2025-12-24 15:21
Dec 24 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index hit an intraday record high on Wednesday, its first in over a month, as investors returned to AI stocks and bet the Federal Reserve will cut rates again next year. The index (.SPX) , opens new tab was last up 0.2% at 6920.88 points, surpassing its previous intraday peak of 6,920.34, set on October 29, when AI bellwether Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab had helped push the benchmark above a $5 trillion market valuation for the first time. Sign up here. U.S. stocks have bounced back from their November lows as investors piled back into heavyweight tech and AI names heading into year-end. A benign inflation report and jobs report kept alive hopes of more interest rate cuts next year. The benchmark index fell as much as 5.7% in November from its October peak, after investors grew wary of lofty tech valuations and a potential bubble in AI-linked stocks, even as Nvidia posted upbeat third-quarter earnings. However, the AI trade regained momentum after chipmaker Micron Technology's (MU.O) , opens new tab issued an outsized profit forecast last week. As technology stocks swung, investors rotated into cyclical sectors such as financials and materials, helping the S&P 500 recover from its November slump. The S&P 500 has risen more than 17% year to date, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index (.IXIC) , opens new tab is up more than 21% for the year and the blue-chip Dow (.DJI) , opens new tab has climbed more than 13% over the same period. https://www.reuters.com/business/sp-500-hits-intraday-record-high-fueled-by-rate-cut-bets-2025-12-24/
2025-12-24 12:28
Dec 24 (Reuters) - Futures linked to Canada's main stock index edged lower on Wednesday ahead of a holiday-shortened session that is expected to have low trading volumes, following the index's climb to a record high in the previous session. The March futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.2% as of 06:53 a.m. ET. Sign up here. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab on Tuesday eclipsed Monday's record closing high as investor sentiment was buoyed by gains in oil and mining shares despite data showing the Canadian economy shrinking more than expected. Toronto markets will close early at 01:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday for Christmas Eve and trading volumes are likely to be light throughout the day. With just one week remaining in the year, the Canadian benchmark is poised for its best performance since 2009, with a nearly 30% gain. Financial shares, which constitute one-third of the index, have outperformed their peers, while geopolitical factors have pushed commodity demand and prices upward, helping the resource-heavy index outperform Wall Street counterparts. Looking ahead, market observers anticipate the next Federal Reserve chair will adopt a dovish stance, keeping U.S. monetary policy at the forefront of investment considerations, while analysts project a positive outlook for metal prices in the medium to long term. On Wednesday, oil , prices rose for a sixth day on U.S. economic growth and the risk of supply disruptions. Gold surged past $4,500 an ounce for the first time while copper extended gains to hit all-time highs. In corporate updates, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) , opens new tab announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Cobre Las Cruces has entered into a binding agreement to sell the Las Cruces mine in Spain for up to $190 million to Global Panduro. FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report CA/ Reuters global stocks poll for Canada , Canadian markets directory https://www.reuters.com/business/tsx-futures-inch-lower-ahead-holiday-shortened-session-2025-12-24/
2025-12-24 11:55
LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The pound held around a three-month high against a broadly softer dollar and near its firmest in two months against the euro on Wednesday, although trading was thin ahead of the Christmas holiday. Sterling briefly inched up to as high as $1.35335 in early trading, its highest since mid-September, though was last flat on the day just below that level. Sign up here. The dollar is at similar levels against other European currencies including the euro. For the pound it was a similar story versus the euro. The common currency nudged down to 87.21 pence, its lowest since mid October, but was last flat on the day just above that. With the Christmas holiday approaching in Britain, and many market participants already off, trading was thin. That left sterling still largely shaped by last week's Bank of England meeting. The BoE cut interest rates after a narrow vote by policymakers but it signalled that the already gradual pace of lowering borrowing costs might slow further. Should that materialise, that would see the pound remain supported versus other currencies, particularly the dollar, with the Federal Reserve expected to continue easing next year. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-steady-near-multi-month-highs-boe-caution-still-top-mind-2025-12-24/
2025-12-24 11:41
DUBAI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Iraq’s supply of gas from Iran is expected to resume within a week, an engineer at the electricity ministry told Reuters on Wednesday. The electricity ministry said on Tuesday that the flow of gas from Iran had been halted due to the shutdown of some generating units and load shedding at others. Sign up here. The ministry reported that 4,000 to 4,500 megawatts of power has been lost from the electrical system as a result of the halt to Iranian gas supplies. "The Iranian side sent a telegram informing the Ministry of Electricity of the complete cessation of gas supplies due to unforeseen circumstances," the statement added. Iran supplies between a third and 40% of Iraq's gas and power needs. Iran has not given a timeline for resuming gas supplies to Iraq, two officials at the electricity ministry said on Wednesday. However, Ali Nouri, an engineer at the ministry, told Reuters the flow is expected to restart within a week. Iraq’s power demand during winter peak hours reaches about 48,000 megawatts, while domestic generation stands at roughly 27,000 megawatts, forcing the country to rely on imports to bridge the gap, electricity officials said. “The halt was caused by a surge in demand on the Iranian side, which led to reduced gas supplies,” Nouri said. In March, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration rescinded a waiver that had allowed Iraq, which struggles with chronic power shortages, to pay Iran for electricity. The move was part of Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-says-gas-supplies-iran-have-been-halted-2025-12-23/
2025-12-24 11:37
