2025-09-15 11:25

Wall St futures broadly steady, European stocks up Euro shows little reaction to Fitch downgrade of France Rate cuts seen from Fed, BoC; steady for BoE, BOJ SYDNEY/LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Global shares held near record highs on Monday at the start of an action-packed week that looks certain to see the U.S. Federal Reserve resume its easing cycle, and perhaps leave the door open to a series of interest rate cuts. The Bank of Canada is also expected to cut rates by a quarter point this week, while the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are both seen holding rates steady. Sign up here. MSCI's all-country index (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab hovered just shy of last week's record high, while stocks in Europe (.STOXX) , opens new tab rose 0.5% on the day. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were up 0.1-0.2%. Markets expect a quarter-point cut from the Fed, which would take its funds rate to 4.0-4.25%, with futures implying just a 4% chance of 50 basis points. Key too will be Fed members' "dot plot" projections for rates and guidance from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on the extent and pace of any further easing. Futures already have 125 basis points of cuts priced in by late 2026, so anything less than dovish will disappoint investors. "The key question for the September FOMC meeting is whether the Committee will signal that this is likely the first in a series of consecutive cuts," said David Mericle, chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs. "We expect the statement to acknowledge the softening in the labor market but do not expect a change to the policy guidance or a nod to an October cut." U.S. President Donald Trump continued his attacks on the central bank on Sunday, saying Powell was incompetent and hurting the housing market. "Uncertainty surrounding the future path for Fed policy means that some traders are now bracing for volatility around Wednesday’s Fed decision, with options markets pricing in a 1% swing in either direction, which would be one of the biggest daily moves in weeks," XTB research director Kathleen Brooks said. Meanwhile, the euro shrugged off Fitch's downgrade of France late last week, rising 0.2% to $1.1754. It was a touch weaker against sterling, trading at 86.4 pence, down 0.1% on the day . The euro has been underpinned by a steady outlook for EU rates, with the European Central Bank signalling last week it was in a "good place" on policy. A host of ECB officials are due to speak this week, including President Christine Lagarde. Elsewhere, the dollar eased 0.2% against the yen to 147.39 , while the Norwegian crown rose to multi-month highs against the euro and to a 2023 high against the dollar ahead of the Norges Bank policy meeting later this week. CHINA DATA MISSES Talks between U.S. and Chinese officials on their strained trade ties and China's divestment from short-video app TikTok on Monday entered a second day in Madrid. Data released on Monday showed the Chinese economy lost some momentum in August, with a slew of activity indicators - from industrial output to retail sales - coming below forecasts. Falls in property investment deepened, while home prices declined another 0.3% in August, extending a downward trend that has persisted since early 2023. "Given the slowdown of the past few months, we expect that there's a strong case for additional short-term stimulus efforts," said Lynn Song, ING's chief economist, Greater China. "We continue to see a high possibility for another 10bp rate cut and 50bp reserve-requirement-ratio cut in the coming weeks." Separately, China's market regulator said on Monday that a preliminary investigation had found that Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab had violated the country's anti-monopoly law, marking the latest hit for the U.S. chip giant. The company's shares fell around 2% in premarket trading. In commodities, oil prices pared earlier gains, leaving Brent crude roughly unchanged on the day at $67 a barrel, backing down after a rally on the back of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries. Gold, meanwhile, held steady at $3,640 an ounce , just below last week's all-time high of $3,673.95. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-3-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 11:22

