2025-09-18 11:29
TSX ends up 0.5% at 29,453.53 Eclipses Monday's record closing high Technology sector gains 1.7% Financials add 0.5% Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday to another record high, led by technology shares, as central bank interest rate cuts offset concern among some investors that valuations are becoming stretched. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 131.87 points, or 0.5%, at 29,453.53, eclipsing Monday's record closing high. Sign up here. "We're dealing with markets that are fairly highly valued," said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung Investment Management. "Given the high valuations and the investor exuberance that seems to be apparent in the market, I think this is a time for caution." The TSX's 12-month forward price-earnings ratio, a closely watched stock valuation metric, has climbed to 16.45, its highest level since May 2021, data from LSEG Datastream showed. Both the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday to support their economies, marking their first actions in months. "On the one side we see the slowing economy, but on the other side there are still fears of inflationary pressures," Sprung said. Investors expect just one more rate cut from the BoC by year-end. The technology sector (.SPTTTK) , opens new tab rose 1.7%, with shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) , opens new tab up 3%. Financials, which account for 33% of the index's weighting, added 0.5%. Four of the 10 major sectors ended lower, including energy. Energy was down 0.2% as the price of oil settled 0.75% lower at $63.57 a barrel. The proposed Anglo American-Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) , opens new tab merger has revived long-standing ambitions to share infrastructure at two major mines in northern Chile, but analysts say the plan could face hurdles to gain buy-in from Swiss miner and trader Glencore. Shares of Teck ended 0.3% lower. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/tsx-futures-edge-higher-with-fed-boc-open-further-rate-cuts-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 11:28
Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab has no plans to resume operations in Russia, Chief Executive Darren Woods told the Financial Times in an interview on Thursday. The company pulled out of Russia in 2022 after Western sanctions were imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, writing off billions of dollars from its exit. Sign up here. Exxon executives are in talks with Russian officials about recouping the $4.6 billion in assets expropriated by Moscow but not about investing in the country, the report said quoting Woods as saying. The talks began in early 2023, shortly after the company filed an arbitration case against President Vladimir Putin's government, the FT report said. Exxon Mobil did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-mobil-has-no-plans-re-enter-russia-financial-times-reports-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 11:11
LONDON, September 18 (Reuters) - The Bank of England kept rates unchanged on Thursday and said it was slowing the pace of its quantitative tightening programme and skewing sales away from long-dated gilts to minimise the impact on turbulent bond markets. Policymakers voted 7-2 to slow the annual pace at which it unloads the gilts which it purchased from 2009 and 2021 to 70 billion pounds from 100 billion pounds, broadly in line with a Reuters poll median forecast for it to be cut to 67.5 billion. Sign up here. "The new target means the MPC can continue to reduce the size of the Bank's balance sheet in line with its monetary policy objectives while continuing to minimise the impact of gilt market conditions," Governor Andrew Bailey said. The slowdown is the first since the BoE started in 2022 to unwind its gilt holdings, which followed 875 billion pounds of purchases between 2009 and 2021 to boost the economy. Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill voted to maintain the pace at 100 billion pounds - viewing the impact on markets as small - while MPC member Catherine Mann called for a faster reduction of 62 billion pounds. The BoE said that over the next year, sales would be split 40:40:20 between short-, medium- and long-dated gilts on an initial purchase price basis. Long-dated gilt yields hit their highest since 1998 at the start of this month. Policymakers also voted 7-2 to keep interest rates at 4% after last month's quarter-point cut, in line with expectation in a Reuters poll, after Monetary Policy Committee members Swati Dhingra and Alan Taylor kept up their call for lower rates. The BoE maintained its forecast that inflation would peak at 4% this month and slowly fall back to its 2% target by the second quarter of 2027, and nudged up its growth forecast for the third quarter to 0.4% from 0.3%. "Although we expect inflation to return to our 2% target, we're not out of the woods yet so any future cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully," Bailey said. Before Thursday's decision, markets priced in only around a one-in-three chance of a further rate cut this year. (([email protected] , opens new tab)) Keywords: BRITAIN BOE/ https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bank-england-slows-pace-qt-skews-away-long-dated-gilt-sales-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 11:11
