2025-11-05 09:48
LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The pound stabilised on Wednesday as traders looked to fine-tune positioning ahead of Thursday's important Bank of England meeting, but remained at close to a seven-month low against the dollar and its weakest in well over two years against the euro. A day ahead of the BoE meeting, markets are still pricing around a one-in-three chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut, leaving scope for a knee-jerk reaction in the pound in either direction depending on the outcome. Sign up here. Sterling was last up 0.2% on the dollar at $1.3049 , though it hit $1.3011 in early Asia trade, its lowest since mid-April . Similarly, the euro was down 0.1% at 88.07 pence after hitting 88.3 pence in Asia trade, its highest since May 2023. A raft of data released last month, most notably cooler-than-expected inflation figure, caused markets to raise bets on BoE easing, and weighed on the pound. It has continued to weaken this week, and Chris Turner global head of markets at ING said in a note this might "probably have more to do with the global equity correction," given BoE expectations have been fairly steady most recently. Stocks around the world, particularly highly valued tech names, have come under pressure this week. All else being equal, the pound typically performs well when investors are positive about global growth and the stock market, and comes under pressure when they are not. Also in the mix for sterling investors is Britain's budget, due later this month. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, in a speech on Tuesday, paved the way for broad tax rises. If that weighs on growth, it could cause the BoE to ease rates more quickly, in turn dragging on sterling. There was little British economic data on Wednesday, but a survey showed pay settlementsawarded by British employers held steady in the three months to September, holding at the joint lowest level since December 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-steadies-day-ahead-boe-meeting-2025-11-05/
2025-11-05 09:25
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Super Micro Computer's (SMCI.O) , opens new tab shares slipped more than 9% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the artificial intelligence (AI)-focused server maker missed quarterly profit and revenue estimates, citing delayed deliveries tied to design changes. The company said "design win upgrades" pushed about $1.5 billion in expected first-quarter revenue into the current period, after a high-volume customer requested configuration changes to the graphics processing unit (GPU) racks. Sign up here. CEO Charles Liang said the delays were "largely caused by the complexity of these new graphics processing unit racks, which require intricate integration, testing, and validation." "The profit opportunities have been dramatically different than the revenue opportunities in AI compute, with AI server leaders continuously sacrificing margins to participate in large deals, leaving limited profit upsides for investors to cheer about," J.P.Morgan analysts said. Super Micro has become a key player in the AI server boom, supplying high-performance systems to data centers racing to scale. Its rapid growth and close ties with Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab have attracted investors, though analysts have flagged that the sector's pace has exposed execution risks and margin volatility. The company's close partnership with Nvidia allows it to be the first to market with fully integrated systems built around new GPU architectures, including Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra series - a key driver of Super Micro's $13 billion GB300 order book, and position itself as a critical supplier in the AI infrastructure race. "Super Micro's pursuit of lower-margin business and deep ASP discounts to secure GB300 orders were not adequately reflected in the current valuation," analysts at Susquehanna said. The company raised its full-year revenue forecast to at least $36 billion, up from $33 billion, and projected second-quarter revenue of $10 billion-$11 billion, well above Wall Street's $7.83 billion estimate. Super Micro has gained nearly 56% so far this year and is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, compared with 9.75 for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE.N) , opens new tab and 14.11 for Dell Technologies (DELL.N) , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/business/super-micro-shares-slip-delivery-delays-stall-ai-momentum-2025-11-05/
2025-11-05 08:05
Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S.-based investor Stonepeak said on Wednesday it plans to launch a redeemable, infrastructure-backed debt security on the Australian Securities Exchange after securing over A$300 million ($194.94 million) in cornerstone commitments. The note will offer monthly interest payments linked to the one-month Bank Bill Swap benchmark rate (BBSW) plus a 3.25% annual margin and is expected to begin trading on December 10. Sign up here. "The Stonepeak-Plus INFRA1 Note will provide Australian investors access to regular monthly income generated through a curated portfolio of high-quality infrastructure debt assets," the firm said in a statement. E&P Capital, Westpac, and Morgans among others are serving as joint lead managers for Stonepeak. In September, Reuters reported that Stonepeak, which began investing in Asia in 2019 and manages $79.9 billion , opens new tab in assets globally, is seeking to raise as much as $4 billion for its second Asia-focused infrastructure fund. (This story has been corrected to say assets under management is at $79.9 billion, not $76.3 billion, in paragraph 5) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/stonepeak-debut-195-million-debt-security-australia-2025-11-05/
