2026-02-03 02:28

Feb 2 (Reuters) - Investors in Elon Musk's xAI will receive 0.1433 shares of SpaceX for every share of xAI as part of the satellite company's purchase of the billionaire entrepreneur's artificial intelligence company, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. As part of the deal, some xAI executives may also opt for cash instead of SpaceX stock, receiving $75.46 per share for each xAI share, the source added. Sign up here. SpaceX was not immediately available for comment. https://www.reuters.com/technology/spacex-xai-set-share-exchange-ratio-01433-source-says-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 02:13

MUMBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee soared on Tuesday after New Delhi and Washington announced a trade deal that slashed U.S. tariffs on Indian goods, a development that turned around indicators that previously pointed to sustained weakness in the currency. Before the deal was announced overnight on Monday, the rupee was caught in a persistent trend of depreciation. The currency slumped by about 5% since the tariffs went into effect in late August. Sign up here. The rupee recovered sharply on Tuesday and was last up nearly 1.2%, on course for its biggest one-day gain in over three years. Concurrently, indicators that help investors gauge the future trajectory turned in the currency's favour. The one-month non-deliverable forward points, which help gauge the path market participants expect the currency to take in the future, dropped to 8 paisa, their lowest level in over 3 months. Dollar-rupee forward premiums, which capture the cost of hedging against further rupee weakness, dipped across tenors. The 1-month forward premium dropped to its lowest level since September 2025 and the 1-year implied yield dropped below 2.50%. Concurrently, the 1-month 25 delta dollar-rupee risk reversal, the volatility gauge, came off a multi-week high. The decline signals that the cost of betting against the rupee via options has fallen relative to the cost of wagering on its rally. "Our view has been that the INR is now slightly undervalued and can therefore partially recover on a rollback in U.S. tariffs, especially as the reprieve coincides with "positive seasonality" in India's balance of payments in the January-March quarter," said Joey Chew, head of Asia FX research at HSBC in Singapore. The firm expects the rupee to strengthen to 88 by the end of March and then fall back to 90 by end 2026. Indian equities rallied sharply as well, with the benchmark Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab up nearly 3%. The yield on the 10-year benchmark bond eased 5 bps to 6.72%. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-set-rally-prospects-india-us-trade-deal-attract-flows-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 01:52

SINGAPORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Indian stocks and the rupee are set for strong gains on Tuesday after a trade deal that slashes U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers. Here are some comments from investors and analysts: Sign up here. RADHIKA RAO, SENIOR ECONOMIST, DBS, SINGAPORE: "This breakthrough is unmistakably positive for the real economy/exports, sentiment as well as financial markets, while further details are awaited. Textiles, gems & jewellery, engineering goods, leather and chemicals are likely amongst the key gainers. "An eventual unveiling of the bilateral trade agreement will provide more details on the beneficiary product lines and trade as well as investment commitments. Domestic markets are expected to witness a relief rally at open, after high tariffs had been one of the key drags on sentiment in the past quarter." CHARU CHANANA, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, SAXO, SINGAPORE: "This is constructive for Indian equities because it reduces trade policy uncertainty and improves visibility for export-linked earnings - exactly the kind of catalyst that can restart the narrative when global investors have been cautious. But there's a lot we still don't know. If the oil bill rises meaningfully, that can reintroduce inflation and currency sensitivity. "The structural story remains strong and the latest budget’s infrastructure and AI push keeps the ‘catch-up’ theme alive. For foreign investors though, the next hurdle is the Indian rupee, which means the market may look less like a one-way beta trade and more like a dispersion market." MARC VELAN, HEAD OF INVESTMENTS, LUCERNE ASSET MANAGEMENT, SINGAPORE: "The trade deal removes a chunk of policy and tariff uncertainty that had been weighing on Indian assets, opening the door for a near-term bounce in the rupee and equities via sentiment and foreign flows, though sustainability will depend on how the deal is implemented rather than the headline itself." TRIDEEP BHATTACHARYA, PRESIDENT & CIO, EQUITIES, EDELWEISS ASSET MANAGEMENT, MUMBAI: "The reduction in tariffs from around 50% to ~18% has come in materially better than consensus expectations. When combined with the recently concluded India–EU trade agreement, this potentially represents one of the strongest external growth stimuli for the Indian economy in 2026." LAKSHMAN VENKITARAMAN, ASSOCIATE PORTFOLIO MANAGER, WASTACH GLOBAL, SALT LAKE CITY: "We believe the trade deal improves investor sentiment toward India. While the U.S. is India’s largest trading partner, exports to the U.S. account for less than 5% of India’s GDP. Nonetheless, U.S.-India trade frictions have weighed on foreign investor perception. This has been compounded by a global trade focused on AI, which has disproportionately benefited markets such as Taiwan and Korea. "In our view, the trade deal refocuses global investor attention on India and should help revive foreign investor interest in Indian equities. Importantly, domestic investors have remained committed to the India growth story, providing a strong base for renewed foreign inflows." PRASHANT PARODA, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, ALLSPRING GLOBAL: "We believe this trade deal announcement should lift a key overhang on Indian equities. The U.S. is India's largest trading partner and this helps cement the relationship of the two largest democracies of the world. "While actual details are awaited, we expect financials, renewables with exposure to the U.S. market and select textile companies to benefit. India has underperformed broader emerging markets index over the last year. Foreign investors who have been net sellers recently might also look to increase their weight to India in light of this announcement." BEN LAIDLER, HEAD OF EQUITY STRATEGY, BRADESCO BBI, LONDON: "It's a relief. India has sat out the EM rally last year and this year on concerns of being in the of trade war crosshairs of the U.S. So this is a double whammy benefit for India. You’ve announced trade deals or big trade liberalisations with your two biggest trade partners. It's going to take time for this all to be signed and sealed. "It definitely removes one of the overhangs of the Indian market, something that had been maybe keeping investors shy of putting new money to work in India. Time will tell how positive. These things are a slow burn. They're going to take time to get signed." LLOYD CHAN, SENIOR CURRENCY ANALYST, MUFG, SINGAPORE: "A significant shift in U.S.-India trade policy has introduced a new geopolitical and macroeconomic dimension to Asia FX markets, arriving just as the Indian rupee is facing depreciation pressures. "From a macro perspective, the INR’s recent weakness has been driven by tepid portfolio inflows and current account concern. The trade deal does offer medium-term positives for India through improved export competitiveness and reduced tariff uncertainty. However, the shift in energy procurement away from discounted Russian crude introduces challenges to import costs." https://www.reuters.com/world/india/reaction-us-india-tariff-deal-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 01:49

Gold jumps over 5%, silver up over 9% Analyst sees gold resuming longer‑term rise No US employment report on Friday due to partial government shutdown Feb 3 (Reuters) - Gold and silver prices rebounded sharply on Tuesday after a steep selloff over the previous two sessions, with the bullion on track for its biggest daily rise since November 2008 as bargain‑hunters stepped in amid resilient underlying fundamentals. Spot gold rose 5.2% to $4,906.82 per ounce by 01:31 p.m. ET (1831 GMT), recovering from Monday's low of $4,403.24 but still trading below last week's record high of $5,594.82. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled 6.1% higher at $4,935 per ounce. Silver surged 4.8% to $83.23 an ounce on Tuesday, after a record 27% one‑day decline on Friday and falling a further 6% on Monday. "I view the recent losses as corrective within the long‑term uptrend," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. He added many of the fundamentals that have driven gold higher over recent years remain firmly in place. "At this point, we are likely to see a period of consolidation, with $4,400 an important support level on the downside and resistance probably around $5,100 on the upside," Grant said. Precious metals retreated sharply over the past two sessions as Kevin Warsh was named the next head of the Federal Reserve, after Chair Jerome Powell steps down in May. Investors expect Warsh to support rate cuts but tighten the Fed's balance sheet. Additionally, the CME Group raised margin requirements on precious metal futures, which further weighed on prices. Despite the recent volatility, analysts broadly expect the bull market to continue, with the yellow metal likely to hit fresh peaks later this year. "We expect prices to resume their longer term rise at a more sustainable pace as investors continue to be extremely concerned about economic and political conditions," said CPM Group managing partner Jeffrey Christian. Gold is widely regarded as a safe haven and typically performs well in low interest rate environments. Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Monday the closely watched employment report for January would not be released this Friday due to a partial shutdown of the federal government. Among other metals, spot platinum climbed 3.4% to $2,194.05 per ounce, while palladium was up 0.4% at $1,727.03. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-rebounds-more-than-3-after-sharp-selloff-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 01:26

