2023-11-19 21:49

Nov 20 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. China's latest interest rate decision will be the main focus for Asian markets on Monday, with investors also eyeing third-quarter GDP from Thailand, and trade figures from Malaysia and Taiwan. Trading activity and volumes in Asia this week will be lighter than usual owing to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday later in the week, but sentiment appears to be holding up well thanks to a general loosening of financial conditions. Bond yields around the world, led by Treasury yields, are falling as inflation pressures ease, economic activity cools and oil prices slide. For the most part, investors are riding the wave - world stocks, Wall Street, and Japan's Nikkei last week all rose for a third straight week, and Asia ex-Japan rose 3%. China's blue chip CSI300 index, however, had its first fall in four weeks. Equity and currency market volatility are well anchored, and while bond market volatility is more elevated, it is in the middle of its range over the past year excluding the U.S. banking shock in March. On Monday, the People's Bank of China is widely expected to leave lending benchmark rates unchanged. All 26 market watchers in a Reuters poll expect the one-year and five-year loan prime rates to be held steady at 3.45% and 4.20%, respectively. Most economists believe China's economy needs more stimulus, but this would expand downward pressure on the yuan and risk increasing capital and portfolio outflows. Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that net FX outflows in October totaled $41 billion, compared with $75 billion in September. That's over $100 billion outflows in just two months. It is why Beijing's policy decisions are so important: as long as the interest rate spread remains heavily against the Chinese yuan, these outflows will likely persist. But authorities seem determined to support the yuan and steer it away from the 7.30 per dollar level. Their efforts are working - the dollar on Friday dipped below 7.21 yuan for the first time in three months. Also on Monday, figures from Bangkok are expected to show that Thailand's economy grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the third quarter, up from 1.8% in the previous quarter, boosted by exports and tourism. On a quarterly basis, GDP likely grew a seasonally-adjusted 1.2% from 0.2% in the second quarter. Later in the week the Reserve Bank of Australia releases minutes of its Nov. 7 policy meeting and Bank Indonesia is expected to keep its key interest rate on hold at 6.00%. But perhaps the most important release will be Japanese consumer price inflation on Friday - it could be critical for Bank of Japan policy. Core annual inflation is expected to have risen to 3.0% in October from a 13-month low of 2.8% in September, according to a Reuters poll. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Monday: - China interest rate decision - Thailand GDP (Q3) - Malaysia trade (October) https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-view-asia-graphics-pix-2023-11-19/

2023-11-19 21:28

OSLO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Finland's Olkiluoto 3, Europe's largest nuclear power generator as measured by output, suffered an unexpected outage on Sunday due to a turbine problem, Nordic power bourse Nord Pool said in a statement. The 1.6 gigawatt (GW) unit, known as OL3, was expected to reconnect on Monday at around 1000 GMT, an extension of the outage by 11 hours compared to the initial estimate, according to the regulatory statement. Plagued by construction delays, OL3 began regular electricity output in April this year, some 14 years behind schedule. Finland has said the nuclear reactor, Europe's first in 16 years, is expected to meet around 14% of the country's electricity demand, boosting energy security. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/finlands-ol3-nuclear-reactor-suffers-unexpected-outage-2023-11-19/

2023-11-19 20:24

ISTANBUL, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A Turkish cargo ship with 12 crew members on board went missing off the country's Black Sea coast amid a storm on Sunday and authorities have been unable to make contact with them since, local authorities said. The captain of the Turkish flagged Kafkametler had reported during the morning that the ship was drifting towards a breakwater off Eregli, in northwest Turkey's Zonguldak province, the provincial governor's office said. The region was hit by powerful storms on Sunday and the statement said the adverse weather prevented air and sea vessels from carrying out searches. Search and rescue teams were deployed in the region and were ready to launch operations when the weather permitted, the governor's office said. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkish-ship-with-12-crew-missing-black-sea-2023-11-19/