Two consortia bid for Norway's floating wind tender Government to announce winner in first half of 2026 Subsidies capped at 35 billion Norwegian crowns for Utsira Nord OSLO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The first tender to build commercial floating offshore wind farms in Norway has attracted bids from two consortia, the energy ministry said on Monday. The applicants were a group consisting of Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab and Eni's (ENI.MI) , opens new tab Vaargronn, and another comprising Deep Wind Offshore Norway AS and EDF Renouvelables International, the ministry said. Sign up here. Norway in May invited bids for the rights to develop projects of up to 500 megawatts at the Utsira Nord site off its south-west coast. The country, a major oil and gas producer, is seeking to sharply increase its renewable energy output in the coming decades to meet an expected surge in demand as more industries decarbonise their operations. "Offshore wind is one of the government's priority areas to ensure enough power in the years ahead," Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement. The government will now evaluate the applications and expects to announce whether they fulfil the set criteria in the first half of 2026. After that, selected participants will have two years to work on the projects before competing in an auction for subsidies in 2028-2029, to be provided as a direct grant to one successful bidder only. Siri Espedal Kindrem, head of Equinor's Norwegian renewable energy business, said in a statement that there is as yet no financial commitment from the partners in that company's consortium, and that profitability remains a key prerequisite for realising the project. Norway has agreed to cap total subsidies at Utsira Nord at 35 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.37 billion), reflecting the technology's relative immaturity. Floating wind turbines are deemed particularly suitable for greater water depths where fixing the foundation into the seabed is not possible. Norway awarded a first bottom-fixed offshore wind farm licence in 2024, but will focus solely on floating wind farm development when it next announces new tenders. The government has also set a target of allocating areas for a total of 30 GW of offshore wind development by 2040. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/norways-first-floating-wind-tender-attracts-two-bids-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 11:17

Orsted faces financial challenges amid Trump's anti-wind policies Orsted plans to issue 901 million new shares Issue price of DKK 66.6 vs Friday's close of DKK 200.3 Right to sell subscription rights limits share price fall COPENHAGEN, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Danish offshore wind developer Orsted (ORSTED.CO) , opens new tab will offer heavily discounted shares in its $9.42 billion rights issue to raise funds as U.S. President Donald Trump's resistance to renewable energy projects curtails its activities in the United States. Orsted has expanded rapidly over the past decade through an aggressive financing model, where it has sold stakes in projects under development to help fund construction and free up capital for new projects. But it has recently faced supply chain disruption, surging interest rates and project delays. Sign up here. Two-thirds of the new capital is earmarked for Sunrise Wind, a U.S. project that saw potential co-investors flee after the White House ordered Norway's Equinor to halt a neighbouring wind farm in April. "We intend to raise capital to cover the additional funding requirement related to Sunrise Wind and create a robust financial foundation for Orsted to realise the potential of our business," the company said in a statement on Monday. The world's biggest offshore wind developer set the price of the issue at 66.6 Danish crowns ($10.46) per share, a 67% discount to Friday's close of 200.3 crowns or a 39% discount to a weighted price of 109 crowns derived when trading rights are subtracted, according to a prospectus. Existing shareholders, who approved the capital raise earlier this month, will have the right to buy 2.14 new shares for each share they currently own. However, those who do not wish to participate can sell their rights to others. Orsted's shares traded 0.7% lower in Copenhagen at 0940 GMT, and are down 85% from a January 2021 peak. Trading on Monday and Tuesday includes subscription rights, limiting the share price fall, Sydbank analyst Jacob Pedersen said, adding that when these begin trade separately on Wednesday, the share price will drop sharply. U.S. officials also issued a stop-work order last month against Orsted's nearly complete Revolution Wind project. The joint venture overseeing it subsequently filed a lawsuit against the administration. Orsted currently has 420 million shares outstanding and plans to add 901 million new shares in the rights issue. The company's biggest shareholders, the Danish government with 50.1%, Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab with 10% and Andel A.M.B.A with 5%, have said they will participate in the share issue, which closes on October 2, with trading in the new shares expected to start on October 10. The sale of the remaining shares is fully underwritten by a group of banks. ($1 = 6.3661 Danish crowns) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/offshore-wind-group-orsted-sets-deep-discount-share-issue-fund-us-projects-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 11:14