RBA hikes rates to 3.85%; Aussie breaks above 70c India trade deal boosts stocks, rupee Nikkei higher, yen and bonds squeezed ahead of Japan election SINGAPORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Gold and Asian stocks were on the rebound on Tuesday as trade took a calmer tone after wild swings in metals markets and a deal to cut U.S. tariffs on India helped the mood, while the Australian dollar rose after an interest rate hike. Australia's central bank joined Japan as the only developed-world economy to tighten policy, saying above-target inflation and a tight labour market justified a unanimous decision to lift the cash rate 25 basis points to 3.85%. Sign up here. Markets had mostly anticipated the move, though are now rushing to price in a follow-up in May which was enough to push the Aussie about 1% higher and over 70 U.S. cents. India's rupee and stocks (.NSEI) , opens new tab cheered an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump that tariffs on Indian goods would be cut from 50% to 18% in return for New Delhi halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers. Details were scarce. Elsewhere Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab jumped 4% to recoup Monday's losses and South Korea's KOSPI (.KS11) , opens new tab rose 5%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.1% with traders eyeing a busy few sessions of earnings. With so many positions stopped out by collapses in crowded silver and gold bets, investors were taking stock and sitting back, according to Steven Leung, director of institutional sales at brokerage UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong. "It will take a long time for them to rebuild a bull or bear position...so they are staying away from the market," he said. Speculation that tax hikes on Chinese telcos could extend to internet giants dragged stocks such as Tencent (0700.HK) , opens new tab and Alibaba (9988.HK) , opens new tab down by more than 3%. METALS STABILISE Gold was up 3% in Asia to $4,820 an ounce, a bounce of around 9% from Monday's lows. Silver traded 5% higher to $83.34 an ounce. Gold, silver, stocks and the dollar have all whipsawed since Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve sent metal prices tumbling. Warsh is seen shrinking the Fed's balance sheet, pushing up bond yields, which is negative for precious metals that pay no income. However, the dive in prices on Friday and on Monday went beyond fundamentals and was a wipeout for leveraged positions and sent tremors through global commodity and stock markets as traders sold other assets to bail out losing bets. Looking ahead, Wall Street earnings are in the frame, with chipmaker AMD (AMD.O) , opens new tab and server equipment company Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O) , opens new tab due to report after market. TAKAICHI TRADE Currency markets were finding a level after last week's sharp spike lower in the dollar. The euro bought $1.1809 in the Asia session, off highs hit above $1.20 late in January. The yen traded at 155.41 per dollar and has retraced about half the gains it made on the greenback that followed talk of possible joint U.S.-Japan intervention to boost the yen. Polls show Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party heading for a landslide victory at the weekend's election -- putting pressure on bonds and the yen as it would hand a mandate to her agenda for fiscal loosening. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Tuesday was downplaying weekend remarks from Takaichi highlighting benefits of a weak yen, at odds with authorities' efforts to support it. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-1-tv-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 01:14

MUMBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee surged in the non-deliverable forward market trading after India and the United States clinched a trade deal, fuelling expectations of renewed foreign inflows. One-month dollar/rupee NDF levels point to an opening near 90.15–90.25, versus 91.5125 on Monday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-rupee-surges-ndf-trading-after-us-india-trade-deal-2026-02-03/