2024-12-27 20:22

Dec 27 (Reuters) - Tech and growth stocks dragged Wall Street's main indexes lower on Friday, at the end of an upbeat holiday-shortened week that was driven by expectations around a traditionally strong period for markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 0.95%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab was down 1.33% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab briefly was down 1.72%. COMMENTS: SAM STOVALL, MARKET STRATEGIST, CFRA, ALLENTOWN, PA: “Investors had been saying, oh, I’ll take profits in the new year, and then I can wait to pay taxes on them until 2026; now some of them are wondering how much of those profits will still be around, so they’re just grabbing them now. And there are just more profits to take when it comes to the Nasdaq, which is up more than 30%. There’s a lot of uncertainty about how we’ll do in the first weeks or so of the new year. If the market is indeed worried about inflation, then as we head into 2025, those are likely to be some readings that aren’t so good. But the expectations for earnings growth are still strong, thanks to increased productivity and higher profit margins. The flip side? Valuations are at a 40% premium to the 20-year average for S&P 500 stocks.” JEFF SCHULZE, HEAD OF ECONOMIC & MARKET STRATEGY, CLEARBRIDGE INVESTMENTS, NEW YORK CITY: “The Santa Claus rally came a bit earlier this year, and I think this is profit taking ahead of another holiday-shortened week next week. That’s another reason I think this isn’t causing more apprehension heading into a weekend: it’s not uncommon for the market to hit air pockets when the volumes are light, and it’s been a slow week. Any volatility we witness should be a good buying opportunity.” “There is selling in Magnificent 7 stocks because they’ve accounted for 100% of all the profits in the S&P 500 so far this month and have outperformed the equal-weighted index, which is down. But the megacap leadership this time felt more like it was the result of a short squeeze; that investors who had been relatively underweight bringing their holdings back to benchmark levels. I think those exaggerated moves higher mean we could see the Mag 7 continue to lag over the next week or two.” ADAM TURNQUIST, CHIEF TECHNICAL STRATEGIST FOR LPL FINANCIAL: “Big tech is taking a much-deserved holiday break after doing most of the heavy lifting for the broader market since Election Day (the Magnificent Seven has contributed to around 85% of the S&P 500’s +4% gain since November 5). However, selling pressure today has expanded beyond just the mega caps as over 90% of S&P 500 constituents are trading in the red. And while it is hard to put a lot of weight in a thinly-traded holiday-shortened week, the latest relief rally has lost momentum and bulls are faced with another test at the 50-day moving average into the weekend. A failure to hold this level (5,940) would point to a likely retest of the November price gap near 5,860. Damaged market breadth and the lack of momentum indicators with bullish signals point to elevated near-term downside risk. The macro backdrop also has become more challenging for a sustained recovery, especially with 10-year Treasury yields and the dollar breaking out above key resistance levels last week.” ALEX MORRIS, PRESIDENT & CIO, F/m INVESTMENTS, WASHINGTON, D.C. “Over the past decade, and more so since the COVID melt-up, equity markets have increasingly become liquidity dependent. Slow days, like now, lack the enthusiastic investor plowing in or moving around large cash piles, and tend to lag. It seems there are no low-volume ‘green’ days any more. Add in tax-loss harvesting, which is still an option beyond the ten largest stocks in broad market indexes, and today’s ‘red’ looks less scary. The lesson is: this market thrives on liquidity – and it may just be dependent on it.” STEVE SOSNICK, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, INTERACTIVE BROKERS, GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT "I’ve heard anecdotes that pension funds are rebalancing ahead of year-end, selling stocks and buying bonds. Unfortunately, I can’t verify that, but it would explain the sudden sell-off on no news. And of course, if large funds are selling stocks en masse, the megacap tech stocks would bear the brunt because of their heavy weighting in major indices." "If nothing else, today is a reminder that just because a 'Santa Claus' rally is a statistical likelihood, it is far from guaranteed." “We’ve seen an attempt at a buy-the-dips rally smacked back, which seems to confirm that this is some selling or rebalancing underway by a big investor.” JAY WOODS, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, FREEDOM CAPITAL MARKETS, NEW YORK "What people are doing is they're raising some cash. They're taking some profits right now as we go into the end of the year and getting ready for an opportunity if it presents itself in the beginning of next year. Tech, which has had a tremendous run, is starting to pull back. I think this is the beginning of a healthy correction that will get focused over the next four to eight weeks as we switch administrations." ROBERT PAVLIK, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, DAKOTA WEALTH, FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT “Any kind of selling pressure sort of spirals a little bit out of control when you have a thinly traded market. And I think the selling pressure is really just people looking for direction.” “It’s not a lot of institutions. I think a lot of non-professionals are looking seeing the market’s direction and they just go with the flow. There’s concerns that maybe the first part of this year can involve some repositioning and reallocation of funds and those that are trading today and next week are probably just trying to get a little bit ahead of that.” “There’s uncertainty about the direction of interest rates and inflation, and the fact of all this is sort of coming together at one time. What is the Federal Reserve going to do in the first part of next year?” “And then there’s a new administration coming in with new policies and (there are uncertainties as to) what those policies will actually be, which policies will actually be implemented. There's a lot of talk about new and many changes, but what's really going to happen?” “And because of the big run that you've had in 2024, portfolios are not exactly positioned correctly for 2025 and I think a lot of people are expecting a lot of changes in the early part of the year.” “You're seeing some of that today and that will lead to more selling pressure because people just want to capture the gains before they go on into 2025.” PETER TUZ, PRESIDENT, CHASE INVESTMENT COUNSEL, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA “This is end of year stuff going on people have had a pretty good year, and it’s typical year-end selling pressure caused by people taking profits, not a lot of buyers out there and not a lot of volume.“ “(There’s) no reason to jump in and buy these things at these valuations, and tax planning is on peoples’ minds this week and will be on Monday and Tuesday. I don't attribute it to, you know, any changing outlook in anything right now.” “The Santa Claus rally is one of those historic statistics that bears watching, but because of the change in administration and the potential change in policy you're probably seeing more action now than you would ordinarily. There's the potential for a lot of disruption in 2025.” BRYCE DOTY, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, SIT FIXED INCOME ADVISORS, MINNEAPOLIS "Today the market has really been reacting to the implications of taxes coming up. Tax positioning is overwhelming the other factors. But the more the Fed looks out of touch (with economic realities), the worse it is for equities...Tax trading will continue for the rest of the year." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/stocks-drop-thin-year-end-trade-amid-tax-selling-profit-taking-2024-12-27/

