2025-12-22 04:43

US stocks end higher Gold, silver, oil up on Venezuela news Dollar down vs. yen as Japanese officials comment on currency moves NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Most major stock indexes were higher at the start of a holiday-shortened week on Monday, with shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab rising, while the yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar after Japanese officials warned against "one-sided and sharp" currency moves. Gold and silver jumped to record highs, and oil prices also rose after the U.S. Coast Guard tried to intercept an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela a day earlier. Sign up here. Wall Street stocks were helped in part by a continued rebound in technology stocks, although the advance was broad and almost all of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended higher. Nvidia was up 1.5%. Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Nvidia has told Chinese clients it aims to start shipping its second-most powerful artificial intelligence chips to China before the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February. TRADING VOLUMES EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT With U.S. equity and bond markets closed on Thursday for Christmas, trading volumes could be light through the end of the week. "The late November downdraft was the intermediate bottom that took many of the technology, AI and data-center names down ... I do believe that was the bottom," said Bruce Zaro, managing director at Granite Wealth Management in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Now, he said, the market is "entering the Santa Claus period," which is typically a strong time for stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 227.79 points, or 0.47%, to 48,362.68, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab rose 43.99 points, or 0.64%, to 6,878.49 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab rose 121.21 points, or 0.52%, to 23,428.83. Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) , opens new tab rose 3.5% after Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison agreed to provide a personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing for Paramount Skydance's (PSKY.O) , opens new tab offer to acquire the company. Paramount's shares rose 4.3%. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 7.10 points, or 0.70%, to 1,015.49. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index fell 0.13%. The yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar on a technical recovery. Atsushi Mimura, Japan's top currency diplomat, told reporters that recent FX moves were one-sided and sharp, adding that the government will take appropriate action against excessive moves. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara also warned about the yen's continued weakness. Some investors viewed the comments as a hint of intervention from Tokyo. The dollar declined 0.5% against the yen to 156.94 yen, falling as low as 156.71. It was on track for its largest one-day decline since late November. Minutes of the Bank of Japan meeting are due on Wednesday, while the head of the central bank speaks to a Japanese business lobby on Christmas Day. Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields inched higher with the yield on the 10-year note last up 1.8 basis points at 4.168%. Spot gold was up 2.2% at $4,434.26 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $4,441.92 earlier. Spot silver was up 1.9% at $68.40 after hitting a new high of $69.44. Brent crude rose $1.60 to settle at $62.07 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.49 to settle at $58.01. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-global-markets-2025-12-22/

2025-12-22 04:35

US tried to intercept oil tanker near Venezuela, third such action this month Ukraine hits vessels, piers in Russia's Krasnodar region Rising geopolitical risk supporting oil prices, analysts say NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Monday after the U.S. Coast Guard tried to intercept an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela a day earlier, and Ukraine damaged two vessels and piers in Russia, raising the risk of oil supply disruptions. Brent crude futures gained $1.60, or 2.7%, to settle at $62.07 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.49, or 2.6%, to settle at $58.01 a barrel. Sign up here. The U.S. Coast Guard tried to intercept an oil tanker on Sunday that U.S. officials said is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion, the third such operation this month. The pursuit followed U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement last week of a blockade of oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela. Market participants see a risk of disruption to Venezuelan oil exports because of the U.S. embargo, having previously downplayed the risk, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Venezuelan crude accounts for 1% of global supply, and most of it is bought by China. Beijing on Monday said the U.S. seizure of another country's ships is a serious violation of international law, after the U.S. on Saturday intercepted a China-bound oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast. BLACK SEA KEY TO RUSSIAN ENERGY EXPORTS Oil prices were also rising because of reports of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian ships at a Black Sea port, oil trading advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note. A Ukrainian drone attack damaged two vessels, two piers and sparked a fire in a village on the Black Sea coast in Russia's Krasnodar region, regional authorities said on Monday. The Black Sea region is vital for Russia's energy exports. "We expect further consolidation this week amid reduced holiday volumes and a continued standoff between deteriorating oil fundamentals and a need to maintain some geopolitical risk premium related to Ukraine/Russia and Venezuela," Ritterbusch and Associates said. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that talks between U.S., European, and Ukrainian officials in Florida over the past three days to end Russia's war in Ukraine had focused on aligning positions. Those meetings and separate talks with Russian negotiators had been productive, he said. However, the top foreign policy aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin said changes made by the Europeans and Ukraine to U.S. proposals had not improved prospects for peace. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-gain-us-interception-venezuelan-oil-tanker-over-weekend-2025-12-22/

