2024-05-14 06:35

Major U.S. stock indexes end higher; Nasdaq posts record high U.S. dollar index down slightly Oil prices end lower NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was set for a record high close on Tuesday, while the U.S. dollar edged lower as investors digested U.S. producer prices data and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Major U.S. stock indexes also climbed, with the Nasdaq posting a closing all-time high. Data showed U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in April amid strong gains in the costs of services and goods, indicating that inflation remained elevated early in the second quarter. Powell, speaking at a banking event in Amsterdam, said the latest report on U.S. producer prices was more "mixed" than "hot" given that prior data was revised lower even as the figures for April came in higher than expected. The key data of the week, though, will be Wednesday's U.S. consumer prices report. Investors have been watching inflation data closely as they weigh how soon the Fed might lower interest rates. Higher-than-anticipated consumer prices in the first quarter of the year raised concerns that the Fed will be unable to cut rates this year unless there is a significant uptick in the unemployment rate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) New Tab, opens new tab rose 126.60 points, or 0.32%, to 39,558.11, and the S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab gained 25.26 points, or 0.48%, to 5,246.68. The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) New Tab, opens new tab gained 122.94 points, or 0.75%, to 16,511.18, surpassing its prior peak set on April 1. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) New Tab, opens new tab rose 3.07 points, or 0.39%, to 785.90, and earlier hit an intraday record. The STOXX 600 (.STOXX) New Tab, opens new tab index rose 0.15%. The dollar edged lower following the PPI data. "Sticky inflation looked downright stuck this morning after a much hotter-than-expected inflation reading. But with last month's numbers revised lower, this report may not have been as much of an upside shock as it first appeared to be," said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.17% to 105.01, with the euro up 0.26% at $1.0816. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.16% to 156.45. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields briefly hit an 11-day high after the PPI data and then they retraced. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.2 basis points to 4.449%, from 4.481% late on Monday. U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a bundle of steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicles, computer chips and medical products. The announcement came after market close in China, but U.S.-listed shares of Chinese EV makers including Li Auto were down 2.2%. Brent crude futures fell 98 cents, or 1.18%, to settle at $82.38 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) fell $1.10, or 1.39%, to settle at $78.02 a barrel. Spot gold added 0.89% to $2,356.95 an ounce. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 06:33

LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) New Tab, opens new tab laid out plans on Tuesday to refocus on energy transition metal copper while spinning out or selling its less profitable coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses, as it moves to fend off BHP Group's $43 billion takeover offer. The announcement comes a day after the London-listed miner rejected its Australian suitor for the second time in less than three weeks, saying an increased offer from BHP (BHP.AX) New Tab, opens new tab continued to significantly undervalue the company. Anglo said on Tuesday it would divest its steelmaking coal assets, demerge its South African platinum unit, explore options for its nickel mines and divest or demerge diamonds business De Beers. The group expects the new portfolio configuration will lower costs by $1.7 billion. "We expect that a radically simpler business will deliver sustainable incremental value creation through a step change in operational performance and cost reduction," Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad said. Anglo shares were down 3.3% at 26.17 pounds by 1224 GMT. BHP, the world's biggest listed miner, had no immediate comment on Anglo's plan. BHP's 27.53 pound per share offer, raised from an initial 25.08 pounds, would require Anglo to sell its iron ore and platinum assets in South Africa, where it employs more than 40,000 people. That has caused alarm in South Africa, where unemployment and a stagnant economy are major issues in campaigning for a May 29 election. Wanblad said on Tuesday BHP's bid had forced him to accelerate plans for a spin-off of Johannesburg-listed Anglo American Platinum (AMSJ.J) New Tab, opens new tab, known as Amplats. Under Tuesday's plan, Anglo will keep its South African Kumba Iron Ore business (KIOJ.J) New Tab, opens new tab, while Wanblad said the planned divestment of Amplats would be "completely different" in terms of time and complexity to the BHP proposal. South Africa's mines minister Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday he had no problem with what Anglo was proposing, and that he hoped it would continue to resist BHP's bid. Anglo also said on Tuesday it will slow the development of its Woodsmith fertiliser project in northeast England and seek strategic partners. It now plans to spend $200 million on the project in 2025, down from a previously estimated $1 billion, and nothing in 2026. First production at Woodsmith will be pushed back from 2027, Wanblad said. The divestment of Anglo's steelmaking coal operations could move rapidly, he added, given the interest that is available. SELF-HELP Anglo has been meeting investors since BHP's initial approach in April, and after a review of its assets initiated in February in response to a 94% plunge in annual profit and writedowns at its diamond and nickel operations. One top 20 investor at Anglo, who said a deal with BHP was likely to lead to less copper being produced, rather than the increase needed to accelerate the world's energy transition, welcomed Tuesday's proposal. "At the moment, Anglo has lots of very interesting assets ... but it is not a focused business focused on a clear strategic goal," the shareholder said. "This plan offers clarity of purpose." MKP Advisers said however that the concern with the "self-help plan" will be that it is "too little, too late". "There is no timescale attached to most of the plans and it has been clear to most that many of the potential disposals across the portfolio are simply tough to execute," MKP said. Activist fund Elliott, one of Anglo's top 10 shareholders after building up a $1 billion stake, declined to comment on the plan. It is expected to put out a statement later in the day, sources say. Developments such as artificial intelligence and automation and the energy transition, which includes electric vehicles and renewable energy, have driven up demand prospects for copper cable used to conduct electricity. Copper prices have risen 25% from this year's Feb. 9 low to $8,127 a tonne. Ashwin Pillay, senior associate at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said the new plan did address shareholder concerns that the value of Anglo's copper mines has been suppressed by less valuable operations such as the diamond division. "Intriguingly, there is still an opportunity for BHP to raise their offer further, including by adding a cash component, which would sweeten the pot," he added. ($1 = 0.7966 pounds) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/anglo-american-eyes-offloading-steelmaking-coal-nickel-diamonds-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 06:27