2024-12-27 19:51

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Igor Sechin, a long-standing ally of President Vladimir Putin, will be staying as head of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab, for five more years, according to a company board decision disclosed on Friday. Sechin, known for his criticism of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has been the CEO of Rosneft since 2012. Sechin has been a close Putin ally since they met in the early 1990s on a trip to Brazil. Both men worked together in the St Petersburg mayor's office and Sechin followed Putin to Moscow in 1996 where they rose through the Kremlin administration to the pinnacle of Russian power. While Putin was Kremlin chief from 2000 to 2008, Sechin served as his deputy chief of staff, and was branded as "the grey cardinal" of Russian politics by local media. After Putin left the Kremlin in 2008 to become prime minister, Sechin was named one of seven deputy prime ministers, taking on a more public role. In May 2012 he was appointed as Rosneft's president. After Rosneft bought the Anglo-Russian TNK-BP oil firm in 2013 for $55 billion, Rosneft became the world's top listed oil producer of the time. It produces around 4 million barrels per day, or some 4% of total global oil output. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/putins-ally-sechin-stay-rosnefts-head-five-more-years-2024-12-27/

2024-12-27 18:51

CHICAGO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A fire overnight at a Tyson Foods (TSN.N) , opens new tab poultry plant in Camilla, Georgia, killed one person and injured several others, the company said in a statement on Friday. Tyson, the biggest U.S. meat company by sales, is working closely with local authorities to determine the cause of the fire, the statement said. "Right now we are still gathering the facts," a Tyson spokesperson said in the statement, adding, "we are conducting a full investigation into the cause of the fire." A poultry workers' union said one person had been pinned under debris following a boiler explosion that occurred at the Camilla facility between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. EST. Additionally, several union members were "severely burned," Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), said in a statement. The union said it represents more than 15,000 poultry workers in the southern United States, including about 1,600 workers at the Tyson facility in Camilla. A rebound in Tyson's chicken business helped the company to beat Wall Street expectations for its fourth-quarter earnings in November, offsetting losses in beef. Tyson has closed six U.S. chicken plants since the start of 2023, as well as an Iowa pork plant and a beef and pork plant in Emporia, Kansas, laying off thousands of workers. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fire-tyson-foods-poultry-plant-georgia-kills-one-company-says-2024-12-27/