BUENOS AIRES, Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China has reverberated in Argentina, denting the country's massive soy crushing industry even though overall soybean sales hit a six-year high. Soaring exports of raw beans to China from the South American country have slowed supply to local processors. Sign up here. The paradox of a booming export market causing domestic pain has industry leaders worried. Idle capacity at Argentina's powerful crushing facilities, which process soybeans into meal and oil for export, rose to 31% in July and has "widened" since, according to the CIARA-CEC grain exporters and processors chamber. "Frankly, as an oilseed industry, we are concerned. This means fewer Argentine jobs and lower export value," said Gustavo Idigoras, president of CIARA-CEC. "This trade war has not brought benefits to Argentina; it has brought harm." He added that the conflict has also created a soybean surplus in the U.S., allowing U.S. soymeal to "aggressively" compete with Argentina's for customers in Southeast Asia. BITTERSWEET BOOM Trump's trade war has forced Beijing to find alternatives to U.S. soybeans, and it has turned to Argentina and Brazil. Exports of unprocessed soybeans from the 2024/25 harvest have surged to 8.81 million metric tons, a six-year record driven by strong Chinese demand, according to official data. Processors are feeling the pain. "This export boom is being fueled by new demand from China that stems directly from its trade war with the United States," Idigoras told Reuters. China, the world's largest soybean customer, buys raw beans to process in its own industrial complexes. With nearly a third of Argentina's 2024/25 harvest still unsold, exporters are on pace to nearly double the 4.7 million metric tons sold last season. But whether that trend continues is uncertain. "The future of our bean exports will be decided by what happens between China and the United States," Idigoras explained. "All eyes are on November, when the current trade waiver between them expires." https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-trade-war-fallout-hits-argentine-soy-crushers-despite-export-boom-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 10:59
Oil and gas fund a quarter of Russia's budget Russian economy slowing, deficit rising Putin faces tough 2026 budget planning amid record military spending Revenue up 17% from August due to lower refinery subsidies MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Russia's state oil and gas sales in September are set to fall by around 23% from a year earlier on lower prices and a stronger rouble, Reuters calculations show, hitting Moscow's biggest source of revenue. The projected decline comes as President Vladimir Putin and his economic officials are preparing Russia's 2026 budget while funding its highest military spending since the Cold War. Sign up here. Russia will receive 592 billion roubles ($7.11 billion) in September, according to Reuters calculations based on oil and gas production data, refining, and supplies on domestic and international markets. Its revenue for the first nine months is set to fall by 20.5% to 6.62 trillion roubles, the calculations show. Month on month, September's oil and gas revenue is set to rise by 17%, according to Reuters estimates, helped by lower government subsidies owed to refineries. Oil and gas revenue accounts for up to a quarter of Russia's budget and is the most important source of cash for Moscow's war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. The finance ministry is due to present a draft 2026 budget to parliament by the end of September. After defying expectations of a recession in 2023 and 2024, Russia's economy is slowing and its federal budget deficit is rising. Russia has raised personal income and corporate taxes this year, but the government in May still had to triple its federal budget deficit estimate to 1.7% of gross domestic product. This year's official growth forecasts have been slashed and some key bankers and officials have warned that the economy is heading towards stagnation or recession. The finance ministry is scheduled to publish its September estimates of oil and gas revenue on October 3. Oil and gas revenue totalled 11.13 trillion roubles last year. The ministry initially forecast a 2025 total of 10.94 trillion - or some 5% of gross domestic product - but has lowered that to 8.32 trillion roubles. The finance ministry on Thursday announced a budget change to go into effect next year aimed at shielding the budget from oil price fluctuations and Western sanctions. ($1 = 83.2500 roubles) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russias-september-oil-gas-budget-revenue-seen-falling-23-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 10:47
MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Russia's seaborne oil product exports in August were up 8.9% from July at 9.44 million metric tons on rising fuel production, as several refineries completed planned maintenance, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed. Total oil product exports in August via the Baltic ports of Primorsk, Vysotsk, St Petersburg and Ust-Luga rose by 12.3% month-on-month to 5.326 million tons, data from market sources showed. Sign up here. Fuel exports via Russia's Black Sea and Azov Sea ports last month increased 3.6% from July to 3.392 million tons. Oil product exports from Russia's Arctic ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk fell 22.6% in August on a monthly basis to 30,700 tons from 39,700 tons. Fuel export loadings at Russia's Far East ports rose 13.5% month-on-month in August to 693,500 tons as local refineries completed seasonal maintenance, data from sources and Reuters calculations showed. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russias-august-seaborne-oil-product-exports-up-89-vs-july-reuters-calculations-2025-09-18/