2025-12-22 04:26

Government proposes gas reservation of 15% to 25% of output Three east coast LNG export plants affected Scheme takes effect in 2027, impacting only new contracts Analysts say scheme could hurt LNG supply and push buyers away SYDNEY/SINGAPORE, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Australia will make exporters of liquefied natural gas from the country's east coast keep up to a quarter of their output for domestic use from 2027, under a scheme unveiled on Monday to curb price spikes and help fill a long-forecast supply gap. The centre-left government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it would work with exporters to design a system that puts a lower limit on the amount of gas held domestically, with a minimum local allocation of between 15% and 25%. Sign up here. The announcement puts a number on a policy that the government has flagged through 2025 amid persistent warnings about a shortage of gas supply on Australia's east coast, where most of its 27 million population lives. "More affordable Australian gas for Australian users will support our economy and our transition, while remaining a reliable energy partner to our region," said Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen. The proposal will only affect new contracts agreed by the LNG exporters, not their existing contracts, Bowen said. Australia is the world's third-largest LNG exporter, shipping out far more gas than it consumes. The competition regulator warned on Monday that the expected local shortfall had widened, with output dropping from legacy fields off the south coast. The scheme was recommended by a gas market review ordered by the government in mid-2025, which was also published on Monday. The review said a gas reservation scheme would put downward pressure on prices and urged the government to consider ending a A$12 ($7.94) per gigajoule price cap in place since 2022. Bowen, in his statement, said the gas reservation scheme would be based on the review recommendation but he did not say whether the government would phase out the price cap. The scheme would impact three LNG export plants in Queensland, particularly Gladstone LNG (GLNG), which is operated by Santos and backed by Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) (036460.KS) , opens new tab, TotalEnergies and Malaysia's Petronas. It has typically relied on third-party domestic gas to meet export commitments. A GLNG representative was not immediately available for comment. Rival export consortia Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG), led by Origin Energy (ORG.AX) , opens new tab with ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab and Sinopec (600028.SS) , opens new tab, was also unavailable for comment. Shell, (SHEL.L) , opens new tab which leads a third exporter Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) with CNOOC (600938.SS) , opens new tab and MidOcean Energy, called the scheme "an important first step" and it looked forward to work on the details. MIXED REVIEWS Producers and big energy users welcomed the certainty they said the scheme would bring, but noted its success would depend on the details still to be determined. "This recommendation simply puts in place a sensible regime that should have always been there," said Energy Users Association of Australia CEO Andrew Richards. Industry body Australian Energy Producers, whose members include the LNG exporters, called for more action to spur domestic production. "Bringing new supply online sooner, including in the southern states that are facing shortfalls, is the only sustainable way to put downward pressure on prices," said AEP CEO Samantha McCulloch. Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, said the scheme was "on its face ... bad for the industry and LNG supply as (it) may disincentivise QCLNG and APLNG from producing any spot LNG cargoes above their committed contracts". JY Chew, Head of APAC Upstream Research at consultancy Welligence Energy, said the measure could hurt export returns because "LNG buyers negotiating new long-term contracts from 2027 may diversify more actively, knowing a portion of future Australian output will be reserved for domestic buyers". ($1 = 1.5106 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australian-regulator-sees-balanced-east-coast-gas-market-q2-south-rely-2025-12-22/

