2024-03-26 21:48

March 27 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Chinese industrial profits and Australian inflation top the Asian and Pacific economic calendar on Wednesday, against a backdrop of reasonably firm global equity markets and risk appetite ahead of key U.S. inflation data due later in the week. The economic, business and political spheres are also set to collide in Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. business leaders, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter, in a follow up to his November dinner with U.S. investors in San Francisco. The audience with Xi follows Chinese Premier Li Qiang not meeting visiting foreign CEOs at the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 24 to 25, which reignited concerns over transparency in China's economy and deteriorating economic ties with the United States. But Xi's personal intervention might be a sign of his commitment to ensuring China is open for business, and improving Sino-U.S. relations. Or at least preventing them from deteriorating any further. China's economy, markets and investors could certainly do with some good news. Chinese stocks are on track to post their first quarterly gain in four quarters, but that is due to a strong rebound from five-year lows in February that has since faded - Chinese stocks are barely up for the month of March. This has held Asian stocks back too - the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index is up only 1% this year, significantly lagging the MSCI World (+7%) and the MSCI global emerging market index (+1.5%). Figures on Wednesday will give the first insight into the health of China's industrial firms' profitability this year, with January and February numbers due for release. Industrial profits fell 2.3% in 2023, their second straight yearly decline. But there were some signs of improvement at the end of last year - profits rose 16.8% in December from a year earlier, extending gains for a fifth month. The other main economic indicator on Wednesday is Australian consumer inflation for February. Economists expect the annual rate to rise slightly to 3.5% from 3.4% in January. Aussie rates traders don't expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to begin cutting rates until September, and are only pricing in 40 basis points of easing this year. The yen, meanwhile, remains perilously close to lows not seen since 1990. Japanese officials are cranking up the verbal intervention - Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki warned on Tuesday that "rapid currency moves are undesirable" - but it isn't translating into much upside for the yen. That may only come if there's a sufficient decline in U.S. yields and rate expectations, which may not come until after U.S. PCE inflation on Friday. A hotter-than-forecast report, however, and the yen could quickly slide through 152 per dollar and force Tokyo to act. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Wednesday: - China industrial profits (Jan, Feb) - China President Xi Jinping meets U.S. business leaders - Australia consumer inflation (February) Get a look at the day ahead in Asian and global markets with the Morning Bid Asia newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-03-26/

2024-03-26 21:25

HOUSTON, March 26 (Reuters) - The shipping industry is under increasing pressure to decarbonize, but unclear regulatory guidelines, including around what sorts of cleaner fuels large vessels should run, is complicating that path to net zero, according to executives. Global shipping firms are looking for ways to lower their carbon footprints, particularly as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which regulates the global shipping industry, is being pushed to implement a charge on the sector's greenhouse gas emissions. The IMO's Maritime Environment Protection Committee concluded its 81st meeting last week , opens new tab, and participants agreed on a possible draft outline of an IMO net-zero framework. Those guidelines, which could bring forward a fuel standard and emissions price, are still open to discussion and could be adopted or amended at the group's next meeting this September. Shifting to cleaner burner fuels is one path to lowering emissions, executives said last week at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, but many in the industry are reluctant to make the changes needed to run new fuels - such as retrofitting engines or purchasing new vessels - given the lack of a longer-term regulatory framework. "None of us like the fact that we are burning dirty fuel. But no authority is answering what the best fuel is", Andrew Jamieson, co-head of Clearlake Shipping said on the sidelines of the conference. Shipping accounts for roughly 90% of world trade and is responsible for nearly 3% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Most large ships currently run on very low-sulphur fuel oil, a tar-like oil that is relatively inexpensive and energy dense, meaning that a fairly small amount is needed to propel a vessel for great distances. The lack of clarity leaves players reluctant to commit to one less carbon-intensive fuel over another for their fleets, be it hydrogen-carriers methanol, ammonia, biodiesel or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Most vessel engines are designed to take one type of fuel and with an average 25-year lifespan, companies run a risk by committing to one fuel that is less developed and less predictable at scale than traditional bunkering fuel. Uncertainty around fuel and technology in the sector is also driving up costs, as companies are forced to diversify their investments across multiple fuel options, Seonghoon Woo, the CEO of Amogy which builds zero-emission ammonia-fueled power systems, told a panel at CERAWeek. And cleaner marine fuels, like methanol and ammonia, are also seeing demand from other sectors, such as across Asia where countries are seeking to decarbonize power plants away from coal. "The question is where will shipping be in the pecking order of availability of fuels going forward”, American Bureau of Shipping CEO, Christopher Wiernicki said on Thursday at CERAWeek. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/shipping-industry-faces-fuel-dilemma-bid-cut-emissions-2024-03-26/