2024-12-27 18:50

PRAGUE, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Slovakia will consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine such as halting back-up electricity supplies after Jan. 1 if Kyiv, as expected, stops the transit of Russian gas to Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday. Slovakia has been trying to preserve Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine in 2025 although Kyiv has refused to renew a transit deal with Moscow expiring at the end of the year while they remain at war. Slovakia says alternative routes would sharply drive up costs and hit its own transit operations, causing it to lose 500 million euros in fees, according to Fico. In a video message on Facebook on Friday, Fico reiterated his view that the stoppage of gas via Ukraine would hit the EU and its competitiveness. He cited estimates saying the cost to the bloc could reach 120 billion euros in 2025-2026 from higher prices for not only the gas but electricity production from the fuel. He laid the blame on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, with whom he has publicly argued in the past week. "After Jan. 1, we will assess the situation and the possibilities of reciprocal measures against Ukraine," Fico said in the video. "If it is unavoidable, we will halt the electricity supplies that Ukraine needs during grid outages. Or we will agree on a different course of action." Ukraine has said it will cease to allow Russian gas to flow across its territory from Jan. 1. Slovakia has said the move would not hit its consumption demands because of storage capacities, while the country's main gas buyer SPP has contracts for the purchase of gas from a non-Russian source with BP (BP.L) , opens new tab, ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab and RWE (RWEG.DE) , opens new tab. Fico has shifted Slovakia's foreign policy since taking power just over a year ago, notably by stopping military aid to Ukraine and warming relations with Russia. On Sunday, Fico became only the third EU leader to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow since the war started. However, Slovakia has also provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine and export diesel fuel and electricity to its neighbour. In January to November this year, Slovkia exported 2.4 million megwatthours of electricity, a 152% year-on-year increase. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/slovakia-consider-reciprocal-measures-if-ukraine-stops-russian-gas-transit-fico-2024-12-27/

2024-12-27 17:30

LIMA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Friday announced that the minimum wage will rise 10% starting next year to just over $300 per month, as the Andean nation shows signs of an economic recovery after slipping into a recession last year. Boluarte, in a televised speech, said that the minimum wage will rise to 1,130 soles ($301.90) per month, from the previous 1,025 soles. It marks the first minimum wage increase since May 2022 under Boluarte's predecessor, Pedro Castillo, who was ousted at the end of 2022 for attempting to dissolve Congress. "Today the outlook is optimistic, our economy is growing at a projected rate of 3.2% and private investment is recovering significantly," Boluarte said. Peru's economy fell into a recession in 2023 due to adverse weather effects and anti-government protests in the fallout after Castillo's removal from office. Boluarte remains one of the most unpopular leaders worldwide, with polls often pegging her approval at less than 5%. The decision to raise the minimum wage should boost spending for some of Peru's poorest, though the business sector had cautioned it could encourage more informal employment off the books. "We do not govern by looking at the ratings, but based on concrete objectives and benefits for the country," Boluarte added. ($1 = 3.7430 soles) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-hikes-minimum-wage-10-around-300-month-2024-12-27/

2024-12-27 15:42

GEORGETOWN, Guyana/WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Export-Import Bank approved a $526 million loan to Guyana for an energy project designed to double the South American country's installed electric capacity and reduce oil imports, the Guyanese government and Ex-Im said on Thursday. The project, which falls under Ex-Im's mandate to help exporters facing competition from China, will use natural gas-powered turbines to generate electricity, Ex-Im said. Ex-Im said the project will reduce more than 460,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, or the equivalent of consuming more than 1 million barrels of oil. But environmental groups said the financing contradicts the Biden administration's commitment to aid the transition away from fossil fuels agreed at COP28 in Dubai last year. Ex-Im said the loan will support a joint venture that involves Texas-based Lindsayca and Puerto Rican firm CH4 Systems, with services provided by ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, and will create 1,500 jobs across 11 states and territories. The two companies had faced direct competition from China to win the Guyana contract, according to Ex-Im. "I am especially proud to continue to support Bank priorities and charter mandates along with projects that align with the administration’s economic, energy, and national security priorities,” said Ex-Im President Reta Jo Lewis. The project will include construction of a natural gas separation plant, a 300 MW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant and a gas supply pipeline near Guyana’s capital, Georgetown. Friends of the Earth said Ex-Im’s support for fossil fuels since May 2023 has reached almost $3 billion and contradicts the U.S. commitment at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and UN climate summits to phase out fossil fuel exports. "Investing in solar energy in Guyana would cost less, reduce costs for ratepayers and generate more local jobs, yet Ex-Im is intent on pleasing our planet’s biggest polluters and making the Guyana people pay," said Kate DeAngelis, deputy director of international finance at Friends of the Earth. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exim-bank-approves-526-mln-gas-to-energy-loan-guyana-2024-12-26/