2025-12-22 01:34

MUMBAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The rupee is likely to stay supported this week by firm Reserve Bank of India intervention, tempering its negative bias, while bond yields will track the central bank moves and offshore flows. The rupee jumped above 90 per U.S dollar late on Friday after the RBI stepped up intervention, ending the week up more than 1% at 89.27. Sign up here. Traders pointed out that dollar sales from state-run banks helped shore up the rupee, and cutting of speculative wagers against the currency amplified gains. It is quite likely that importers will step in to lock hedges from Monday, which could limit the rupee's rise near 89, a trader at a large private sector bank said. Heavy RBI intervention last week lifted the rupee about 2% from record lows, easing a persistent downtrend that had pushed it to 91.075 on December 16. The interventions "should dampen upside momentum for now, but in the absence of strong flows, USD/INR is likely to rebound after major interventions. The 88.80 level is now key support," IFA Global said. The dollar index ended higher on Friday, snapping a three-week losing streak, helped by a late-week slump in the yen after the Bank of Japan delivered a widely expected rate hike. The 10-year benchmark 6.48% 2035 yield settled at 6.6017%, marginally higher on the week, with traders eyeing a 6.56%–6.65% range amid RBI liquidity cues and foreign flows. Bonds have faced selling pressure since the RBI cut the repo rate by 25 basis points, taking cumulative cuts for 2025 to 125 bps, the most since 2019. Many market participants believe the central bank's easing cycle is over and are increasingly wary of heavy bond supply in the final quarter of the fiscal year. Traders are awaiting further liquidity infusion in the remaining days of December, after the central bank injected 1.45 trillion rupees ($16.19 billion) through debt purchases and forex swaps. Foreign investors sold 109 billion rupees of index-linked bonds in the first three weeks of December, though some see higher yields and a weaker rupee as potential entry points. "We are constructive on India and see it as one of the more attractive risk-reward opportunities in Asia. The currency carry offers a reasonable buffer at this stage," said Jean-Charles Sambor, head of emerging markets debt at TT International Asset Management. KEY EVENTS: U.S. ** October durable goods - December 23, Tuesday (7:00 p.m. IST) ** July-September GDP advance - December 23, Tuesday (7:00 p.m. IST) ** October industrial production - December 23, Tuesday (7:00 p.m. IST) ** October new home sales units - December 23, Tuesday (8:30 p.m. IST) ** December consumer confidence - December 23, Tuesday (8:30 p.m. IST) ** Initial weekly jobless claims for week to December 15 - December 23, Tuesday (8:30 p.m. IST) ($1 = 89.5720 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/firm-rbi-intervention-support-rupee-bonds-track-central-bank-moves-2025-12-22/

2025-12-22 00:38

TOKYO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Japanese authorities said on Monday that they would take "appropriate" action against excessive exchange-rate moves, in comments that raise the prospect of intervention after last week's central bank meeting that caused renewed yen declines. "The recent foreign exchange moves were one-sided and sharp, and I'm concerned about them," Atsushi Mimura, Japan's top currency diplomat, told reporters. "We'll take appropriate actions against excessive moves." Sign up here. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara also warned about the yen's continued weakness and said it was important that "the currencies should move in a stable manner, reflecting the fundamentals." "The government will take appropriate measures against excessive movements, including speculative ones," he told a press conference. These remarks followed those by Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama late on Friday that Tokyo would respond appropriately to excessive, speculative moves in the yen, underscoring the government's concern over sharp yen falls that push up import prices and household living costs. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised interest rates to 0.75% from 0.5% on Friday, taking borrowing costs to levels unseen in three decades and narrowing the rate differential with the U.S. Federal Reserve. But the dollar rose as high as 157.67 against the Japanese yen on Friday, its strongest level in four weeks, as markets focused more on Governor Kazuo Ueda's comments at his news conference that offered few clues on the pace and timing of the BOJ's next rate hike. Kihara also noted that the government would "closely monitor the impact of higher interest rates while cooperating with the Bank of Japan." Japanese government bonds (JGBs) weakened further on Monday, following the central bank's interest rate hike last week. The two-year JGB yield , which is most sensitive to central bank policy, rose to a record high, while the 10-year yield hit a 26-year high. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-will-take-appropriate-action-against-excessive-yen-moves-top-currency-2025-12-22/

2025-12-22 00:05

LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Britain's labour market deteriorated further last month as advertised job vacancies fell sharply but salaries rose, job search website Adzuna said on Monday, underscoring the dilemma facing the Bank of England. Online job adverts fell by 15.2% in the 12 months to November - the biggest such drop so far in 2025 - and were down by 6.4% from October, the fifth such fall in a row. Sign up here. British employers turned more wary about hiring after the introduction of higher social security contributions in April in finance minister Rachel Reeves first budget last year. Worries about possible further tax increases in her second budget in late November have also weighed on the jobs market, contributing to a rise in Britain's unemployment rate to 5.1% in the three months to October, the highest since 2021. But Adzuna said advertised salaries rose by 7.7% from a year earlier with big increases in IT and only two sectors showing a fall in pay, compared with 7.3% a month previously. The BoE last week cut interest rates after a weakening of the economy but showed it remained worried about inflation. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/uk-job-vacancies-slide-november-pay-growth-accelerates-adzuna-says-2025-12-22/