2024-07-09 06:16

SINGAPORE, July 9 (Reuters) - Singapore Exchange (SGX) (SGXL.SI) New Tab, opens new tab has no immediate plans to allow cryptocurrency listings on its bourse, CEO Loh Boon Chye said on Tuesday, adding that conditions are still not ripe for such a move. Speaking in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in Singapore, Loh said "not at the moment", when asked whether SGX would be open to crypto listings. "I think for any new product launches, it's important for this to have a sustainable ecosystem support," he said. "That really means demand, that really means governance, that really means structure." The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval this year of U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) marked a watershed moment for the crypto industry and triggered similar moves globally. Asia got its first spot cryptocurrency ETFs in April with the listing of six bitcoin and ether ETFs in Hong Kong. Crypto ETF inflows have helped catapult bitcoin to record highs this year, with the world's largest crypto up nearly 35% to date. Ether has risen over 30% in the same period. "The ecosystem, I feel, at this point in time, is not ready for such products in Singapore," said Loh. "You never say never, as time evolves, and as the ecosystem comes together, we are always known to be the most innovative exchange or platform in the world." SGX has been under pressure from institutional investors and industry groups to improve what has been a chronic challenge to attract listings of high-growth companies. Hamstrung by a small base of retail investors, SGX has grappled with low liquidity and valuations. It has built up an Asian derivatives business and remains a global listing venue for real estate investment trusts. In response to a question on how SGX plans to revive initial public offerings (IPOs), Loh said "we have a healthy pipeline". "Secondary listings is one way where companies get exposure - we have that in the pipeline. We have new IPOs, some companies are really now preparing, and ... we're going to have a simultaneous dual listing," he said. The group posted net profit of S$281.6 million ($208.70 million) in the first half of its 2024 financial year, a fall of 1% from the same period a year earlier. As of end-June, SGX had 623 listed securities with a combined market value of S$792.93 billion. To view the live broadcast of the World Stage go to the Reuters NEXT news page: https://www.reuters.com/world/live-video-reuters-next-apac-2024-07-09/ ($1 = 1.3493 Singapore dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/sgx-has-no-immediate-plans-allow-crypto-listings-ceo-says-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 06:09

July 9 (Reuters) - Austrian oil and gas group OMV (OMVV.VI) New Tab, opens new tab said on Tuesday that legislative changes in Eastern Europe would hit second-quarter earnings in its energy business, while its chemicals arm was weighed down by negative inventory effects. Changes in legislation that came into effect in April and a planned outage of the Brazi power plant in Romania will have a significant negative impact on OMV's clean operating result in the April-June quarter, it said in a trading update. A clean operating result is based on the current cost of supply, and excludes one-off items and short-term gains and losses from energy inventory holding. OMV, which will report full second-quarter results on July 31, said inventory effects would have a negative mid-double-digit million euro impact for its chemical division in the period, compared to the first three months of 2024. "Overall this was a mixed quarter for the group. Lower production, inventory losses, lower refining margins and effects of the maintenance was offset by higher hydrocarbon prices, better chemical and fuel marketing margins," analysts at Erste Group Research wrote in a note. Shares in the Vienna-based firm fell 1.4% in early trading. Average energy prices continued to climb in the second quarter, OMV said, with the average realised price of crude oil rising by 2.5% from the prior three months to $81.5 per barrel, and that of natural gas rising by 5.9% to 23.2 euros per MWh. Last month, OMV raised its 2030 earnings and cash-flow guidance citing a more favourable market environment for oil, natural gas and refining margins. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/austrias-omv-records-higher-energy-prices-q2-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 06:09

