2025-12-23 18:27
NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the first time in three weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab said in its closely followed report on Tuesday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by three to 545 in the week to December 23. , , Sign up here. Baker Hughes released the rig count report a few days early due to the Christmas Day holiday. Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 44 rigs from this time last year, marking a 7.5% drop. Baker Hughes said the number of oil rigs rose by three to 409 this week, while gas rigs were unchanged at 127. The oil and gas rig count declined by about 5% in 2024 and 20% in 2023, as lower U.S. oil and gas prices over the past couple of years prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing output. Even though analysts forecast U.S. spot crude prices would decline for a third year in a row in 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected crude output would rise from a record 13.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 to around 13.6 million bpd in 2025. On the gas side, EIA projected that a 63% increase in spot gas prices in 2025 would prompt producers to boost drilling activity this year after a 14% price drop in 2024 caused several energy firms to cut output for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for the fuel in 2020. EIA projected gas output would rise to 107.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025, up from 103.2 bcfd in 2024 and a record 103.6 bcfd in 2023. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-drillers-add-oil-gas-rigs-first-time-three-weeks-baker-hughes-says-2025-12-23/
2025-12-23 18:08
WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he wants the next chairman of the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates if the markets are doing well, adding that "anybody that disagrees with me will never be the Fed Chairman." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-anybody-that-disagrees-with-him-will-never-be-fed-chair-2025-12-23/
2025-12-23 17:15
Retail inflows on track to hit record highs in 2025 Nvidia, Tesla and Palantir top retail picks ETFs tracking AI among most traded funds Analysts expect investors to diversify holdings in 2026 Dec 23 (Reuters) - Retail inflows into U.S. stocks are set to hit a record in 2025, as individual investors become a major force behind a rally that is likely to extend into the next year on hopes of interest rate cuts, analysts said. The amount of cash retail investors poured into U.S. stocks so far in 2025 is up 53% from $197 billion a year earlier and 14% higher than the $270 billion hit at the height of the retail trading frenzy in 2021, according to J.P.Morgan analysts. Sign up here. Retail trading, meanwhile, accounted for 20–25% of total activity this year, touching a record high of about 35% in April, according to separate trading data from J.P.Morgan. Individual investors snapped up high-quality stocks at discounts during selloffs, most notably after U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs triggered a global meltdown in April, helping push the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab to fresh records. The benchmark index is up about 16% this year. "Retail investors are here to stay, especially for 2026. They made money this year, they like to trade stocks, they have the applications to do so. We will continue to see them being a good presence," said Steven DeSanctis, small- and mid-cap strategist at Jefferies. Retail participation in the stock market has grown steadily over the years as the rise of low-cost, no-commission brokerages such as Robinhood (HOOD.O) , opens new tab and Interactive Brokers (IBKR.O) , opens new tab has made it easier and cheaper for average Americans to access the market. The trend got wider notice in 2021 as many Americans who were homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic and were flush with cash used mobile trading platforms to bet on everything from GameStop (GME.N) , opens new tab to Big Tech. AI plays such as Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab and Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O) , opens new tab were top favorites this year, according to retail brokerage data and executives, with the latter more than doubling in value as small-time traders bought the dip when institutional investors stepped back on valuation concerns , opens new tab. Tesla shares (TSLA.O) , opens new tab, another top retail favorite, touched a record high on December 17, their first since the end of 2024. "The two most active stocks on our platform are typically Nvidia and Tesla. Those are just two examples of individual investors seizing the narrative and in many cases forcing institutional investors to play along," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. Quantum computing firms, uranium miners, metal miners and rare earth companies also saw substantial retail interest, as investors became more "thematic" in their approach. RETAIL TRADERS INCREASINGLY PREFER ETFS A key feature of retail trading in 2025 was the increasing preference for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking equity indexes, cryptocurrencies and commodities, according to executives at major trading platforms. "Investors continue to be attracted to the ETF technology. It trades throughout the day - it's tax efficient, it's transparent," said Bryon Lake, global co-head of Third-Party Wealth at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Direxion's Daily Semiconductor 3X Bull and 3X Bear ranked among the top five ETFs by dollar volume on eToro, said Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst with the trading platform. Retail investors are making more informed trades now as indicated by fewer and shorter so-called "meme frenzies," said Joe Mazzola, head of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. "Retail has been a little bit more in tune to the market dynamics this year," he added. POTENTIAL INTEREST RATE CUTS SEEN AS KEY CATALYSTS Potential rate cuts by the Fed are expected to continue to