2024-03-26 21:24

March 26 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Tuesday gave final approval to Orsted (ORSTED.CO) , opens new tab and Eversource's (ES.N) , opens new tab Sunrise Wind offshore wind facility, which is expected to provide power to more than 320,000 homes in New York. The announcement was the latest positive development for the project, which Denmark's Orsted warned just months ago could fail without a new contract that would cover soaring costs for equipment and financing. Orsted and Eversource said separately that they had taken a final investment decision on the project in conjunction with the federal approval and would begin onshore construction. Sunrise Wind is the seventh offshore wind project approval by President Joe Biden's Interior Department, which has a goal of permitting 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030 as part of the president's climate change agenda. Sunrise Wind, which is expected to be the nation's largest offshore wind project once it is completed in 2026, was awarded a conditional contract by New York state officials last month under a program meant to support the embattled industry. In a statement, the Interior Department said the project would have a total capacity of 924 megawatts. It will create about 800 jobs during construction and 300 during operations. Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is responsible for permitting offshore wind facilities, approved fewer wind turbines than the developer had proposed to reduce impacts to seafloor habitats and Atlantic cod. Sunrise Wind will be located about 16 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts and 27 nautical miles east of Montauk, New York. Orsted is negotiating final terms for the project's 25-year contract. The company plans to acquire Eversource's 50% stake in Sunrise Wind, but the utility will lead the project's onshore construction. Orsted took a large financial hit on its U.S. offshore wind portfolio last year and canceled development of two projects in New Jersey. Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-approves-orsteds-sunrise-wind-offshore-wind-farm-power-new-york-homes-2024-03-26/

2024-03-26 20:55

Tesla to give customers one-month driver-assist trial; shares up McCormick jumps after Q1 profit, sales beat Trump Media & Technology surges in debut after SPAC merger Indexes down: Dow 0.08%, S&P 500 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.42% NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Tuesday, giving up modest gains late in the session to send the Dow and S&P 500 to their third straight decline, as investors awaited economic data in a holiday-shortened week to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy path. Stocks struggled for upward momentum even as Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab gained 2.92% after CEO Elon Musk unveiled the electric-vehicle maker's one-month trial of its Full Self-Driving technology to existing and new customers in the United States. The stock is up about 4% for the week but remains down more than 28% for the year. The focus remains on a key reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. The data is due on Friday, when U.S. markets will be shut for the Good Friday holiday. The index is expected to have risen 0.4% in February and 2.5% annually. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy components, is estimated to have advanced 0.3% last month, keeping the annual pace at 2.8%, economists polled by Reuters said. "The big number is Friday. That's the number everyone's going to pay attention to and whatever happens in the meantime is going to be noise, so I don't anticipate a whole lot happening until we get that data point," said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco. "The one thing that would be death, death for this market is if somehow something came out that led people to believe that the fed funds rate has not topped out yet. If for some reason people thought the Fed was even giving an inkling to raising rates further, stand out of the way." On the economic front, orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods increased more than expected in February, while business spending on equipment showed tentative signs of recovery. In a separate report, the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index was little changed at 104.7 in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 31.31 points, or 0.08%, to 39,282.33. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 14.61 points, or 0.28%, at 5,203.58 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab slid 68.77 points, or 0.42%, to 16,315.70. The three major U.S. indexes hit record highs last week after the Fed maintained its projection for three interest-rate cuts this year. Markets have been slowly increasing expectations the central bank will cut rates by at least 25 basis points in June, currently pricing in a 70.4% chance, the CME's FedWatch Tool , opens new tab showed, up from 59.2% last week. Trump Media & Technology group jumped 16.1% to close at $57.99 after surging as high as $79.38 as it kicked off its first day of trading after completing a reverse merger with a blank check firm. McCormick (MKC.N) , opens new tab jumped 10.52% as the best performer on the S&P 500 after the spice maker beat market expectations for first-quarter sales and profit. Seagate Technology (STX.O) , opens new tab climbed 7.38% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the computer hard-drive maker's rating to "overweight" from "equal-weight." United Parcel Service (UPS.N) , opens new tab shares tumbled 8.16%, however, after announcing its 2026 forecast. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancers by about a 1.34-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 33 new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq recorded 122 new highs and 124 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.43 billion shares, compared with the 12.23 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Trading volumes are expected to be light throughout the week, thinning out further as the holiday approaches. (This story has been refiled to add a dropped word in the headline) The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/futures-rise-megacap-chip-stocks-bounce-2024-03-26/