China's milk surplus drives tariff decision on EU dairy products Tariffs range from 21.9% to 42.7% on EU dairy imports China shifts to higher-margin dairy products like butter, cream BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - China's farmers are up to their ears in milk and Beijing's decision to apply tariffs on dairy imports from the European Union is expected to give them a measure of protection as they branch out into higher-margin products like cream and butter. "The country's milk oversupply plays a significant role in the government's decision to impose tariffs ... the whole Chinese dairy industry has been losing profits in the last four years, the industry has been bleeding," said Yifan Li, head of Dairy Asia at StoneX, a commodity-focused financial services firm. Sign up here. He added that government subsidies in China decreased in 2025 as a sluggish economy weighed on state finances. The higher duties on imports of unsweetened milk and cream and fresh and processed cheeses from the EU, which kicked off on Tuesday and range from 21.9% to 42.7%, were the latest move in a series of tit-for-tat measures since the bloc applied tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. China has recently significantly lowered provisional tariffs on pork from the EU following anti-dumping investigations on brandy and pork. MILK INDUSTRY TRENDS PROMPT SHIFT Milk output in China, the world's third-largest producer, surged to more than 40 million tons last year from 30.39 million tons in 2017. At the same time, consumption fell to 12.6 kg per person in 2024 from 14.4 kg in 2021, hurt by the nation's falling birthrate. Prices in recent years have sat at or below average production costs of around 3.02 yuan ($0.4298) per kg, causing many loss-making farms to shut down or sell cows for beef. Lian Yabing, a dairy analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultants, said over 90% of China's dairy farmers were not making a profit. "The tariff decision is definitely an opportunity for top dairy producers like Yili and Mengniu, which are stepping up butter, cream and cheese production this year," Lian said. China's milk glut and changing consumer dairy demands have pushed the country's suppliers to make higher-margin products over the past year, Li said, making it less reliant on imports. "A few years ago, only a handful of top dairy producers were making cream and butter, now there are at least 40," he said. Cream, which is easier to process than butter, has received a boost from the milk tea boom in China, with chains like Heytea and Chagee (CHA.O) , opens new tab using the product in their ready-made drinks. Han, an organic dairy farmer in southern Yunnan province, said he was part of a niche market of producers making small amounts of European-style cheeses like blue cheese and brie. He said demand has lately outstripped supply for traditional Western cheeses. "For the few premium cheese producers in China, the impact is minimal because the production volume is too small," he said. "But this can be a signal that the government is formulating this tariff policy to protect its own domestic dairy industry." A TARGETED TARIFF REGIME Analysts say Beijing uses tariffs to register its displeasure with trading partners and their companies. Dutch dairy conglomerate FrieslandCampina faces the highest rate of 42.7%，while around 60 companies including Denmark's Arla Foods (ARLAF.UL) will pay just under 30%. The Netherlands and Denmark both voted in favour of increased tariffs on Chinese EVs along with major dairy producers France, Ireland and Italy. The Netherlands also angered China in September after it seized chipmaker Nexperia from its Chinese parent company, Wingtech, citing governance issues, which triggered temporary global chip shortages in the automotive sector. The dispute has not been resolved, with the Chinese parent and a Dutch unit engaged in a struggle for control over Nexperia. Last week's reduced tariffs on EU pork imports were a win for Spain, which has adopted a pro-Beijing stance to court fresh investment, with state visits from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe VI in the past year. ($1 = 7.0258 Chinese yuan renminbi) (This story has been corrected to remove a note to the editor in paragraph 12) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-tariffs-eu-dairy-help-bleeding-domestic-industry-send-message-abroad-2025-12-24/
2025-12-24 11:27
KYIV, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine's food exports have already been harmed by intensified Russian attacks on ports this month, which could lead to a significant drop in trade despite efforts to divert shipments to rail, a Ukrainian farmer's union said on Wednesday. Ukraine is one of the world's biggest exporters of wheat and corn, and the number one exporter of sunflower oil. A de facto Russian blockade early in the near four-year-old war worsened a global food shortage. Sign up here. Most Ukrainian food exports have resumed since 2023. But this month has seen a surge in near daily Russian attacks with drones and missiles on ports in the Odesa region, reducing export capacity. As a result, the UAC union said some wheat exporters had already defaulted on contracts to deliver shipments this month. According to UAC estimates, at least one of the three key export ports is either idle or operating at 20% of its capacity. Logistics routes have also been damaged connecting the rest of Ukraine to Danube River ports, said the union. River ports had helped to compensate for the loss of major seaports since early in the war. "Russia is attacking our ports, reducing our export potential.... Without deep water and river water, our exports will decline significantly," UAC said in a weekly report. "Some large traders are already beginning to sort out quotas at railway terminals, which means that some of our grain may be sent to the border," it added. DECLINE IN WHEAT, CORN, VEGOIL EXPORTS According to UAC, as of December 22, only 375,000 metric tons of wheat had so far been exported, out of 1 million tons contracted for shipment during the full month. For corn, 1.5 million tons have been shipped so far out of a contracted 2 million tons. In the case of sunoil, 275,000 tons had been shipped out of a contracted 410,000 tons, and exports for the full month were not likely to exceed 350,000 tons. "Some traders have defaulted (on wheat), and some contracts are being rescheduled for January due to insufficient capacity at ports," UAC said. In December last year, Ukraine exported 800,000 tons of wheat, 2.6 million tons of corn and 378,000 tons of sunflower oil. The Ukrainian economy ministry said on Monday that total grain exports had declined to 1.82 million tons in December 1-22 this year, from 2.88 million tons in December 1-27 last year, mostly due to smaller shipments of corn and wheat. https://www.reuters.com/business/russian-attacks-ukrainian-ports-cause-drop-food-exports-2025-12-24/