boost markets next year, keeping up the retail momentum in 2026, according to analysts and brokerages. Elevated stock market volatility may trigger dips that could also pull in individuals willing to wager on a bounce back, although recent evidence points to less enthusiasm about such opportunities than they have been in the past. Reuters last week reported that Nasdaq (NDAQ.O) , opens new tab is planning to submit paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to roll out round-the-clock stock trading, a move analysts believe can further accelerate retail momentum. "We're in a kind of golden age of retail investing with better access to knowledge, to the markets themselves and advanced trading platforms," said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation. Still, with doubts continuing to linger around the AI names that have dominated the market this year, analysts said they did not expect the coming year to top 2025's record as investors may consider broadening their portfolios. Financials, communications, discretionary, energy, miners and gold mining ETFs could do well, eToro's Kenwell said. "But ultimately, retail loves tech so that is an area they will continue to come back to in 2026, particularly if we do see any sort of volatility." https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-investors-have-more-sway-over-wall-street-after-record-year-2025-12-23/
2025-12-23 13:19
Dec 23 (Reuters) - Spot silver scaled $70 an ounce on Tuesday, driven by strong industrial and investment demand, tightening inventories, geopolitical tensions, and expectations of further U.S. rate cuts. Silver prices were up 1.5% at $70.06 an ounce by 1314 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $70.18/oz. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/spot-silver-extends-rally-hit-70-per-ounce-first-time-2025-12-23/
2025-12-23 12:34
MUMBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India will infuse about $32 billion worth of rupee liquidity into the banking system over the next month via open market bond purchases and a buy/sell dollar-rupee swap, it said on Tuesday. The RBI will purchase government bonds worth 2 trillion rupees ($22.34 billion) between December 29 and January 22 while also conducting a $10 billion 3-year dollar-rupee buy/sell swap on January 13. Sign up here. The measures are expected to both infuse rupee liquidity into the banking system while also pulling out excess dollar liquidity that had contributed to a surge in dollar-rupee forward premiums, prompting bankers to urge market intervention by the central bank. “The intent is quite clear that the RBI wants to inject durable liquidity into the banking system,” said Sakshi Gupta, principal economist at HDFC Bank. Seasonal factors and the central bank's FX interventions have been a drag on rupee liquidity, and the size of the infusion should help sentiment in bonds in the near-term, Gupta said. The RBI, under Governor Sanjay Malhotra, has stepped up liquidity injections to reinforce the impact of recent rate cuts. The central bank has already infused 6.50 trillion rupees this calendar year via open market bond purchases, a record high. It also conducted multiple dollar-rupee buy/sell swaps earlier this year, with the most recent one being a $5 billion 3-year swap conducted on December 16. "We would see the 10-year benchmark bond yield moving below 6.60% mark in early trades tomorrow. Post that, the move will depend on the choice of papers for next week's OMO," a treasury head at a private sector bank said, referring to the impact of the liquidity measures. The 10-year yield closed at 6.6328% on Tuesday. Traders in the FX market, meanwhile, said that while the swap would help ease the sharp upwards momentum in forward premiums seen in recent days, it's unlikely to address the immediate limitations around excess dollar liquidity heading into the year-end. Banks can typically manage excess dollar liquidity by placing deposits with other lenders. However, regulatory constraints at quarter-ends, particularly at the calendar year-end, limit this option. ($1 = 89.5180 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-central-announces-measures-infuse-32-billion-liquidity-into-banking-2025-12-23/
2025-12-23 12:10
CAIRO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Two vessels from CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping line, have travelled through the Suez Canal, the authority that runs the waterway said on Tuesday, in a sign the disruptions linked to the Gaza war could be easing. While the Suez Canal provides the fastest link between Asia and Europe, since November 2023, shipping companies have had to take much longer routes because Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants attacked commercial vessels, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians during warfare in Gaza. Sign up here. Before Tuesday's announcement from the Suez Canal Authority, CMA CGM had made limited passages through the Suez Canal when security conditions allowed. CMA CGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Companies remain cautious, but since a fragile ceasefire in Gaza took effect on October 10, no Houthi attacks on ships have been reported, leading shipping companies to reconsider using the Suez Canal, which Egypt counts on as a major source of foreign currency. The canal's authority said on Tuesday that the vessel CMA CGM Jacques Saade crossed the canal from the north on its journey from Morocco to Malaysia, while the CMA CGM Adonis passed from the south. A schedule published on the CMA CGM website showed that the French company will use the passage for its India-U.S. INDAMEX service from January. On Friday, Maersk said that one of its vessels had navigated the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa for the first time in nearly two years. The Danish company said it had no firm plans to fully reopen the route, but would take a "stepwise approach towards gradually resuming navigation". https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/two-cma-cgm-vessels-navigate-suez-canal-sign-easing-tension-2025-12-23/