2023-11-19 20:16

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Taylor Swift fans headed to her eagerly expected show in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, following a last-minute postponement of Saturday’s performance due to record breaking heat after a fan died in the sweltering conditions a day earlier. Temperatures were significantly lower on Sunday following two days of record-breaking heat in Brazil’s second-largest city. Fans outside the Nilton Santos stadium were hopeful Sunday's show would go on as planned. "There was the cancellation yesterday, I was a bit apprehensive about today, but I hope everything goes well. Today is not hot, it's cool. The expectation is high for everything to go well," said Iasmin Moreira Oliveira, in front of vendors hawking umbrellas and raincoats to protect from expected rain. On the first night of Swift’s "The Eras Tour" in Rio on Friday, 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides fell ill and later died in the hospital. The tragedy led the federal government to order event organizer T4F (SHOW3.SA) to ensure water access at all of Swift's concerts in Brazil and issue a directive allowing water bottles to be brought into all concerts from now on. T4F on Saturday said it would enhance its action plan for the event, particularly focusing on providing free water at queues and all stadium entrances and exits, allowing entry with sealed water cups, flexible plastic bottles, and sealed processed foods. Saturday’s postponement, which Swift announced just two hours before she was to go on stage, angered many fans who had already made the journey to the stadium, some from different states and countries. "There were people crying, people throwing tantrums, hoping it was all a lie, in short, it was terrible," said student Victor Guimaraes, who was waiting in line again on Sunday to watch the singer's performance. In the face of scorching temperatures, Brazilian fan club Update Swift Brasil reached out to major water companies seeking donations to alleviate the conditions on site. Fans were met with a positive response from Minalba Brasil, which distributed water bottles for free in the stadium area on Sunday. "It was a donation from the company, moved by the events of the previous day and the heat wave," said Christina Larroude, marketing director of Minalba, adding that the initiative will be repeated at Monday's show, with a total delivery of 65 thousand water bottles. Swift's Monday performance in Rio will replace Saturday's postponed show, and the singer is still scheduled to perform in Sao Paulo from Nov. 24 to 26. Intense heat waves, attributed to the El Nino phenomenon and global temperature rises, have gripped multiple Brazilian states, with temperatures surpassing historical averages since July, according to the National Institute of Meteorology. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/taylor-swift-fans-gather-cooler-rio-show-after-fans-death-2023-11-19/

2023-11-19 19:25

SANTO DOMINGO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Dominican Republic authorities on Sunday said at least 21 people have died after heavy rains the day before that have displaced thousands of residents. Over 13,000 people in the Caribbean country had to move to more secure areas after torrential rains flooded homes, caused power outages and damaged bridges and parts of roads, the Emergency Operations Center (COE) said in a report on Sunday afternoon. A total of 21 people have lost their lives, the COE said. The storm's victims includes nine people who died on Saturday after rains caused the wall of a highway tunnel to collapse onto their cars, the National Police said. Videos on social media showed rushing water dragging cars down streets and flooded ground floors of buildings. Over 2,500 had to be rescued by protection agencies, and over 2,600 homes had been impacted by the storm, the COE said. Forty-five communities were without communication as of Sunday afternoon, according to the COE report. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/dominican-republic-alert-after-deadly-floods-kill-least-nine-2023-11-19/

2023-11-19 10:39

MOSCOW, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Three people were killed as hurricanes with winds reaching 38 metres per second hit several regions in Russia's Siberia on Sunday. A fallen tree crushed two people to death in their car, in the Russian city of Novokuznetsk, TASS news agency quoted a regional official. The third victim was killed in Altai Krai, the regional emergencies ministry said in a statement, adding three people were hurt. Sergei Kuznetsov, the head of Novokuznetsk, said an emergency had been declared in the city after strong winds damaged electricity lines and buildings, adding that local schools and kindergartens would not open on Monday. The neighbouring city of Prokopievsk also entered a state of emergency, its head said. A large sign fell on a woman near a shopping centre in Novokuznetsk, a video on social media showed. According to a local official, cited by RIA Novosti, the woman was hospitalised. Kuznetsov said six people in total were injured in the city. Russian media said winds caused damage in Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk and Omsk regions, Altai Krai, Republic of Altai, Republic of Khakasia. A Siberian branch of power company Rosseti said 294 settlements in Siberia had been left without electricity as of 12:30 GMT. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/two-killed-hurricanes-rage-russias-siberia-2023-11-19/