2024-10-30 23:28

Strong typhoon makes landfall on Taiwan's east coast One person reported dead in central Taiwan Financial markets shut, offices and schools closed TSMC says does not expect significant impact Almost 300 international flights cancelled TAIPEI, Oct 31 (Reuters) - A strong Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall on Taiwan's east coast on Thursday, the largest storm by size to hit the island in nearly 30 years, closing financial markets, causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled and reducing rail services. The typhoon knocked out power to nearly half a million households, the government said. The storm hit the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast county of Taitung, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, with strong winds and torrential rain affecting almost all the island. The fire department reported one person had died when their truck hit a fallen tree in central Taiwan. At one point a super typhoon, Kong-rey slightly weakened overnight but remained powerful as the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane packing gusts of more than 250 kph (155 mph), according to Tropical Storm Risk. Taiwan's weather administration put the typhoon's size at the biggest to hit the island since 1996. "I hope that everyone in the country will co-operate in avoiding disaster and refraining from engaging in dangerous behaviour such as wave watching during the typhoon," President Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook page. Administration forecaster Gene Huang said after hitting the east coast it would head towards the Taiwan Strait as a much weakened storm and urged people across the island to stay at home due to the danger of high winds. Environmental officials were working on Thursday to prevent oil leaking from a Chinese cargo ship beached against rocks on Taiwan's northern coast after losing power in turbulent weather. Warnings for destructive winds of more than 160 kph (100 mph) were issued in Taitung, whose outlying Lanyu island recorded gusts above 260 kph (162 mph) before some of the wind-barometers there went offline. "It was terrifying last night. Many people on the island didn't sleep, worrying about something happening to their house," Sinan Rapongan, a government official on Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island, told Reuters. Some roofs had been damaged and more than 1,300 homes had lost power but so far no injuries had been reported, she added. Parts of eastern Taiwan recorded one metre (3.3 feet) of rainfall since the typhoon began approaching on Wednesday. The defence ministry has put 36,000 troops on standby to help with rescue efforts, while almost 10,000 people have been evacuated from high risk areas ahead of time, the government said. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) , opens new tab, the world's largest contract chipmaker and major supplier to companies like Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab and Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, said it has activated routine typhoon alert preparation procedures at all its factories and construction sites. "We do not expect significant impact to our operations," it said in an emailed statement. Taiwan's transport ministry said 314 international flights had been cancelled, along with all domestic flights. Taiwan's high speed railway, which connects major cities on its populated western plains, continued to operate with a much reduced service. Kong-rey is forecast to graze China along the coast of Fujian province on Friday morning. China's financial hub Shanghai is bracing for potentially the worst rains in more than 40 years. Subtropical Taiwan is frequently hit by typhoons. The last one, Typhoon Krathon, killed four people earlier this month as it passed through the south of the island. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-shuts-down-arrival-super-typhoon-kong-rey-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 23:25

TAIPEI, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Taiwan chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW) , opens new tab said on Thursday that it has activated routine typhoon alert preparation procedures at all its factories and construction sites, ahead of the arrival of Super Typhoon Kong-rey. "We do not expect significant impact to our operations," it said in an emailed statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc-says-its-does-not-expect-significant-impact-typhoon-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 22:55

Microsoft and Meta beat quarterly revenue estimates AMD falls, weighing on chip stocks Alphabet jumps on earnings beat Indexes down: Dow 0.22%, S&P 0.33%, Nasdaq 0.56% Oct 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes closed lower on Wednesday as chip stocks tumbled and investors awaited a host of corporate earnings. Microsoft(MSFT.O) , opens new tab and Meta Platforms(META.O) , opens new tab reported earnings after the bell, with both beating quarterly revenue estimates. Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, the first of the five "Magnificent Seven" megacap stocks that reported results this week, rose 2.8% after the company on Tuesday beat expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit. Alphabet helped to offset falling chip stocks, weighed by dour forecasts from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab and Qorvo (QRVO.O) , opens new tab, which fell 10.6% and 27.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O) , opens new tab plunged 32.6% after Ernst & Young resigned as the company's accountant. Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab slipped 1.4%. The information technology sector (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab was the biggest sectoral decliner, falling 1.34%, while Alphabet's gains lifted the communication services sector (.SPLRCL) , opens new tab. “Qorvo, Advanced Micro and Super Micro - those are three pretty big moves that are causing a little bit of angst and taking some of the bloom off the rose from the stellar print from Google last night,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities. "The clear laser focus is going to be on the stock specific reports and guides," James said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 91.51 points, or 0.22%, to 42,141.54, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 19.25 points, or 0.33%, to 5,813.67 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 104.82 points, or 0.56%, to 18,607.93. In economic data, the U.S. gross domestic product increased at a 2.8% annualized rate, according to the Commerce Department's advance estimate of third-quarter GDP, slightly below economists' forecast of 3.0% growth. A separate report showed U.S. private payrolls growth surged by a higher-than-expected 233,000 jobs in October. The neck-and-neck race between U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was also at the top of investors' minds ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Eli Lilly (LLY.N) , opens new tab fell 6.2% after missing sales estimates for its popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs. Starbucks (SBUX.O) , opens new tab reported earnings after the close showing a drop in quarterly sales as global demand suffers. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 210 new highs and 52 new lows on the NYSE. The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 126 new highs and 98 new lows. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-gain-markets-cheer-alphabet-results-economic-data-awaited-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 22:26

