2024-10-18 00:35

TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Japan's top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, said on Friday that recent currency moves are "somewhat one-sided and rapid," in a fresh warning against speculative trading as the yen fell past the key 150 line against the dollar. "We as Japanese authorities are closely watching foreign exchange moves, including speculative ones, with a high sense of urgency," Mimura told reporters. The dollar touched 150 yen for the first time since Aug. 1 after solid U.S. retail sales data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will pursue modest interest rate cuts over the next year-and-a-half as the world's largest economy remained resilient. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/japan-top-fx-diplomat-says-recent-yen-moves-one-sided-fresh-warning-2024-10-18/

2024-10-18 00:25

Dollar index on track for best month since February 2023 US housing starts fall in September Chinese yuan eyes further stimulus details Bitcoin gains on 'Trump trade' NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell on Friday, taking a breather after five straight days of gains, as risk appetite increased following yet another round of stimulus measures from China that bolstered global equities led by Chinese stocks. Investors cheered the Chinese government's launch of two funding schemes to help boost its stock market. Chinese equities rallied as a result, lifting other stock markets as well, including the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. That elevated the Chinese yuan as well and boosted commodity currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars at the expense of the safe-haven greenback. The dollar index, measuring the U.S. unit's value against six major currencies, however, was on track for its third weekly gain, currently up 0.6% this week. It has risen about 2.7% so far this month, its largest monthly gain since February 2023. The index was last down 0.3% at 103.49 , its largest daily fall since late September. "Today's pullback in the dollar was more China-driven. Last night, China launched measures to support the stock market," said Erik Bregar, director, FX & precious metals risk management, at Silver Gold Bull in Toronto. "That boosted Chinese stocks and risk sentiment more broadly and put pressure on dollar/yuan, which in turn helped lift euro/dollar. That started the dollar pullback." Friday's price action for the U.S. dollar, however, was likely temporary, Bregar said. The biggest support for the dollar over the last few weeks has been a shift in Federal Reserve policy expectations to a more moderate easing phase, after a slew of generally solid U.S. economic data. The Fed slashed benchmark rates by a supersized 50 basis points (bps) in September, prompting the rate futures market at that time to price in another jumbo move this year. "Speculation that the Fed could follow September's 50 bps rate cut with another similarly sized move has been blown away by a round of data pointing to a resilient U.S. economy," wrote Jane Foley, head of FX strategy, at Rabobank in London. "Instead, talk has emerged that the FOMC might be minded to cut rates only once more before the end of the year." U.S. rate futures have priced in a 95% chance that the Fed will cut rates by 25 bps next month, and a 5% probability that it will pause, or keep the fed funds rate at the 4.75%-5% target range, according to LSEG estimates. They had previously seen a further 50-bps cut likely at one of these meetings. The futures market also expect about 45 bps cut for 2024, and an additional 104 bps reductions next year. RISING TRUMP ODDS In afternoon trading, the dollar slid 0.5% against the yen to 149.51. It has advanced about 0.8% on the week, however, versus the Japanese currency having broken above the 150 level on Thursday for the first time since early August. The U.S. currency also climbed 4.6% in October, its best monthly showing since February last year. Adding to the dollar's overall shine was the rising prospect of former President Trump winning the November election, since his proposed tariff and tax policies are seen as likely to keep U.S. interest rates high. The dollar fell further versus the Japanese currency after data showed U.S. housing starts dropped 0.5% to a 1.354 million pace in September, after rising by a hefty 7.8% to 1.361 million in August. The euro, meanwhile, rose 0.3% against the dollar to $1.0865 , rising for the first time in eight days, and on track for its largest daily gain since Sept. 26. It was down 2.7% so far this month, on pace for its biggest monthly decline since May 2023. It benefited on Friday from the Chinese stimulus news, after the European Central Bank cut euro zone interest rates by a quarter point on Thursday, in line with expectations. Traders are now pricing in back-to-back rate cuts at the ECB's upcoming meetings. In Asia, the offshore yuan rose against the dollar, which fell 0.3% to 7.1177 yuan. The Australian dollar , often used as a liquid proxy for the Chinese unit, was up 0.1% at US$0.6704. The pound was one of the stronger performers against the dollar, rising 0.2% to $1.3042 after UK data showed retail sales grew more than expected in September, offering investors some reassurance about the strength of the British economy. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin got a lift from Trump's rising prospects in the U.S. presidential elections since his administration is seen as taking a softer line on cryptocurrency regulation. It was last up 2.8% at $68,781 , and has been up more than 10% since Oct. 10. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-rides-trump-trade-toward-third-weekly-rise-2024-10-18/

