2025-10-01 21:02

ORLANDO, Florida, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street and world stocks rose on Wednesday, reversing early losses on worries over the U.S. government shutdown, as soft private sector U.S. employment data bolstered expectations of further monetary easing from the Federal Reserve. Not only did stocks rebound, the S&P 500 and MSCI All Country index hit new all-time highs. Investors' "buy the dip" mentality is undimmed, even though a creaking U.S. labor market will surely squeeze consumer demand and corporate profits eventually. But that's not for today, evidently. Sign up here. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. Today's Key Market Moves Today's Talking Points: * U.S. government shutdown The 15th U.S. government shutdown since 1981 began on Wednesday after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach agreement on funding. Some 750,000 federal workers were ordered not to work, while others, such as troops and border patrol agents, were ordered to work without pay. Most shutdowns last only a few days, although the last one in President Donald Trump's first term was a record 35 days. A few days of patchy economic activity and data releases will have minimal market impact, but a month would be a different story, right? Perhaps. But it's worth noting that during that record 35-day shutdown, Wall Street's main three indices rose between 11% and 13%. * Like a broken record The S&P 500, MSCI All Country equity index, gold and silver all traded at new peaks on Wednesday, and the Dow notched yet another closing record high. Despite mounting evidence of stretched positioning, valuations, and sentiment, nothing seems to be standing in the way of this juggernaut. The common thread is the prospect of more Fed rate cuts. Traders continue to lean that way, with another 50 bps of cuts this year almost fully in the cards. But it's hard to see more easing being priced absent a sudden deterioration in economic conditions. And that would surely prompt investors to reassess. * U.S. Supreme Court and the Fed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook , opens new tab will remain in situ at least for the rest of this year, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will listen to arguments for her dismissal in January. That means she will be able to vote at the Fed's October and December policy meetings. Trump is trying to remove Cook over alleged mortgage fraud - the first-ever bid by a president to fire a Fed official - part of a multi-pronged challenge to the Fed's independence. Trump nominee Stephen Miran recently got onto the Fed board, but it's not all going the president's own way. What could move markets tomorrow? Want to receive Trading Day in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for my newsletter here. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/global-markets-trading-day-graphic-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 20:41

Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. pipeline operator Williams Companies (WMB.N) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it plans to invest about $3.1 billion in two projects to supply power to data centers. The move takes the total capital committed to such 'power innovation' projects to about $5 billion, the company said in a filing. Sign up here. Power consumption is expected to hit record highs in 2025 and 2026, driven by a surge in demand from data centers used for artificial intelligence technologies, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This rising demand is prompting utilities to add billions to capital plans to upgrade the grid and related infrastructure. Williams on Wednesday said it would raise its 2025 capital spending plan by $875 million to between $3.45 billion and $3.75 billion. The Tulsa, Oklohoma-based company did not disclose the locations of the two projects in the filing. It expects the transaction to close in the first half of 2027. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/williams-companies-invest-31-billion-two-power-projects-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 20:37

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods (TSN.N) , opens new tab agreed to pay $85 million to settle a lawsuit by consumers who accused the largest U.S. meat company of conspiring with rivals to inflate pork prices by limiting supply in the $20 billion U.S. market. The preliminary class action settlement disclosed on Wednesday is the largest in more than seven years of antitrust litigation by the consumers against pork producers, surpassing Smithfield Foods' (SFD.O) , opens new tab $75 million settlement in 2022. Sign up here. It would boost consumers' overall recovery to $208 million, including settlements with Brazil's JBS, Hormel Foods (HRL.N) , opens new tab and other defendants. Tyson, based in Springdale, Arkansas, is the last publicly traded company to settle. Its settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis. Tyson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for the consumers did not immediately respond to similar requests. Triumph Foods and data provider Agri Stats remain defendants. Dozens of supermarket chains including Kroger (KR.N) , opens new tab, restaurant chains including McDonald's (MCD.N) , opens new tab, food producers and food distributors have also sued over pork prices. Plaintiffs said the alleged conspiracy ran from 2009 to 2018, and was intended to increase the defendants' profits, as well as prices. Similar litigation alleging price-fixing of beef, chicken and turkey is pending in Minnesota and Chicago federal courts. The case is In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, No. 18-01776. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/tyson-foods-pay-85-million-largest-pork-price-fixing-settlement-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 20:30