LITTLETON, Colorado, May 14 (Reuters) - Solar farms produced over 60% of Germany's electricity for several hours a day over the past week as bright sunshine combined with new solar generation capacity helped accelerate the country's energy transition away from fossil fuels. During the week to May 13, Germany's solar farms produced 17,531 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, according to data from LSEG, 40% more than the week before and nearly 50% more than the long-term average for that particular week. A recent stretch of clear and sunny skies have driven the solar surge, which typically peaks around 12-1 p.m. At 1 p.m. in Germany on May 13, solar assets produced 43.8 gigawatts (GW) of the 72.4 GW of electricity generated in Germany at that time, according to electricitymaps.com. That means that solar accounted for nearly two-thirds of Germany's total electricity output during that hour, vastly exceeding output from all other sources including 17% from wind farms and a combined 12% from coal and natural gas plants. POWER SHIFT The high deployment of domestically produced clean power marks a significant improvement in the state of Germany's power sector, which was hit hard by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Germany secured roughly 45% of its electricity from fossil fuels in 2022, so in the year or so following Russia's Ukraine invasion the resulting cuts to natural gas flows hurt Germany's largest power users. German production of chemicals and fertilizers - which are highly energy-intensive sectors - slumped to multi-year lows by late 2022 as surging energy costs and shortages of natural gas forced firms to curtail output. But as surging local production of renewable energy helped steer power prices back towards long-term averages in 2023, some of the cost pressures on Germany's manufacturing base eased, spurring a patchy recovery in industrial output so far in 2024. That recovery could be aided further by any sustained rise in German solar production, especially if accompanied by additional production from other clean power sources that could place further pressure on regional power costs. CLEAN IMPACT As a result of the high proportion of clean power in Germany's generation mix, the carbon intensity of the country's power sector during the 1 p.m. hour (local time) on May 13 was 166 grams of carbon dioxide per KWh, according to electricitymaps.com. That total compares to 314g of CO2/KWh for the month of April and 425g of CO2/KWh for 2023 as a whole. While Germany's power carbon intensity vastly exceeds the roughly 45g of CO2/KWh of France's nuclear-heavy system, the 166g reading at 1 p.m. on May 13 was below the 170g of CO2/KWh emitted during the same hour in Britain, which on an annual basis has a far lower carbon intensity than Germany. Going forward, greater solar output will help further reduce Germany's average carbon intensity, especially during the annual solar peak generation period around June and July. In 2023, total generation from Germany's solar assets peaked in June at 9.41 terawatt hours, according to Ember. That generation total was 60% greater than the volume produced during April of that year, Ember data shows. In 2024, the German solar output total for April was 7 TWh, so if output in June expands by an additional 60% that would result in a new record of 11.2 TWh of generation this year. In addition, solar power accounted for a monthly record share of 27.3% of total electricity generation in June of 2023. In 2024, if the recent stretch of bright, sunny skies persists, solar assets could smash that previous share record and potentially account for roughly a third of the country's electricity generation totals during the height of summer. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germany-solar-power-output-jumps-record-highs-maguire-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 06:23

