barrels per day, in 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told the energy ministry's in-house magazine on Thursday, around 2.8% lower compared to 2023. Russia has been holding down its oil production due to an agreement with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+. Russian's oil industry is also under Western sanctions, including an embargo on seaborne Russian oil imports and a price cap of $60 per barrel, due to Moscow's conflict in Ukraine. Novak said Russia's natural gas output rose by 7.6% to 685 billion cubic metres (bcm) last year, while exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased by 4% to 47.2 bcm. Russia has so far defied predictions of severe declines in its oil supply, including from the Paris-based watchdog International Energy Agency, which in March 2022 said it was possible markets would lose three million bpd of Russian crude. Russia has managed to redirect all of its crude oil exports affected by Western sanctions to what it terms "friendly" countries, such as China and India. OPEC+ DEAL Novak praised the OPEC+ agreement, saying it was beneficial to Russia. "The deal has a positive effect on the income of our country. Due to rising prices for Russian oil, the share of oil and gas revenues in the federal budget in 2024 amounted to about 30%," he said. According to the finance ministry, Russia's oil and gas revenues jumped by 26% last year to $108 billion after falling by 24% in 2023 on weaker oil prices and declining gas exports. Novak said oil exports amounted to 240 million tons last year. This was up from 238.3 million tons in 2023 and in line with government forecast. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russias-oil-output-down-28-gas-production-up-76-2024-deputy-pm-says-2025-01-30/
2025-01-30 11:08
A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan With Federal Reserve policy likely paused until midyear and megacaps throwing up a mixed bag of results so far, stock markets stayed calm overnight as attention switches to European interest rates and a fourth-quarter U.S. GDP healthcheck. Quarterly results from Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and Meta (META.O) , opens new tab after the bell on Wednesday drew different reactions, with the artificial intelligence theme more broadly thrown into the flux this week by China's DeepSeek revelation. With the heavy AI spend of both firms in question due to the arrival of the cheaper Chinese model, but defended by their respective bosses overnight, Microsoft shares shed 4% out of hours while Meta jumped 4%. Traders fretted about the former's cloud business outlook but took Meta's beat at face value. Auto giant Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab jumped 4%, meantime, as plans for cheaper models this year appeared to offset an earnings miss. Apple and Intel top another heavy earnings diary on Thursday. The upshot before Thursday's open is that index futures , are up to half a percent higher, brushing aside Wednesday's expected Fed decision to keep rates on hold while it assesses the impact of new government policies in Washington. Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed was in no "hurry" to change a "well-positioned" stance even as President Donald Trump lambasted the central bank for doing a "terrible" job on inflation while claiming it spent too much time on diversity and climate. Fed futures were broadly unchanged - pricing in another cut by midyear, only a 20% chance of an earlier move in March and two cuts overall for 2025. But Treasury yields have ebbed since the decision, in part due to signs of a weakening of the economy late last year and also as interest rates tumbled elsewhere around the world. The Bank of Canada cut its policy rates by another quarter point on Wednesday, citing in part the threat of Trump tariffs to the economy, and the European Central Bank is widely expected to lop another 25 basis points off its key rate on Thursday. TRADE DEFICIT But as traders awaited the release of U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product readouts later on Thursday too, Wednesday's news of a sharp widening of the international trade deficit reset some calculations about just how brisk growth is coming into this year. The U.S. goods trade deficit vaulted to a record high in December, prompting the Atlanta Fed's closely-watched "GDPNow" model to recalibrate to a 2.3% rate from a prior estimate of 3.2%. Forecasts for GDP growth prior to the trade release had centred on a 2.6% annualized rate for the last quarter - down from a 3.1% pace in the July-September period. Although still expanding well above the 1.8% rate that Fed policymakers view as the sustainable non-inflationary pace of growth, the economy is expected to have clocked a 2.8% advance for the full year - just off the 2.9% recorded for 2023. Ten-year Treasury yields fell back close to the year's lows around 4.5% ahead of the report, helped by a slide in U.S. crude oil prices to their lowest since Jan. 2 - with the year-on-year fall in crude as much as 7% for the first time in a month. The dollar index (.DXY) , opens new tab was steady, with the euro dipping slightly ahead of the expected ECB rate cut. In contrast to the still-upbeat U.S. growth rates, disappointing German and French GDP numbers for Q4 have given the ECB every reason to keep easing policy. The German economy contracted more than expected in the final quarter of last year as Europe's biggest economy struggles with trade worries and uncertainties ahead of a federal election next month. GDP fell by 0.2% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three-month period, and France unexpectedly contracted too - amid political and budgetary impasses there. Italy also stalled, leaving Spain as the only country among the euro zone's big four with a positive growth rate in Q4. A sliver of optimism cut across the reports from a pickup in euro zone economic sentiment in January and, encouraged in part by ECB easing, euro zone stocks climbed another 0.5% on Thursday. That was despite some earnings-day hits to some big European companies. Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) , opens new tab fell 6% after Germany's largest lender posted a bigger-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter and 2024 full-year profits. STMicroelectronics (STMPA.PA) , opens new tab, one of Europe's largest chipmakers, fell 8% to a near five year low after a poor forecast for the first quarter. With trade anxieties high on the list of concerns, the chance of a first sweep of Trump tariffs as soon as next week still looms large - even though officials appeared to hold out the chance of a deal and indicating reviews through April 1. Trump's commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said that Canada and Mexico can avoid Trump's threatened 25% U.S. import tariffs if they swiftly act to stop allowing fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States. "And as far as I know, they are acting swiftly, and if they execute it, there will be no tariff," he said. Key developments that should provide more direction to U.S. markets later on Thursday: * European Central Bank policy decision, with press conference from ECB President Christine Lagarde * US Q4 GDP estimate, weekly jobless claims, December pending home sales * US corporate earnings: Apple, Intel, Visa, Mastercard, UPS, Blackstone, Dow, Eastman Chemical, Caterpillar, Comcast, Dover, Altria Southwest Airlines, PPG, Northrop Grumman, Quest Diagnostics, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Gen Digital, Valero, Marsh & McLennan, International Paper, Baker Hughes, Weyerhauser, Cigna, Cardinal Health, AO Smith, Parker-Hannifin, Pultegroup, Sherwin-Williams, Roper, L3Harris, KLA, Hartford, Deckers Outdoor, Trane, Avery Dennison, Resmed Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/global-markets-view-usa-2025-01-30/
2025-01-30 10:55
NAIROBI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Kenya's shilling was flat against the dollar on Thursday, amid a lull in foreign currency demand, traders said. At 1035 GMT, the shilling traded at 129.00/129.50 per dollar, the same as at the close of trading on Wednesday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/kenyan-shilling-flat-lull-foreign-exchange-demand-2025-01-30/
2025-01-30 10:30
LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The pound was little changed on Thursday as markets were focused on a raft of major central bank meetings that will culminate with the Bank of England next week. Sterling stood at $1.2441, after holding broadly steady the previous day as the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates as expected and said it is in no hurry to cut again. The European Central Bank is widely expected to reduce rates at 1315 GMT on Thursday, in a reflection of the slowing euro zone economy and cooling inflationary pressures. The euro was flat against the pound on Thursday at 83.64 pence. Britain's currency has recovered much of the ground it lost in early January as investors sold British government bonds and sterling. The bond sell-off was largely driven by global factors, particularly a strong U.S. economy. But analysts said the drop in the pound at the same time mirrored concerns about low growth, sticky inflation and high government debt levels in Britain. Data released two weeks ago relieved the pressure, however, showing that services inflation fell to its lowest since March 2022. Investors expect the Bank of England to cut interest rates by 25 basis points next Thursday to 4.75%, when it will also update its economic growth and inflation forecasts. Financial markets on Thursday priced in almost three quarter-point BoE rate cuts this year, compared with fewer than two in early January. Finance minister Rachel Reeves gave a speech on Wednesday outlining plans to boost UK growth, including backing a long-delayed new runway at London's Heathrow Airport. "Potential investors in UK plc are still confronted by headwinds that include high energy prices, high interest rates and the forthcoming hikes in taxation and minimum wages," said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank. "Although a dovish statement from the BoE at the Feb. 6 policy meeting can be expected to keep the pound on the back foot in the near term, it would also provide comfort for investors and the business community." Data on Thursday showed UK mortgage lending rose by the most since September 2022 in December, although the pound displayed little reaction. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-treads-water-markets-look-bank-england-2025-01-30/
2025-01-30 10:04
LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - British lenders approved more mortgages than expected in December and net mortgage lending volumes rose by the most in more than two years, according to Bank of England data that echoed other signs of demand in the housing market. The BoE said on Thursday that lenders approved 66,526 new mortgages for house purchase last month, higher than a median forecast of 65,400 in a Reuters poll of economists and slightly from November's upwardly revised reading. Secured lending jumped by a net 3.568 billion pounds ($4.44 billion), over a billion pounds more than November's increase and the biggest rise since September 2022, when then Prime Minister Liz Truss' "mini-budget" at the end of the month triggered bond market turmoil and a subsequent lending slowdown. A report published two weeks ago by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed house prices in December also rose at their fastest pace since September 2022 along with a continued increase in sales and new buyer enquiries. The expiry at the end of March this year of temporary tax incentives for buyers of less expensive homes and first-time buyers is expected to bring forward some demand in the property market. The prospect of interest rate cuts by the BoE in 2025 is also encouraging buyers. The central bank's data showed a net increase of more than 1 billion pounds in consumer credit lending, the biggest increase in three months. However, lending growth in the quarter as a whole slowed to its weakest since September 2021 at 5.2% on an annualised basis. Karim Haji, global and UK head of financial services at KPMG, said the month-on-month rise in borrowing could be a sign of strain on household finances. "It's no surprise to see borrowing rise in a particularly expensive month when the cost of living remains high," Haji said. "A colder than average December triggered greater demand for energy, adding to households' financial strain." ($1 = 0.8039 pounds) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/uk-lenders-approved-more-mortgages-than-expected-december-2025-01-30/
