2024-12-16 21:00
Honeywell explores separation of aerospace business Market looks to Fed's final policy meeting of year Dow Industrials lower for eighth straight session Indexes: Dow off 0.25%, S&P 500 up 0.38%, Nasdaq up 1.24% NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq closed at a record high on Monday and the S&P 500 also rose as investors gauged the latest economic data while looking toward the Federal Reserve's final policy announcement of the year later in the week to gauge the path of interest rates. Markets have almost completely priced in a rate cut at the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, with a 95.4% chance for a cut of 25 basis points (bps), according to CME's FedWatch Tool , opens new tab. "Maybe the market was a bit oversold last week and with almost a 100% likelihood that the Fed will cut on Wednesday, the only outstanding question is what kind of rhetoric, what kind of notes will investors get regarding guidance," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York. "It is likely to be a hawkish cut, meaning they will cut rates but the Fed will be talking about how they are still data-dependent and as a result there could be fewer cuts next year than people are thinking." On the economic front, S&P Global said its flash manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.3 this month, below the 49.8 reading of economists polled by Reuters and the 49.7 in November. In addition, a gauge of factory production hit its lowest level since May 2020 ahead of the prospect of higher tariffs increasing the cost of imported raw materials next year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 110.58 points, or 0.25%, to 43,717.48, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 22.99 points, or 0.38%, to 6,074.08 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 247.17 points, or 1.24%, to 20,173.89. The S&P 500 snapped a three-week streak of gains last week and the Dow also fell, while the Nasdaq managed a fourth straight week of gains. The Dow has now declined for eight straight sessions, its longest daily streak of declines since June 2018. Most megacap and growth stocks gained ground on Monday, with Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab rising 3.6% and Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab up 6.1% to help lift the communication services (.SPLRCL) , opens new tab and consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab sectors, the best-performing of the 11 major S&P sectors on the session. Wedbush Securities raised its price target on Tesla to a Wall Street high of $515. Ahead of the Fed decision, retail sales data will be eyed on Tuesday for signs of continued strength in the consumer. The S&P 500 has rallied more than 27% this year as optimism over growth in artificial intelligence-related companies, the start of the Fed's rate-cutting cycle, a resilient economy and expected pro-business policies from Donald Trump's incoming administration have helped boost equities. The benchmark index is up 58.2% over the past two years, which would mark its strongest two-year period since a 65.9% surge in 1997 and 1998. Honeywell International (HON.O) , opens new tab climbed 3.7% after the industrial conglomerate said it was exploring a separation of its aerospace business. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the NYSE while advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1.05-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 14 new 52-week highs and 18 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 112 new highs and 193 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 15.33 billion shares, compared with the 14.04 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-tick-higher-traders-brace-fed-data-packed-week-2024-12-16/
2024-12-16 20:50
BRUSSELS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - European Union plans for a new renewable energy goal hit early resistance on Monday from pro-nuclear governments, who indicated they would not back a goal that excludes atomic energy. The EU's 27 member countries have opposing views on nuclear power, and political disputes over the energy source have delayed recent EU measures to address high energy prices and drive Europe's transition to low-carbon energy sources. While nuclear power stations do not emit carbon dioxide, they generate toxic waste that some governments and campaigners say means atomic energy should not be classed as green. Plans to set an EU renewable energy target for 2040 have stirred tensions again, after the European Commission this month made the goal a surprise addition to the brief , opens new tab of new EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen. French energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said ministers had expressed concern to Jorgensen that the target excluded nuclear energy, at a meeting in Brussels of 15 countries, 12 of them part of a pro-nuclear alliance. "Is it more important to have a specific target for renewables ... where you can tamper with statistics, for example, by closing down nuclear power plants? Or is the main target fossil-free and clean energy production in Europe?" said Sweden's energy minister Ebba Busch, who also attended the pro-nuclear meeting. A senior official from one EU country said governments with enough votes to block the EU from passing the target had indicated they wouldn't back a goal that excludes nuclear. "I think there's enough, in terms of a blocking minority," the official said. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen held firm. Renewables and nuclear will both play a role in Europe's energy policy, but they should not be mixed into one target, Jorgensen said. "I don't think that would be a wise way to do it, I think we need to maintain the definitions that we already have in our renewable target," he told a news conference. Countries including Austria and Germany have opposed nuclear's inclusion in previous EU renewable energy goals, raising concerns about nuclear safety and emphasising the lower costs of wind and solar power. Austria is firmly opposed to the technology, while Germany phased out its nuclear reactors. Meanwhile, France, which gets most of its power from nuclear reactors, and eastern European countries planning to expand their reactors, are strong proponents of low-carbon atomic energy as a way to cut emissions. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/new-eu-renewable-energy-target-faces-nuclear-roadblock-2024-12-16/
2024-12-16 20:32
By David Ljunggren \ OTTAWA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem on Monday said the world was now more prone to economic shocks and the central bank therefore needed to ensure it was better prepared for an uncertain future. Macklem said deglobalization, demographic shifts, digitalization and decarbonization were all having significant effects on jobs, growth and inflation while trade protectionism and economic fragmentation were rising. "The future looks more uncertain, and more prone to shocks than we would all like. We need to be prepared. And that work is underway," he told the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade in his last scheduled speech of the year. For 2025, the bank's key priorities are working with international partners, improving analysis and using better tools to respond to inevitable shocks, and ensuring the monetary policy framework was fit for purpose, he said. The combination of higher sovereign debt, higher long-term interest rates and lower economic growth is making the world more vulnerable while war, geopolitical tensions and the rising threat of protectionism are compounding these vulnerabilities, Macklem said. "The democracies of the G7 will be stronger if we confront our shared economic security issues together," he added. The bank last week slashed its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 3.25% to help address slower growth and indicated that the pace of further cuts would be more gradual, a message that Macklem reiterated on Monday. Inflation is now at 2%, the bank's target. "Monetary policy has worked to restore low inflation. Interest rates have come down substantially, and household spending has begun to pick up. But I am not here to give a victory speech," said Macklem. ((Reuters Ottawa bureau, +1 647 480 7921; [email protected] , opens new tab)) Keywords: CANADA CENBANK/ Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/bank-canada-world-is-now-more-prone-shocks-than-wed-like-2024-12-16/
2024-12-16 20:22
Dec 16 (Reuters) - MicroStrategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab shares briefly surged on Monday before faltering to end nearly unchanged, after the software company and bitcoin stockpiler was selected to join the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, further brightening the prospects of the stock. The $25.7 trillion index that houses the largest non-financial companies will now gain indirect exposure to bitcoin via MicroStrategy, which holds $44 billion worth of the digital currency on its balance sheet, about 2% of the total supply of the world's largest cryptocurrency. The prospect of more buying from funds that track the Nasdaq 100 could further boost MicroStrategy's stock that has surged nearly 550% this year alongside a jump in the bitcoin price. Its share price rose as much as 7% on Monday before running out of steam to close 0.042% lower It could be "the start of a looping cycle of capital that could potentially drive up the spot BTC price," said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at cryptocurrency asset manager Astronaut Capital. "ETFs such as QQQ and many others would buy MicroStrategy to mirror holdings of the index, therefore driving up the price, and in turn, allowing MicroStrategy to purchase more BTC through debt, bond and equity offerings." The fifth largest U.S. exchange-traded fund Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ.O) , opens new tab tracks the Nasdaq 100 and has $328 billion in assets under management, according to data analytics company VettaFi. Bitcoin surged to a record high above $107,000 on Monday after President-elect Donald Trump suggested he plans to create a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve similar to its strategic oil reserve. MicroStrategy's shares have gained 3,200% since adopting bitcoin as its treasury asset in 2020 under the leadership of co-founder Michael Saylor. The company has more than doubled its bitcoin holdings this year through convertible note offerings and share sales. It reported a net loss of $340 million in the three months ended Sept. 20, its third consecutive quarterly loss. "MicroStrategy's bitcoin strategy is a long-term, high-conviction 'buy and hold' strategy," said Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani. The company's market capitalization rose to over $100 billion as its share price climbed, more than twice the value of its bitcoin stockpile. At the close it was valued at almost $98 billion. Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (RIOT.O) , opens new tab and some small biotech firms including Enlivex Therapeutics and Hoth Therapeutics (HOTH.O) , opens new tab have also decided to allocate portions of their cash to bitcoin. "Longer term, this is a huge milestone for crypto and we are bound to hear the voices, both bulls and bears, get a lot louder talking about MicroStrategy and Saylor in the months to come," Dibb said. Short sellers, or investors betting against MicroStrategy's shares, have lost a total of $9.7 billion since the beginning of the year. Other entrants to the Nasdaq 100 include Palantir (PLTR.O) , opens new tab and Axon Enterprise (AXON.O) , opens new tab, Nasdaq said late on Friday, replacing Illumina (ILMN.O) , opens new tab, Super Micro (SMCI.O) , opens new tab and Moderna (MRNA.O) , opens new tab. The reconstituted index will begin trading on Dec. 23. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bitcoin-buyer-microstrategy-jumps-nasdaq-100-entry-2024-12-16/
2024-12-16 20:06
Judge Stark orders reopening of Citgo data room for new bids Updated financial, operational details to be available to all Court expects new bids can be submitted starting early 2025 HOUSTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge overseeing an auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum on Monday agreed to reopen a data room to allow potential buyers to prepare new bids, a court document showed. Judge Leonard Stark ordered the data room to be opened on Wednesday after listening to creditors in the case urge a new bidding round. The court is auctioning shares in Citgo parent PDV Holding to repay $21 billion in claims against Venezuela and state oil firm PDVSA for expropriations and debt defaults. A conditional offer of up to $7.3 billion by an affiliate of hedge fund Elliott Investment Management had failed to gain support from creditors, leading to the bidding restart. "The virtual data room shall be reopened on December 18," Stark said in his order. A court officer supervising the auction and creditors must present their arguments on issues still in dispute in the coming days, he added. For months this year, Elliott affiliate Amber Energy had exclusive access to the data room while negotiating its bid. That exclusivity was widely criticized by creditors and Venezuela's lawyers as it sidelined others, they told the court. Stark in recent weeks made public his inclinations on a new schedule and structural changes aimed at granting a fair bidding process for all parties, including equal access to the data room and a termination fee. If those proposals are confirmed, the auction could set a stalking horse bid, which was not used in the first two bidding rounds this year. Amber's highly conditional offer and parallel lawsuits by the same Venezuela-related creditors in other U.S. courts this year soured the court's effort to craft a deal that would satisfy creditors. The new bidding will relaunch a process that had led to negotiations, but no approved agreement. An attorney for Amber on Friday confirmed that a proposed purchase agreement with the court officer overseeing the auction was "moot." Amber's original offer proposed to withhold proceeds from creditors while it settled bondholder claims, potentially leaving little or nothing for creditors who originally brought the case. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-judge-issues-order-reopen-citgo-data-room-restart-bidding-2024-12-16/
2024-12-16 19:43
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Argentina's economy in the July to September period notched its first quarter-on-quarter economic expansion since entering a technical recession at the end 2023, but contracted yet again in yearly terms, official data showed on Monday. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 3.9% in the third quarter in seasonally-adjusted terms versus the second quarter, coming after three consecutive quarter-on-quarter declines. Versus a year earlier, GDP declined 2.1%, the sixth straight contraction. That compares to analysts' forecasts for a 2.6% decline. Argentina's economy has faltered as industry slowed amid a harsh austerity drive by libertarian President Javier Milei. Milei's administration has slashed social spending and launched mass public sector layoffs, and one of the world's highest annual inflation rates has come down to 166%. But the economy has slowed and poverty rates have surged past 50%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentinas-economy-expands-39-q3-versus-q2-2024-12-16/