NEW YORK/TORONTO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - KKR (KKR.N) , opens new tab is exploring a potential sale of its 40% stake in Pembina Gas Infrastructure, with its holding in the Canadian midstream operator expected to be valued at around $7 billion, four people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Pembina Gas Infrastructure was formed in 2022 as a joint venture between the investment firm and Pembina Pipeline Corp (PPL.TO) , opens new tab, and owns natural gas and natural gas liquids transportation, processing and storage infrastructure in western Canada. Sign up here. KKR has been working with investment bankers at Scotiabank in recent weeks to solicit potential buyer interest in the stake, said the sources, who cautioned that no sale was guaranteed and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information. KKR and Scotiabank declined comment. Pembina Pipeline did not respond to comment requests. The KKR stake in Pembina Gas Infrastructure is expected to attract interest from other alternative asset managers and infrastructure funds, the sources said. Such buyers are drawn to minority stakes in such assets because they can pocket steady returns from the revenues earned without needing operational knowledge. Opportunities to own substantial stakes in large-scale Canadian pipeline assets are rare, which gives the Pembina Gas stake additional scarcity value, the sources added. Deal activity has remained strong for the Canadian energy sector this year, gaining attention from investors as companies seek to consolidate and build scale on growing demand for infrastructure and energy projects to meet rising energy needs. When Pembina Gas was formed, the parties said the venture was worth around C$11.4 billion ($8.17 billion) in total, meaning an exit for KKR at the mooted price would be significantly profitable for the investment firm. Since formation, Pembina Gas has grown through bringing built projects online and acquiring further assets. Pembina Gas has capacity to process around 5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, with assets within both the Montney and Duvernay shale formations, according to its website. ($1 = 1.3948 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kkr-explores-7-billion-sale-stake-canadas-pembina-gas-infrastructure-sources-say-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 20:28

TSX ends up 0.3% at 30,107.67 Surpasses Tuesday's record closing high Shares of Lithium Americas jump 23.4% Materials group adds 0.9% as gold hits record high TORONTO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to another record high on Wednesday as higher gold prices boosted metal mining shares and the Canadian dollar moved closer to a recent four-month low. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 84.86 points, or 0.3%, at 30,107.67, surpassing Tuesday's record closing high. Sign up here. "We are not surprised to see members of the TSX index continue to perform well," said Sid Mokhtari, chief market technician for CIBC Capital Markets. "Our breadth is good, we've seen our dollar being on the weaker side, which is inversely correlated to the performance of the nation's benchmark index, and we're resource-oriented." Canada is a major producer of commodities such as oil and gold that are priced in U.S. dollars. The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart as a steeper slowdown in Canada's manufacturing sector supported bets for additional interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada. The materials sector (.GSPTTMT) , opens new tab, which includes metal mining shares, gained 0.9% as gold extended its record-setting run. A U.S. government shutdown added to gold's safe-haven appeal, together with softer U.S. jobs data that reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further this month. Technology (.SPTTTK) , opens new tab was up 0.9%, with shares of electronic equipment company Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) , opens new tab gaining 2.5%. The U.S. Department of Energy has taken a 5% stake in Vancouver-based Lithium Americas and a separate 5% stake in the company's Thacker Pass joint venture with General Motors GM.N , opens new tab that is set to be the largest lithium source in the Western Hemisphere. Shares of Lithium Americas jumped 23.4%. Three of the TSX's 10 main sectors ended lower, including energy. It lost 0.2% as the price of oil settled nearly 1% lower at $61.78 a barrel. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/tsx-futures-track-wall-street-losses-amid-us-government-shutdown-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 20:20

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Russia was trying to create the risk of nuclear incidents and had deliberately staged an attack that cut off power to the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power station. Zelenskiy, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said more than 20 drones had taken part in the attack on a nearby town that cut off power to the defunct Chernobyl station, site of the world's biggest nuclear disaster in 1986. Sign up here. He also said Moscow was doing nothing to fix the cutoff of external power to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, now in its eighth day, and was taking advantage of the "weak" position of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its Director General, Rafael Grossi. https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraines-zelenskiy-russia-is-creating-threat-nuclear-incidents-2025-10-01/