2023-11-21 06:11
NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dipped on Tuesday and gold touched a two-week high while minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting showed the central bank is "in a position to proceed carefully." All three major U.S. stock indexes ended slightly lower, with the tech-laden Nasdaq down the most ahead of Nvidia's (NVDA.O) results after the closing bell. The chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue above estimates. Its shares were last slightly lower in extended trading. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both snapped five-day winning streaks. "We've had a very sharp rally, and some profit-taking was probably overdue," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist Ingalls & Snyder in New York. "A lot of traders want to take money off the table on a day like today ahead of the holiday." The Fed's minutes from its Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting showed the policy makers wrestling with conflicting signals and agreeing to continue with caution after voting to leave the Fed funds target rate at 5.25%-5.50%. The minutes "confirm the statement from the last meeting and (Chairman Jerome) Powell's news conference afterward that the Fed is likely on hold for now," Ghriskey added. "If inflation re-accelerated they would likely have to act, but absent that, we're in a period of higher-for-longer rates and we take them at their word for that." On the economic front, existing home sales tumbled to their lowest level in more than 13 years as rising mortgage rates and low inventories kept potential homebuyers on the sidelines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 62.75 points, or 0.18%, to 35,088.29, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 9.19 points, or 0.20%, to 4,538.19 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 84.55 points, or 0.59%, to 14,199.98. European shares closed slightly lower as banking stocks weighed ahead of the Fed minutes release. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 0.09% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.18%. Emerging market stocks rose 0.25%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) closed 0.42% higher, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) lost 0.10%. Benchmark Treasury yields inched lower after a poorly received auction of 10-year inflation protected notes and the Fed minutes failed to reveal any new policy decisions. Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 3/32 in price to yield 4.4101%, from 4.422% late on Monday. The 30-year bond last rose 6/32 in price to yield 4.5643%, from 4.575% late on Monday. The greenback edged higher against a basket of world currencies, stemming the tide of its recent downturn after the Fed minutes suggested rates will remain in restrictive territory for some time. The dollar index (.DXY) rose 0.16%, with the euro down 0.26% to $1.091. The Japanese yen was flat versus the greenback at 148.40 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.2534, up 0.24% on the day. Crude prices pared earlier losses to settle nearly flat as investors looked ahead to Sunday's scheduled OPEC+ meeting. U.S. crude dipped 0.08% to settle at $77.77 per barrel, while Brent settled at $82.45 per barrel, up 0.16% on the day. Gold surged to a two-week high, and briefly broke through the $2,000 per ounce level on expectations that the Fed has reached the end of its tightening cycle. "Gold's been in a bit of a rally and part of that is geopolitical concerns and investors looking for a place to hide," Ghriskey said. Spot gold added 1.1% to $1,998.42 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2023-11-21/
2023-11-21 06:02
SILKYARA, India, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The first images emerged on Tuesday of 41 men trapped for more than a week in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, showing them standing in the confined space and communicating with rescue workers. The men have been stuck in the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on Nov. 12 and are safe, authorities said, with access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicines. They have not said what caused the cave-in, but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods. Efforts to bring out the 41 men have been slowed by snags in drilling through the debris in the mountainous terrain. A 30-second video provided by authorities showed about a dozen of the trapped men standing in a semi-circle in front of the camera, wearing helmets and construction worker jackets over their clothes against the backdrop of the lights in the tunnel. A rescue worker outside could be heard telling the men to present themselves before the camera one by one, to confirm their identities on the walkie-talkie gear that had been sent in. The video was shot through a medical endoscopy camera that was pushed through a second, wider pipeline of 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter, drilled through the debris on Monday, authorities said. In the clip, the trapped men appeared to be doing fine, answering that they were all right in response to queries about their well-being, said one official in the rescue control room who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. Rescuers are set on Tuesday to resume drilling horizontally through a 60-metre (195-ft) pile of debris to push through a pipe large enough for the trapped men to crawl out. Drilling had been suspended on Friday after a machine snag and fears of a fresh collapse. Authorities are simultaneously working on five other plans to pull out the workers, including drilling vertically from the top of the mountain. Abhishek Sharma, a psychiatrist sent to the site by the state government, said he had asked the 41 men to walk within the 2-km (1.2-mile) area where they are confined, do light yoga exercises and talk regularly among themselves to keep occupied. "Sleep is very important for them ... and as of now they have been sleeping well and not reported any difficulties in sleeping," Sharma told Reuters, adding that the men were in good spirits and keen to emerge soon. Another doctor at the site, Prem Pokhriyal, said the men had been asked to avoid heavy workouts that could boost accumulation of carbon dioxide gas in the confined space as they breathe out. The trapped men are low-wage workers, most of them from poor states in India's north and east. "He said he is doing fine," Sunita Hembrom, the sister-in-law of one of the workers trapped in the tunnel, Surendra Kisko, told reporters after she spoke to him. "He said, 'Take care of yourselves, the children and parents. Just tell us what they are doing to get us out of here.'" https://www.reuters.com/world/india/first-images-indian-tunnel-show-workers-trapped-nine-days-2023-11-21/
2023-11-21 06:02