2025-11-05 07:56
TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Japan's top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, said on Wednesday that he is concerned about the surging valuation of the stock market powered by the AI boom. There are concerns "whether or not the current stock market situation might be a bit too rapid and going too far," Mimura said, speaking at a Bloomberg event in Tokyo. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-top-fx-diplomat-voices-concern-about-ai-driven-stock-surge-2025-11-05/
2025-11-05 07:54
ABU DHABI, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Western sanctions on Russia and Iran are creating record volumes of oil stored onboard vessels, preventing a supply glut from forming in global markets, Gunvor Group's CEO said on Wednesday. The European Union, United Kingdom and the United States have imposed a raft of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, with the latest U.S. embargo targeting Russia's two top oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab last month. Sign up here. Surplus oil supply has cushioned the impact of trade disruptions caused by the sanctions, keeping markets stable and reducing price volatility, Torbjorn Tornqvist, CEO of Swiss-based commodities trader Gunvor Group (GGL.UL), told the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi. However, the sanctions have also led to an "enormous amount" of oil that is dislocated and some of that is being held on tankers, he added. "This is unprecedented, the size of that. Therefore, obviously, if all sanctions would disappear, this market would clearly be quite oversupplied," Tornqvist said. Global oil prices fell in October for a third month on fears of oversupply as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies are increasing output while production from non-OPEC producers is growing. Oil supply could exceed demand by 2 million barrels per day next year, Mercuria’s CEO and co-founder Marco Dunand said at the conference, but added that Western sanctions remain a wild card in curbing supply. "That probably means that from a 2 million barrels a day surplus we move more into the 1 million barrels a day surplus," Dunand said. "It is true that the (global oil) inventories are low. It is also true that oil on the water is high, so the (supply) glut is forming slowly and probably going to hit the market in the next few months." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/unprecedented-volume-oil-stored-ships-due-western-sanctions-gunvor-ceo-says-2025-11-05/
2025-11-05 07:23
US crude stocks rise, fuel inventories fall, EIA data shows Canada may scrap oil and gas emissions cap, raising supply concerns Russia suspends fuel exports at Black Sea refinery NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, settling at two-week lows on pressure from concerns of a possible global oil glut, but data showing signs of strong U.S. demand for fuel limited losses. Brent crude futures closed 92 cents, or 1.43%, lower at $63.52 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled 96 cents, or 1.59%, low at $59.60. Sign up here. Oil prices fell following U.S. government data that showed an increase in crude inventories last week. "A rebound in imports and subdued refining activity amid seasonal maintenance has encouraged a build to U.S. crude inventories," said Kpler lead Americas oil analyst Matt Smith. U.S. STOCKS BUILD MORE THAN EXPECTED U.S. crude stocks rose by 5.2 million barrels to 421.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts' expectations for a 603,000-barrel rise. However, signs of stronger-than-expected gasoline demand limited oil price losses. Gasoline inventories fell by 4.7 million barrels last week to 206 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 1.1 million-barrel draw. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's budget plan, unveiled on Tuesday, signalled that Canada could scrap a cap on oil and gas emissions, fuelling concerns over a potential supply glut. "Canada could ditch their controversial oil and gas emissions strategy and unleash more oil," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst with Price Futures Group. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to increase output by 137,000 barrels a day in December. It decided to pause further increases in the first quarter of 2026. Kazakhstan's crude oil production, excluding gas condensate, declined 10% last month to 1.69 million barrels per day, still above the OPEC+ output quota, according to an industry source and Reuters calculations. Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse has suspended fuel exports, while its oil refinery halted crude processing after Sunday's Ukrainian drone attacks on its infrastructure, according to two industry sources and LSEG ship tracking data. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-fall-amid-broader-market-selloff-gains-us-crude-stockpiles-2025-11-05/