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - MSCI's global equities index bumped around in a narrow range while edging lower on Tuesday while U.S. Treasury yields rose after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said more good data would strengthen the case for rate cuts but gave no hints on the timing for easing. Wall Street's two biggest indexes managed small advances, adding to their streak of record closing highs, but still ended the day closer to session lows than session highs. Powell appeared to show increasing faith that inflation would return to the Fed's target and pointed to risks to the job market and the economy if interest rates stay too high for too long, but said he was not sending a signal on timing on day one of his two-day testimony in Congress. "He's beginning to tee up a rate cut. The question is exactly when. That's something he's not going to be able to answer. He says we need more data but we don't know how much more," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management in Brookfield, Wisconsin. While Jacobsen was not expecting any big changes from Powell, the comments may have been "a slight disappointment for people who were hoping he'd give greater clarity" about how much more data the Fed needs for confidence to cut rates, he said. Traders are now baking in a roughly 70% probability that the Fed's first rate cut would come in September, down slightly from 71% on Monday, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool New Tab, opens new tab. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) New Tab, opens new tab fell 52.82 points, or 0.13%, to 39,291.97, the S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab gained 4.13 points, or 0.07%, to 5,576.98 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) New Tab, opens new tab gained 25.55 points, or 0.14%, to 18,429.29. The benchmark S&P 500 registered its fifth record-high close in a row, while the advance of the tech-heavy Nasdaq' on Tuesday represented its sixth straight record close. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) New Tab, opens new tab fell 0.31 point, or 0.04%, to 817.83 and Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX) New Tab, opens new tab index earlier closed down 0.9%. Also on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told U.S. lawmakers that rent and housing costs are keeping U.S. inflation higher than preferred but that consumer prices will continue to come down over time as factors including supply issues and labor market tightness have eased. With borrowing costs in mind, investors were in wait-and-see mode ahead of Thursday's consumer price report, as they hope for easing inflation to put the Fed in a better position to cut rates. Headline inflation for June is expected to slow to 3.1%, from 3.3% in May, with core inflation seen steady at 3.4%. After four straight days of declines, benchmark 10-year Treasury yields inched higher on Tuesday with help from Powell's more cautious tone while longer and shorter-dated bond yields also gained. "The market was looking for Powell to be a little more dovish given the recent run of data that has been on the softer side. He was a little less so," said Thomas Urano, co-chief investment officer and managing director at Sage Advisory in Austin, Texas. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 2.9 basis points to 4.298%, from 4.269% late on Monday while the 30-year bond yield rose 3.2 basis points to 4.49%. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, rose 0.8 basis point to 4.6264%, from 4.618% late on Monday. In currencies, the dollar gained as Powell did not give a clear signal the U.S. central bank is close to cutting rates even as he acknowledged progress in inflation. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.13% to 105.11, while the euro was down 0.07% at $1.0814. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.29% to 161.28. Oil prices slipped on Tuesday after a hurricane that hit a key U.S. oil-producing hub in Texas caused less damage than markets had feared, easing concerns over supply disruption. U.S. crude settled down 1.12% or 92 cents at $81.41 a barrel and Brent finished at $84.66 per barrel, down 1.27% or $1.09 on the day. Gold prices were choppy with spot gold adding 0.22% to trade at $2,364.08 an ounce after earlier falling. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 2.92% at $57,901.01. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 05:53

July 9 (Reuters) - The dollar gained on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged progress in inflation and a cooling job market, but did not give a clear signal that the U.S. central bank is close to cutting interest rates. Powell said that inflation "remains above" the U.S. Federal Reserve's 2% target, but has been improving in recent months and "more good data would strengthen" the case for central bank interest rate cuts. In remarks to Congress, he also noted that the job market has cooled, adding that "we now face two-sided risks," and can no longer focus solely on inflation. But Powell stopped short of offering the dovish view of the economy that some market participants were looking for. "The market is counting the days until we get a rate cut signal from Federal Reserve Chair Powell and I think there were some in the market who were looking for a more concrete step towards rate cuts later this year," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive in Toronto. "When he didn't deliver that we saw a little bit of U.S. dollar buying," Button said. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against the euro, sterling, yen and three other major rivals, was last up 0.15% at 105.13. It fell to 104.80 on Monday, the lowest since June 13. "I don't think he said anything that we didn't know already," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. "The highlight would be that he says the labor market has cooled, so that's a little recognition of last Friday's jobs data." The government's jobs report for June on Friday showed rising unemployment and downward revisions for jobs gains for the prior two months. Traders boosted bets after the jobs data that the Fed will cut twice by December. A cut in September is seen as having a 73% probability, down from 76% on Monday, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. This week’s main U.S. economic focus will be Thursday’s consumer price index for June, which is expected to show that headline prices rose 0.1% on the month, while core prices gained 0.2%. That would put annual gains at 3.1% and 3.4%, respectively. (USCPI=ECI) New Tab, opens new tab, (USCPF=ECI) New Tab, opens new tab The euro dipped after Monday's sharp swings as investors came to terms with a hung parliament in France, which points to a potential political gridlock but lessens fiscal concerns stemming from outright far-right or leftist victories. French political leaders from the left-wing bloc that came first in Sunday's legislative election said they intended to govern according to their tax-and-spend program, but centrists laid claim to a role as the left lacks a majority. The single currency was last down 0.11% at $1.081. It reached $1.0845 on Monday, the highest since June 12. The European Central Bank can continue to gradually reduce interest rates without jeopardizing a current fall in inflation, governing council member Fabio Panetta said on Tuesday. The ECB cut rates for the first time in June from their record highs, but has made no explicit commitment on a follow-up move. The dollar strengthened 0.29% to 161.28 Japanese yen . It is holding below a 38-year high of 161.96 reached last week. Some market players called on the Bank of Japan to slow its bond buying to roughly half the current pace under a scheduled tapering plan due out this month, the central bank said on Tuesday. Sterling weakened 0.15% to $1.2785. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 2.69% to $57,776. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-droops-before-powell-testimony-euro-weathers-france-uncertainty-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 05:17