2024-03-26 20:54

March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiner Phillips 66 (PSX.N) , opens new tab is exploring a sale of its 25% stake in the Rockies Express Pipeline that it hopes could be worth more than $1 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) is a 1,700-mile (2730-km)interstate natural gas pipeline, stretching from Wyoming and Colorado in the U.S. West to Eastern Ohio. Phillips 66 is working with its advisers on talks with potential buyers, which include private equity firms and infrastructure funds, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential. The Houston-based company is hoping to command a premium to the stake's current book value of $451 million, the sources said, adding bidders would also need to assume debt obligations worth more than $500 million associated with the stake. A spokesperson for Phillips 66 declined to comment. Phillips 66, which has a market value of $67 billion, is aiming to raise about $3 billion from asset sales this year. In an interview earlier on Tuesday, Chief Executive Mark Lashier said the company was in discussions with potential buyers for asset sales, but it was not in a rush to complete divestments. He declined to name the assets referenced in those discussions. The company has come under pressure in recent months from Elliott Management, which disclosed a stake in November and pushed for Phillips 66 to improve its refining operations and revamp its board of directors. The activist investor and Phillips 66 agreed last month to add a new board member approved by the investment firm, and to work together to identify a second director appointment. The remainder of the REX pipeline is controlled by privately owned Tallgrass Energy. Stakes in pipelines, such as REX, are attractive to financial investors as they like businesses with steady cash flow, the sources said, adding stakes in interstate pipelines are not marketed to buyers often. Get U.S. personal finance tips and insight straight to your inbox with the Reuters On the Money newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/phillips-66-explores-sale-rex-interstate-pipeline-stake-worth-over-1-billion-2024-03-26/

2024-03-26 20:41

March 26 (Reuters) - British commodities broker Marex Group reported a 75% jump in annual revenue in a filing on Tuesday, three months after it confidentially filed to list in the United States. The London-based company said revenue for the year ended Dec 31, 2023 rose to $1.24 billion from $711 million a year earlier. Marex's profit after tax for the same period jumped to $141 million, or $1.09 per share, from $98.2 million, or 80 cents a share, a year earlier. The broker, backed by private equity firm JRJ, is attempting another IPO after its failed attempt to list in London in 2021. It confidentially filed for an IPO in New York in December last year. The company's listing is yet another blow to London capital markets, which have seen a string of high-profile defections last year by domestic or locally listed companies to New York in search of deeper liquidity and higher valuations, including building materials company CRH (CRH.N) , opens new tab. Marex, which operates across Europe and the Americas with a growing presence in the Middle East and APAC regions, grew active clients to over 4,000 in 2023 from nearly 1,800 in 2018. It employs about 2,000 people in more than 35 global offices as of Dec. 31, 2023. Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods are the underwriters for the offering. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/britains-marex-group-reports-75-surge-annual-revenue-us-ipo-filing-2024-03-26/