DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Oil, Treasuries, gold prices jump amid Mideast fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2023. Spot gold added 3.2% on the day to $1,928.99 an ounce, and had its biggest weekly percentage gain since March. "Everything that's going on in the Middle East is getting more and more unfortunately depressing and seems to have the potential to get worse," he said. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 0.98% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.81%. The dollar was also helped by safe-haven buying driven by the escalating Middle East conflict.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Treasuries, Brent, Marvin Loh, Herbert Lash, Ankur Banerjee, Naomi Rovnick, Marguerita Choy, Richard Chang Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Companies, Treasury, JPMorgan, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Israel, Gaza, Boston, New York

The forecasts seem at odds as higher rates raise the credit costs that can crimp the economy. MSCI's U.S.-centric gauge of global equity performance and stocks on Wall Street bounced back while Treasury yields, which move inversely to price, retreated. Yields on two- and 10-year notes remained inverted at -68.3 basis points as the shorter-dated note yields more than the longer one. MSCI's all-world country index for stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) gained 0.14%, but the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed down 0.31%. Oil prices rose as renewed global supply concerns from Russia's fuel export ban countered demand fears driven by macroeconomic headwinds and higher interest rates.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Marvin Loh, Joe LaVorgna, SMBC, Brent, Craig Ebert, Huw Jones, Tom Westbrook, Marguerita Choy, Rashmi Aich, Aurora Ellis Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Bank, Japan, Treasury, Federal, Fed, U.S, SMBC Nikko Securities America, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Bank of, Japan's Nikkei, Investors, Bank of England, Swiss, Swiss National Bank, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Boston, New York, Asia, Japan, China, Sweden, Norway, BNZ, Wellington

Yet higher rates typically crimp bank loans and raise the cost of credit. MSCI's U.S.-centric gauge of global equity performance and stocks on Wall Street bounced back while the dollar and Treasury yields, which move inversely to price, retreated. The initial reassessment of the Fed's higher-for-longer policy drove the rise in Treasury yields and created headwinds for risk assets, including equities, credit and emerging markets, but supported the dollar. MSCI's all-world country index for stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) gained 0.37%, but the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) fell 0.39%. In emerging markets, Indian bonds and the rupee rallied after JPMorgan said it would add Indian debt to its widely tracked emerging markets index, setting the stage for billions of dollars in foreign inflows.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Marvin Loh, Brent, Craig Ebert, Huw Jones, Tom Westbrook, Marguerita Choy, Rashmi Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Bank, Japan, U.S, Treasury, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Bank of, Japan's Nikkei, Investors, Bank of England, Swiss, Swiss National Bank, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, U.S . Federal, Boston, Asia, Japan, China, Sweden, Norway, BNZ, Wellington

☆ Asian shares set for worst month since Feb on China gloom
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) added 0.1% but was still headed for a monthly loss of 5.9%, the largest since February. Data on Thursday showed China's manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August, and the expansion in services sector lost a little momentum. Chinese blue-chips (.CSI300) were flat but a 2.5% rebound in property stocks boosted Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, which rose 0.7%. Barring the China gloom, investor confidence jumped in August, with a global confidence index (ICI) from State Street Global Markets surging 11.4 points to 107.7, led by North America which recorded the strongest reading in a year on easing recession fears. Brent crude futures were little changed at $85.88 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.1% at $81.74.

Persons: Marvin Loh, payrolls, Stella Qiu, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: U.S, PCE, Japan's Nikkei, ICI, Street Global, North, Global ICI, State Street Global, Federal, European Central Bank, Brent, . West Texas, Thomson Locations: China, SYDNEY, Asia, Pacific, Japan, North America, Europe, Germany, Spain

☆ Dollar gains, crosses key 145 yen level
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. In the 12 months through July, the PPI rose 0.8% after a 0.2% gain the prior month. Prior to the inflation data, that chance was already above 85%. The stronger dollar led the yen to briefly touch 145.03 in late afternoon trade, its highest since June 30. Japan intervened in currency markets last September when the dollar rose past 145 yen, which prompted the Finance Ministry to buy the yen and push the pair back to around 140 yen.

Persons: Florence Lo, Thierry Wizman, Wizman, Everyone's, Marvin Loh, Loh, Moh Siong Sim, Herbert Lash, Alun John, Ankur Banerjee, Kirsten Donovan, William Maclean, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Federal, PPI, Labor Department, Treasury, Singapore, Finance Ministry, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Macquarie, New York, Boston, Japan, London, Singapore

☆ Asian shares slip as COVID surge in China makes investors uneasy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Asian equities weakened slightly on Thursday as soaring COVID cases in China unsettled investors and cast doubt over chances of a swift recovery for the world's second biggest economy after the relaxation of stringent COVID curbs. Around half the passengers on two flights from China to Milan's main airport, Malpensa, tested positive for COVID on Wednesday. China shares (.SSEC) fell 0.3%, while Hong Kong's stock market (.HSI) slid 1%. State Street's Investor Confidence Index, which analyses buying and selling patterns of institutional investors, fell to 75.9 in December, the lowest since the pandemic began three years ago. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 2.2 basis points to 3.864%, not far off six-week high of 3.89%.

☆ U.S. payrolls surged by 261,000 in October, better than expected as hiring remains strong
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Although the number was better than expected, it still marked the slowest pace of job gains since December 2020. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 261,000 for the month while the unemployment rate moved higher to 3.7%, the Labor Department reported Friday. Those payroll numbers were better than the Dow Jones estimate for 205,000 more jobs, but worse than the 3.5% estimate for the unemployment rate. Traders expect the Fed to enact another .5 percentage point increase in February. The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage point even though the labor force participation rate declined by one-tenth of a point to 62.2%.

☆ Premarket trading: It's getting late in the game. Will the Fed risk a Hail Mary?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Markets plummeted as the report stoked fears that the central bank and Chair Jerome Powell would decide to hike rates more aggressively, inflicting serious economic pain. Investors are putting the odds of a three-quarter percentage point hike next week at 75%, according to CME FedWatch data. The odds for a full point hike are hovering around 25% in the wake of the inflation report, up from 0% one week ago. It meant that people understood the seriousness of the Fed’s commitment to getting inflation rates back down to 2%, he said. “I wouldn’t discount a 100 basis point rate hike,” Marvin Loh, senior strategist at State Street, told me.

Search resuls for: "Marvin Loh"

8 mentions found