August trade gap at $26.49 bln vs July's $27.35 bln U.S. shipments fall to $6.86 bln in August U.S. imposed up to 50% import tariffs on Indian goods Aug 27 U.S. delegation to visit India on Tuesday NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - India's merchandise trade deficit narrowed in August to $26.49 billion from $27.35 billion in July, as a drop in exports after U.S. President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Indian goods was offset by slowing imports. The U.S. imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods from August 27 over New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil, bringing total levies on Indian exports to 50% - among the highest for any U.S. trading partner. Sign up here. Trade talks between India and the U.S. have slowed since the imposition of tariffs, but negotiators of the two sides will meet on Tuesday, Indian government officials said. Total goods exports fell to a nine-month low of $35.10 billion in August from $37.24 billion in July. Exports to the U.S. fell to $6.86 billion in August from $8.01 billion in July, while its shipments to the U.S. rose in the April-August period to $40.39 billion. The full impact of higher tariffs on U.S. imports of Indian goods could be felt next month. Total goods imports fell to $61.59 billion from $64.59 billion, the data released by the commerce ministry showed. India's merchandise trade deficit in August was higher than economists' forecast of $25.13 billion in a Reuters poll. The government estimated services exports in August at $34.06 billion and imports at $17.45 billion, suggesting a total goods and services trade deficit at $9.88 billion. The central bank releases monthly services trade data after a one-month lag, following government estimates. Officials said India's merchandise and services exports rose in August, led by engineering and electronics goods. "August exports growth is driven by good performance of electronics, engineering, gems and jewellery, besides petroleum and pharma exports," Sunil Bharthwal, India's commerce secretary, said. Bharthwal said the government's measures to encourage diversification of exports to different markets have paid off. Indian producers are trying to export more to markets in the Middle East, Africa and other countries to partly offset the impact of Trump's tariffs. However, no other country comes close to the consumption power of the U.S., which absorbed nearly $87 billion of Indian goods last year. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-august-merchandise-trade-deficit-narrows-exports-us-dip-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 11:14

Sept 15 - Alaska Air (ALK.N) , opens new tab expects its quarterly profit to be at the low end of its previous forecast, as high fuel costs and operational challenges weigh on margins, the U.S. carrier said on Monday. Refinery outages on the U.S. West Coast have tightened fuel supplies and lifted prices. Alaska now expects to pay up to $2.55 per gallon, up from its earlier projections of about $2.45 per gallon. Sign up here. Alaska also flagged weather and air traffic control issues driving up costs such as passenger compensation and crew overtime expenses. Operational disruptions have increasingly pressured U.S. carriers this year, with storms and strained air traffic control capacity leading to costly disruptions across the industry. Alaska was also hit by a major IT outage in July that disrupted hundreds of flights and stranded thousands of passengers during the peak summer travel season. The airline later linked the outage to a faulty software update. Alaska now expects its third-quarter adjusted profit per share at the lower end of its previously issued forecast of $1 to $1.40. The airline, however, pointed to improving revenue trends on the back of strong premium demand and a rebound in corporate bookings. It said unit revenue, a key gauge of pricing power, was tracking toward the upper end of its prior forecast. https://www.reuters.com/business/alaska-air-estimates-third-quarter-profit-low-end-forecast-fuel-costs-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 11:11

U.S. Fed two-day policy meeting begins on Tuesday Fed seen cutting rates for first time since December Doubts over Fed chair Powell's tone at FOMC meet - analyst Sept 15 (Reuters) - Gold was flat on Monday as investors refrained from placing big bets ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later this week, where the central bank is expected to cut interest rates and offer more insights on the pace of further easing. Spot gold held its ground at $3,644.07 per ounce, as of 1036 GMT. Bullion climbed about 1.6% last week, reaching a record high of $3,673.95 on Tuesday. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.1% at $3,681.0. "It is widely expected that the Fed will deliver a 25-bp rate cut. However, doubts remain over the tone Jerome Powell will adopt in his remarks at the end of the meeting and the guidance he will provide for future policy decisions," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades. Last week, data showed U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in seven months in August amid higher costs for housing and food, though a surge in first-time applications for jobless benefits last week kept the Federal Reserve on track to cut rates on Wednesday. USDIRPR/ Traders are pricing in a near-certain 25 basis point (bps) cut to the Fed's key interest rate at the conclusion of the two-day policy meeting on September 17, with a small chance of a 50 bps reduction, according to CME FedWatch tool , opens new tab. Non-yielding bullion, often considered a safe-haven asset during broader uncertainty, tends to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment. The Fed's meeting comes amid challenges, including a legal dispute over its leadership and U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to exert more control over the interest rate policy and the central bank's broader role. For gold, "while we see the risks to our $4,000/toz mid-2026 forecast as skewed to the upside, rising speculative length raises the risk of tactical pullbacks, as positioning tends to mean-revert," Goldman Sachs said in a note on Friday. Elsewhere, spot silver was up 0.1% at $42.19 per ounce, platinum gained 0.5% to $1,396.40 and palladium rose 0.8% to $1,206.66. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-pauses-breath-investors-seek-fed-guidance-2025-09-15/