SYDNEY, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Australia must brace for longer and more dangerous fire seasons and marine heatwaves in the years ahead, while swift changes in weather patterns might result in more hot days and fewer cool days, a government report said on Thursday. The oceans around Australia are continuing to warm, with increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leading to more acidic oceans, particularly in the country's south, said the Bureau of Meteorology and national science agency CSIRO in their biennial joint climate report. "Rising sea levels around Australia are increasing the risk of inundation and damage to coastal infrastructure and communities," CSIRO Research Manager Jaci Brown said in a statement accompanying the report. Australia, a major crops producer, has experienced over the last decade extreme weather events such as frequent flooding, droughts , opens new tab, marine heatwaves and devastating fires that some experts attribute to climate change. Heavy rainfall events are becoming more intense, with an increase of around 10% or more in some regions, though the average duration of drought is expected to rise in the country's south and east in the decades ahead, the report said. Australia is continuing to warm, with eight of the nine warmest years on record occurring since 2013, said Karl Braganza, climate services manager at the weather bureau. "This warming has led to an increase in extreme fire weather, and longer fire seasons across large parts of the country," Braganza said. A shift toward drier conditions between April and October across the country's southwest and southeast, and lower rainfall in the southwest could become a permanent feature of Australia's climate, the report said. Coastal floods that occur occasionally will become chronic later this century, while the warming and acidification of oceans will cause more severe bleaching events in coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching happens when the water gets too warm, causing corals to expel the colourful algae living in their tissues and turn white. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-must-brace-longer-fire-seasons-marine-heatwaves-ahead-report-says-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 22:09

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Marathon Oil Corp (MRO.N) , opens new tab, which is being acquired by larger rival ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab, this week said it would lay off more than 500 workers in Texas, according to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission. The $22.5 billion deal, announced in May, received approval from Marathon Oil shareholders but is awaiting regulatory clearance from the Federal Trade Commission. The Houston-based oil and gas producer had 1,681 full-time employees at the end of 2023, according to an annual filing. A spokesperson for Marathon Oil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Marathon anticipates its merger with ConocoPhillips to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, it said in its layoff notice. The company expects over 500 employees at its Houston office to likely experience employment loss during the 12-month period following the closing of the merger, it said in the filing. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/marathon-oil-dismiss-500-workers-texas-ahead-conocophillips-deal-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 21:47

Oct 31 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Thursday is shaping up to be a huge day for markets in Asia as investors brace for a deluge of major corporate and economic newsflow, topped by the Bank of Japan's policy decision and China's official purchasing managers index surveys for October. Third-quarter GDP figures from Taiwan and Hong Kong, retail sales from Japan and Australia, and the latest earnings reports from regional giants such as Samsung, Panasonic and Sumitomo are also on tap. U.S. bond yields were little changed on Wednesday, holding steady around levels not seen since early July, while the dollar eased back from Tuesday's three-month high. At least that represents no additional tightening of financial conditions. But the 10-year yield snaps a run of five monthly declines, going into the last trading day of October up nearly 50 basis points in the month. The dollar is up over 3%, poised for its biggest monthly rise in more than two years. U.S. equities on Wednesday failed to give a clear steer either, with Wall Street ending slightly lower, but investors in Asia may get some impetus from third-quarter earnings from Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab after the close on Wednesday. Both offered upbeat outlooks, but in after-hours trading Microsoft shares were slightly higher and Meta shares were off 3%. Shifting the focus back to Asia, attention on Thursday will be firmly fixed on Tokyo, specifically BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's press conference after the central bank's widely expected decision to leave key interest rates on hold. Investors will be paying close attention not only to Ueda's view on the macroeconomic outlook, but also how he thinks the political gridlock in the country following Sunday's inconclusive general election might impact the central bank. Japan's yen remains on the weak side going into the meeting at around 153.00 per dollar, while the Nikkei 225 index is back above 39000 points and up 3.5% so far in October. That would mark its best month since February. Investors also have China's 'official' PMIs for October to look forward to. It will be too early for Beijing's blizzard of fiscal, monetary and liquidity stimulus measures to have had a direct impact, but any positive surprise will perhaps be seized upon more than usual. Economists polled by Reuters expect National Statistics Bureau's manufacturing PMI to come in at 49.9, showing that factory activity contracted in October for a sixth month, but by the tiniest of margins and close to swinging back into growth. Chinese stocks continue to trade heavily, their weakness on Wednesday pulling broader Asian stocks down 0.8% to a one-month low. The MSCI Asia/Pacific ex-Japan equity index is down 3.5% in October, on track for its worst month since January. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday: - Japan interest rate decision - China 'official' manufacturing, services PMIs - Taiwan GDP (Q3) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-pix-graphic-2024-10-30/