DUBAI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Dubai Taxi Company (DTC) on Tuesday kicked off the subscription period for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), and announced a price range for the offering, which would value it at up to 4.6 billion dirhams ($1.25 billion). DTC, which plans to offer a 25% stake through a public sale, set a range between 1.80 dirhams and 1.85 dirhams per share, implying a market capitalisation at listing of 4.5 billion dirhams to 4.6 billion dirhams, it said in a statement. The final offer price is expected to be announced on Nov. 30. Shares are scheduled to begin trading on the Dubai Financial Market on Dec. 7, subject to regulatory approvals. Government-owned DTC is the latest public share sale from Dubai as part of a broader privatisation programme to list 10 state-linked companies to boost stock market activity, repay debt and deepen capital markets. "We have seen strong interest in the IPO since announcing our intention to float last week, reflecting DTC's compelling investment story," said CEO Mansoor Alfalasi. "DTC is at the heart of Dubai's mobility vision, with the IPO the next important chapter in our journey." The company has appointed Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Emirates NBD Capital, and Merrill Lynch International as joint global coordinators and bookrunners, and EFG Hermes UAE and First Abu Dhabi Bank as joint bookrunners on the deal. Rothschild and Co Middle East is mandated as independent financial adviser. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/dubai-taxi-sets-ipo-price-range-targets-company-up-125-bln-2023-11-21/
2023-11-21 05:53
Nov 21 (Reuters) - Blackstone (BX.N) plans to close a fund that exposes investors to a variety of hedge funds and trading strategies after assets fell almost 90% in four years, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The US.-based asset manager told investors that Blackstone Diversified Multi-Strategy fund will close at the end of the year, the newspaper reported, citing Blackstone. The fund reported a 2% decline in returns from the beginning of 2020 until the end of last month, the report said, quoting investor documents. "This is a small, legacy fund. We are in talks with clients to move their capital to newer strategies that offer greater flexibility than the current structure allows," FT quoted Blackstone as saying. Blackstone did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/blackstone-close-multi-strategy-fund-after-assets-drop-nearly-90-ft-2023-11-21/
2023-11-21 05:44
JAKARTA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Indonesia launched on Tuesday its investment plan to mobilise $20 billion in financing pledged by global lenders led by the United States and Japan to accelerate its power sector decarbonisation and called for immediate fund disbursement. Under Indonesia's Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) the country seeks to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 250 million metric tons for its on-grid power sector by 2030, versus estimated business-as-usual emissions of over 350 million. The investment proposal, known as Comprehensive Investment and Policy Plan (CIPP), was officially announced following a public consultation period after the draft was made public earlier this month. Indonesia, one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, plans to increase the portion of renewable energy in its power generation to 44% by 2030 from around 12% in 2022. "We have to move quickly because 2030 is less than seven years away. The partnership must be enhanced and accelerated to do the priority projects, including to immediately realise the financing commitments," Erick Thohir, ad-interim chief minister for investment affairs, said at the launch. The CIPP indicated investments worth $97.3 billion were needed to achieve the targets, including $66.9 billion for 400 projects which need to start by 2030 at the latest. Michael Kleine, the U.S. charge d'affaires in Jakarta, said the JETP funding was expected to "jump start" energy transition investment and attract more financing. Some environmentalists, however, were concerned about the large portion of commercial loans in the mix. Half of the funds pledged would come from private financing, which could be commercial loans carrying market rates, equity investment or other debt instruments. "What is the point of waiting for the JETP CIPP document to be released when the deal with advanced countries is just business-as-usual loans?" said Bhima Yudhistira of think tank Center of Economic and Law Studies. Indonesia's JETP is the biggest of its kind, followed by Vietnam's $15 billion scheme. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indonesia-launches-20-bln-renewable-energy-investment-plan-2023-11-21/
2023-11-21 05:43
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee Buoyed by a tech-fuelled rally on Wall Street, risk assets in Asia charged higher on rising expectations the Federal Reserve is done hiking rates and will likely cut early next year. The worry remains that upcoming data might show not just a slowing U.S. economy but also an economy on the verge of a recession. But for now investors are looking the other way. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) touched a fresh two-month peak and is on track for its best monthly performance since January. Lower Treasury yields have led the dollar broadly lower against most currencies, with a strong fix on China's yuan piling more pressure on the greenback. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six of its peers, fell to its lowest since Aug. 31. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) remained close to the 33-year high it touched on Monday. A Reuters poll showed analysts expect the index to continue its more-than-28% rally this year into 2024 to reach a three-decade high of 35,000 by end-June. With the economic calendar bare in Europe, the rally may fizzle out although futures indicate European stock markets are set for a slightly higher open. Investors will turn their focus to minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting later in the day for cues on where rates are headed. The spotlight will shine bright on earnings from artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia (NVDA.O), with expectation of another blockbuster revenue forecast. Investors have cheered a better-than-expected U.S. earnings season and the results will be a major test for the AI-powered rally that has helped drive up the U.S. stock market this year. Speaking of AI, the drama surrounding the future of OpenAI shows no sign of stopping. OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman moved to backer Microsoft (MSFT.O), in a surprise turn of events that clouded the future of the startup at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom. Meanwhile, the chief of Hamas told Reuters on Tuesday that the Palestinian militant group was near a truce agreement with Israel, even as the deadly assault on Gaza continued and rockets were being fired into Israel. Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday: Fed minutes, Oct inflation data for Canada, Nvidia earnings https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/global-markets-view-europe-2023-11-21/