2024-10-18 00:08

WELLINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government said on Friday it had escalated its long-running trade dispute with Canada over access for its dairy products into the North American country. New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay said his government had notified the Canadian government and other members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade agreement that it had triggered mandatory negotiations in the dairy dispute with Canada. These now must begin within 15 days. New Zealand launched a claim against Canada in May 2022, arguing that Ottawa's implementation of dairy tariff rate quotas under the trade pact were against the agreement's rules. In particular, New Zealand claims that although Canada agreed to allow some dairy market access to foreign firms through a system of tariff-rate quotas, it was in fact improperly allocating some of them to domestic firms. "As a matter of principle, the New Zealand Government expects our trade partners to treat our exporters fairly and within the rules of our agreements," McClay said in a statement. "Canada is not doing that in respect to the dairy quotas that were negotiated and agreed with New Zealand," he said. Five other CPTPP members including Australia, Japan, Mexico, Peru and Singapore have joined New Zealand in the dispute, and in September 2023 both New Zealand and Canada claimed a panel of arbitrators found in their favour. Canada's High Commission in Wellington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. New Zealand said on Friday that Canada had not complied with the findings within a reasonable amount of time. This is the first dispute New Zealand has taken under a free trade agreement, and the first dispute that has been taken by any party under CPTPP, the New Zealand government said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/new-zealand-escalates-dairy-trade-dispute-with-canada-2024-10-18/

2024-10-17 23:58

MILAN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Italian start-up BeDimensional said on Friday it had secured financial support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to boost its production capacity for graphene and other super-thin crystals. The European Union is looking at ways to reduce its reliance on imports of materials that are critical for the bloc's energy transition. Graphene, whose powder has a high electrical and thermal conductivity, can be used to increase the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries, BeDimensional said. The material made of a single layer of carbon atoms is also key to developing lubricants free of metal-based additives. BeDimensional will on Friday inaugurate a production plant in the Italian city of Genoa with a capacity of over three tonnes a year of graphene and other super-thin crystals. The firm plans to increase its capacity to over 30 tonnes annually by 2028 thanks to the establishment of an additional production plant that will be partly funded via a 20 million euro ($21.7 million) loan granted by the EIB. BeDimensional's current shareholders - which also include the venture capital arm of Italian energy group Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab and Italian state lender CDP - will provide an additional 5 million euros to support the group's development plans. Born as a spin-off of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), BeDimensional also produces a super-thin boron nitride powder which is anti-corrosive and is an electrical insulator that can be added to textiles and leather.($1 = 0.9228 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/graphene-maker-bedimensional-gets-eib-support-boost-production-2024-10-17/