MUMBAI, May 14 (Reuters) - At least 14 people died and 75 others were injured after a billboard bigger than an Olympic swimming pool fell on them during a thunderstorm in India's financial capital Mumbai, authorities said on Tuesday, with dozens still feared trapped. Videos showed the towering hoarding billowing in the wind before collapsing on houses and a fuel station next to a busy road in the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar on Monday as a dust storm and rain lashed the city in the evening, bringing traffic to a standstill and disrupting flights at Mumbai airport. Mumbai's municipal corporation (BMC) said at least 75 injured people were taken to hospitals following the accident and 31 have been discharged. The agency owning the billboard did not have a permit from the BMC to put up the hoarding, the municipal body said in a statement. The hoarding measured about 1,338 square metres (14,400 square feet), it said, bigger than an Olympic pool's 1,250 sq m and nine times more than the maximum permitted size for a hoarding. The BMC said it has instructed the agency to remove all its hoardings immediately. "To prevent such accidents from happening again, instructions have been given to conduct a structural audit of all hoardings in Mumbai and immediately take down dangerous ones," Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said in a post on X. About 25 people and some cars were still trapped under the crumpled hoarding, said a BMC official, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media. Officials from fire services, police, disaster response and other authorities continued rescue operations that were taking longer because gas cutters could not be used at the site due to the presence of the fuel pump. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/least-14-killed-after-billboard-collapses-mumbai-during-thunderstorm-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 06:17

Platinum holds near one-year peak Anglo American plans to demerge Anglo American Platinum May 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices firmed on Tuesday as investors awaited the crucial inflation report this week, which can significantly influence the outlook on U.S. interest rates. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $2,345.39 2 per ounce by 1209 GMT, after dropping 1% on Monday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,351.20. "Gold's relatively flat performance today shows that markets remain on tenterhooks and aren't willing to take an outsized view of how the incoming U.S. data will pan out," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group. Investors are now looking forward to the U.S. consumer price index report due on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its latest Survey of Consumer Expectations that respondents project inflation a year from now at 3.3% from March's 3%, while inflation three years from now is seen moderating to an expected 2.8% rise from the prior month's 2.9%. Traders expect the U.S. central bank to start easing its cycle in September. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. "Signs of easing price pressures may further bolster hopes for Fed rate cuts in 2024, which could give gold fresh impetus to return closer to its record high," Tan added. Spot silver rose 0.7% to $28.39 per ounce and palladium gained 1.1% to $1,007.35. Platinum was up 0.9% at $969.25, after hitting a near one-year peak of $1,016.40 on Monday. "We expect platinum to outperform on rising autocatalyst demand, greater potential for investment inflow and capex tightening in the South Africa PGM mining industry which could disproportionately impact platinum supply," Deutsche Bank said in a note. Meanwhile, Anglo American (AAL.L) New Tab, opens new tab is poised to potentially break up its operations by demerging or selling its steelmaking coal, nickel, diamonds and platinum businesses to fend off a takeover bid from the world's largest miner BHP Group (BHP.AX) New Tab, opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-prices-edge-higher-key-us-inflation-data-looms-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 06:12

BERLIN, May 14 (Reuters) - German inflation inched up in April to 2.4%, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday, confirming preliminary data. German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, had risen by 2.3% year-on-year in March, the lowest rate in almost three years. "Energy and food prices, in particular, have had a dampening effect on the inflation rate since January 2024," said Ruth Brand, president of the federal statistics office. "However, core inflation – measured as the change in the consumer price index excluding food and energy – has been higher than overall inflation since the beginning of the year," she added in a statement. Core inflation in April was 3.0%, according to the data. The statistics office gives more detailed monthly data New Tab, opens new tab on its website. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-final-inflation-confirmed-24-april-2024-05-14/