US CPI data due on Thursday Dovish Powell to see gold move closer to $2,400 - analyst Physical gold demand eases, should rebound into year-end - Citi July 9 (Reuters) - Gold prices ticked higher on Tuesday, with investors awaiting comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the U.S. June inflation data for further cues on the likely direction of interest rates. Spot gold was up 0.1% to $2,360.59 per ounce as of 1210 GMT. U.S. gold futures firmed 0.2% to $2,367.10. Powell is due to speak before the Senate on Tuesday and the House on Wednesday. "Markets expectations for the timing of Fed rate cuts remain gold's primary driver... should Chair Powell unexpectedly sound dovish, that should restore spot gold back closer to the psychological $2,400 level," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group. The consumer price index (CPI) data on Thursday will also be closely watched, with recent numbers showing a cooling from unexpectedly high levels at the start of the year. If markets are shown evidence of still-stubborn U.S. inflation, that may prompt the precious metal to unwind more of its recent gains, Tan said. A jobs report on Friday showed U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 4.1%. Traders currently see about a 75% chance of a rate cut in September, up from 66% a week ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool New Tab, opens new tab. Another cut is expected by December. Non-yielding bullion's appeal tends to shine when interest rates are lower. Physical gold demand likely softened in the second quarter but it should rebound into year-end, analysts at Citi said. Gold consumption growth is still trending positive for 2024 and could help push spot prices towards $2,400-$2,600 in the second half as financial investors play catch-up, they added. Spot silver rose 0.9% to $31.06 per ounce, platinum edged 0.3% lower to $993.35 and palladium gained 0.2% to $1,010.75. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-edges-higher-investors-await-powells-testimony-2024-07-09/

2024-07-09 05:09

July 9 (Reuters) - Ether might be coming close to its moment in the sun. The world's No.2 cryptocurrency has remained in the wings this year as big brother bitcoin soared to all-time highs on the back of new U.S. exchange-traded funds meant to track its price. But as companion ETFs for ether are set to hit the market soon, some market players predict a price rally beyond its Nov. 2021 all-time high of $4,867.60 could be on the cards. "Consider the fact that ethereum has roughly half the level of spot liquidity," said Thomas Perfumo, head of strategy at crypto exchange Kraken, referring to ether trading on exchanges versus bitcoin. "Half the amount of liquidity means that you need less amount of absolute dollars coming into the market to make the same price impact on ethereum." Crypto graveyards are full of investors who thought they could reliably forecast these risky, choppy markets. The likely dumping of tokens from defunct Japanese exchange Mt. Gox has thrown a curve ball in the market in recent days, hitting bitcoin and ether. Other factors, like the timing of U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and the upcoming presidential election could also thump crypto. "Market participants should watch for a comeback in volatility in traditional markets and crypto alike," Jag Kooner, head of derivatives at crypto exchange Bitfinex, said in a research note. "Regulatory developments and macroeconomic policies will play a crucial role in shaping market dynamics." STAKED AND LOCKED UP Bitcoin soared to new peaks in March to as high as $73,803.25, two months after the first spot bitcoin ETFs started trading, from $45,947 before the launch. By contrast, ether has remained well off of its all-time high, trading only as high as $4,093.7 in March. That could be set to change when the ether ETFs hit the market as in the coming weeks, experts say, noting that the supply of ether is tight and that inflows into the ETFs could have a magnified effect on token price compared to bitcoin. The new ether ETFs are not expected to attract the same amount of investor enthusiasm as the spot bitcoin ETFs, which have drawn nearly $38 billion in assets as of late June, according to Morningstar Direct. Research from crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments, which is set to convert its existing ether trust into an ETF, estimated that the spot ether ETFs could see 25%-30% of the demand of the bitcoin funds. But scaling down to market capitalization - given that ether's market cap is about one-third of bitcoin's - there could be a comparable price impact per dollar of inflows into the ether ETFs, said Zach Pandl, managing director of research at crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments. "I do think it's similar to what we were looking at for bitcoin earlier this year where we think there'll be a substantial amount of new demand for the product and it will be interacting with a supply picture that is more constrained than I think is commonly understood," he said. Unlike bitcoin, ether can be staked, or locked up for a certain amount of time, in exchange for yield. Just under 30% of the ether supply is staked, Pandl estimated, while another roughly 10% is locked in smart contracts. That reduces the supply of ether available for purchase for the new ETFs, which could drive up the price, he said. "The reason bitcoin ETFs impacted price is because there was more demand for these ETFs than there was new supply of bitcoin," said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise. "In [ether], the supply situation is even worse." Predictions for the impact the ether ETF might have on the token's price vary widely, with global bank Standard Chartered estimating that ether could hit $8,000 by the end of the year. VanEck, which is set to launch a spot ether ETF, in May raised its price target for ether to $22,000 by 2030. Yet the impact of the new ETFs could already be priced into ether, some market watchers warn. While it has remained off its all-time high, ether is still up more than 29% so far this year. "For bitcoin and ethereum, they're more richly valued than they were at the launch of the bitcoin products earlier this year. That could argue for a slightly smaller effect," said Grayscale's Pandl. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/cryptoverse-traders-hold-breath-ether-etf-fever-2024-07-09/