2024-10-17 22:44

Dow ends at record peak for fourth session in five TSMC gains after forecasting Q4 revenue jump Travelers, Blackstone at record closes after Q3 profit beats Elevance Health biggest dip in 4.5 years on profit forecast cut Indexes: Dow up 0.37%, S&P 500 down 0.02%, Nasdaq up 0.04% Oct 17 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced on Thursday to its fourth record close in the last five sessions, as stronger-than-expected monthly retail sales indicated a robust U.S. consumer and TSMC's upbeat forecast buoyed chipmakers' stocks. The other main Wall Street benchmarks were largely unchanged, as the S&P 500 dipped to a fractional loss and the Nasdaq Composite eked out a tiny win. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) , opens new tab, the world's largest contract chipmaker, beat market estimates for profit and forecast a jump in fourth-quarter revenue, driven by demand for artificial intelligence chips. The chipmaker's U.S.-listed shares soared 9.8%, while artificial intelligence-trade favorite and TSMC customer Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab gained 0.9%. The optimism spread to other chip stocks, sending the broader Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX) , opens new tab 1% higher. Fresh U.S. data confirmed healthy growth in the world's largest economy, while keeping bets on a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Federal Reserve's next meeting largely intact at 89.4%, according to CME's FedWatch. U.S. retail sales increased 0.4% in September, slightly more than expected, while weekly jobless claims fell unexpectedly. A broadly upbeat start to the third-quarter earnings season, strong economic data and the Fed kicking off its policy-easing cycle have pushed the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs in recent sessions, with the latter close to the psychologically important 6,000 mark. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 1.00 points, or 0.02%, at 5,841.47 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab climbed 6.53 points, or 0.04%, to 18,373.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 161.35 points, or 0.37%, to 43,239.05. Josh Jamner, investment strategy analyst at ClearBridge Investments, said investors have been revising economic and earnings growth expectations as robust data eased worries about a recession. However, investors were trying to figure out which companies and sectors will lead the market higher, and when to rotate into them, after months of megacap stocks driving market rallies. "Overall, it's allowing the market to advance, but maybe in a somewhat more restrained fashion than what otherwise might be expected," Jamner said. While the Dow advanced for the second straight day, small cap indexes fell. The Russell 2000 (.RUT) , opens new tab dipped 0.3% and the S&P Small Cap 600 (.SPCY) , opens new tab slipped 0.2%, a day after closing at their highest in nearly three years. A majority of S&P 500 sectors were also weaker, including rate-sensitive indexes such as utilities (.SPLRCU) , opens new tab and real estate <.SPLRCR>, which slipped 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively. One other quirk is that U.S. equity benchmarks have advanced in recent days even as U.S. Treasury yields have crept up. On Thursday, the benchmark 10-year note yield rose 7.5 basis points to 4.091%. In earnings-related moves, Travelers Companies (TRV.N) , opens new tab and Blackstone Group (BX.N) , opens new tab advanced 9% and 6.3%, respectively, to record closing highs after both the insurer and the money manager posted third-quarter profit which beat market expectations. The S&P Banks index (.SPXBK) , opens new tab edged up 0.1%, advancing for a fifth straight session, matching its mid-August run and just one off its six successive wins in April, as a slew of larger regional banks posted third-quarter numbers. M&T Bank (MTB.N) , opens new tab and Synovus Financial (SNV.N) , opens new tab rose more than 5%, but Truist Financial (TFC.N) , opens new tab dropped 3.5% and Huntington Bancshares slipped 2.6%. Outside financials, health insurer Elevance Health (ELV.N) , opens new tab plummeted 10.6%, its biggest one-day drop since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, after slashing its full-year profit forecast. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.34 billion shares, compared with the 12.08 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-rise-chip-stocks-rally-after-tsmc-results-economic-data-focus-2024-10-17/

2024-10-17 22:21

WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. rolled out initial contracts to four companies hoping to produce a new, more highly enriched uranium fuel for an expected wave of high-tech reactors, the U.S. Energy Department said on Thursday. Russia is currently the only country that makes the fuel called high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, or HALEU, in commercial volumes. Funds to make the fuel domestically were included in a law to ban uranium shipments from Russia fully by 2028. Centrus Energy (LEU.A) , opens new tab said its subsidiary, American Centrifuge Operating, got a contract to produce HALEU, which is expected to be used in a variety of small modular reactors planned to be built starting around 2030. The other companies are Urenco USA, which is a British, Dutch, German firm with operations in New Mexico; Orano USA, based in Maryland with global headquarters in France; and a company called General Matter. Urenco said it got a contract for 10 years to make an "indefinite quantity" of HALEU. President Joe Biden's administration believes nuclear power, which generates virtually emissions-free electricity, is critical in fighting climate change and to meet rising power demand from artificial intelligence and other consumers. "All contracts will last for up to 10 years and each awardee receives a minimum contract of $2 million, with up to $2.7 billion available for these services, subject to the availability of appropriations," the Energy Department said. The ultimate amount of money associated with the award depends upon orders issued by the U.S. Department of Energy, Centrus said. HALEU is uranium enriched to between 5% and 20%, which backers say has the potential to make new high-tech reactors more efficient. HALEU's critics say it is a weapons risk if it gets into the wrong hands and recommend limiting its enrichment to between 10% and 12% for safety. Uranium fuel used in today's reactors is enriched to about 5%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-awards-contracts-making-higher-enriched-uranium-new-reactors-2024-10-17/