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☆ Dollar shakes off weakness after investors rethink Fed outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pound eased back from Tuesday's two-month highs after data showed British inflation ran at its slowest pace in two years in October, at 4.6%. On Tuesday, the pound rose by 1.8% against the dollar, marking its biggest one-day gain in a year. The offshore Chinese yuan, meanwhile, received some support The offshore yuan , meanwhile, briefly ticked up to a three-month high of $7.2385 against the dollar after domestic industrial output and retail sales growth beat expectations. Evidence of ongoing weakness in China's property sector, where data showed sales fell faster in October and investment in real estate slumped, took some of the shine off the rally. The offshore yuan was last at 7.2577 per dollar, down 0.1% on the day.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Michael Hewson, Sterling, Moh Siong Sim, Brigid Riley, Shri Navaratnam, Lincoln, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Investors, Bank of England, Markets, Bank of Singapore, Thomson Locations: Britain, Tuesday's, York

[1/2] FILE PHOTO: The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. MSCI's gauge of global stock performance (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.05%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 0.06%. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar index rose 0.332% to 105.61, with the euro down 0.31% to $1.0682. Treasury yields slid, having unwound some of their rally last week after the Fed left rates unchanged following a policy meeting. The two-year's yield, which reflects interest rate expectations, fell 1.3 basis points to 4.928%, while the 10-year slipped 7.5 basis points at 4.587%.

Persons: Toby Melville, Jerome Powell, Neel Kashkari, Austan Goolsbee, Rick Meckler, we've, Michael Hewson, Brent, Tom Wilson, Tom Westbrook, Ankur Banerjee, Lincoln, Kim Coghill, Christina Fincher, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, NEW, Federal Reserve, Minneapolis, Chicago, Cherry Lane Investments, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Reserve Bank of Australia, Treasury, Fed, CMC, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Europe, U.S, New Vernon , New Jersey, Asia, Pacific, Japan, London, Singapore

The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell 0.4%. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slipped 1.2%, snapping three straight days of gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) fell 1.7%, while mainland China blue chips (.CSI300) fell 0.4%. The index fell 1.3% last week, its steepest decline since mid-July, part of the wider risk-on mood in markets. The euro slipped 0.4% to $1.067, down from an eight-week peak of $1.0756 hit on Monday.

Persons: Toby Melville, Michael Hewson, Nicholas Chia, HSI, Tom Wilson, Tom Westbrook, Ankur Banerjee, Lincoln, Kim Coghill, Christina Fincher Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, Nasdaq, CMC, Standard Chartered, Fed, Reserve Bank of Australia, Brent, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, U.S, Asia, Pacific, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, London, Singapore

☆ Gold set for first weekly drop in four, U.S. jobs data in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Gold was headed for its first weekly loss in nearly a month on Friday as the safe-haven rally cooled, while traders largely kept to the sidelines ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later in the day. "Gold prices have slipped back due to a reduction in the geopolitical risk premium as the markets get used to the idea of a long slog between Israel and Hamas," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. "Money is coming out of gold and the U.S. dollar and moving back into risky assets." Investors focus now shifts to U.S. non-farm payrolls data, due at 1230 GMT, which is expected to show that employers added 180,000 jobs last month. The jobs report needs to deliver some surprisingly weak figures to weigh further on Treasury yields and push gold prices above the $2,000-per-ounce mark, City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson said.

Persons: Gold, Michael Hewson, Stocks, Matt Simpson Organizations: U.S ., Hamas, CMC Markets, Federal Reserve, Index Locations: Moscow, Russia, Israel

A street sign for Wall Street is seen in the financial district in New York, U.S., November 8, 2021. Comments from Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester will also be on investor radar during the day as Fed officials will be entering a media blackout starting Saturday ahead of their meeting on Nov 1. The 10-year Treasury yield , which briefly crossed 5% on Thursday for the first time since July 2007, were last at 4.9392%. ET, Dow e-minis were down 78 points, or 0.23%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 13 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 61 points, or 0.41%. Shares of solar firms Enphase Energy (ENPH.O) and First Solar (FSLR.O) were also down 15.6% and 5.2%, respectively.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Jerome Powell, Powell, Jay Powell, Michael Hewson, Lorie Logan, Patrick Harker, Loretta Mester, CME's, Shubham Batra, Shashwat Chauhan, Arun Koyyur, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: Wall, REUTERS, Dow, Nasdaq, Treasury, Federal, Economic, of New, CMC, Fed Bank of Dallas, Market, BofA, Research, U.S, Philadelphia Fed, Cleveland Fed, Traders, American Express, Investors, Dow e, Enphase Energy, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, of New York, East, Israel, Gaza, Bengaluru

☆ Rupee to rise on bets Fed will not hike rates further
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Non-deliverable forwards indicate rupee will open at around 83.18-83.20 to the U.S. dollar compared with 83.2450 in the previous session. The dollar index was down to 105.74 and the Korean won led Asian currencies higher. The dollar index has struggled since reaching a year-to-date high of 107.34 last Tuesday. It's "possible" that the recent rise in yields on longer-term Treasuries means the Fed need not raise interest rates as much as otherwise, but it's hard to know definitively, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic outright said the U.S. central bank need not raise borrowing costs any further.

Persons: Thomas White, Brent, Neel Kashkari, Raphael Bostic, Michael Hewson, Nimesh Vora, Nivedita Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Federal, U.S, Korean, Treasury, Fed, . Atlanta Fed, Brent, Thomson Locations: India, Rights MUMBAI, Israel, Asia, Minneapolis, U.S

☆ Middle East violence rattles markets, oil jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

MARKET REACTION:- Oil prices surged, with Brent crude trading at $87.25 a barrel - up over 3% on the day. COMMENTS:MOHIT KUMAR, CHIEF EUROPE ECONOMIST, JEFFERIES, LONDON:“The coming days are likely to be driven by geopolitical risks, rather than fundamentals. “Second, OPEC countries do have spare capacity that they restrict willingly to maintain oil price at above $80 (per barrel), but they don’t necessarily think of tripling oil prices – which would only accelerate the energy transition. “This being said, potential retaliation against Tehran is a serious upside risk for oil prices. We will keep an eye on developments, but don’t speculate on a full-blast rise in oil prices for now.”

Persons: Mohammed Salem, Israel’s shekel, MOHIT KUMAR, JEFFERIES, ”, ” CHRIS BEAUCHAMP, Brent, WTI, CAROL KONG, JPY, ” MICHAEL HEWSON, ALVIN TAN, Blinken, “, ” IPEK OZKARDESKAYA, Israel Organizations: Oil, REUTERS, Brent, U.S, Treasury, British Airways, LONDON, Russo, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF, CMC, U.S ., OF, OF ASIA FX, RBS, SWISSQUOTE BANK Locations: Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Yom, EUROPE, Iran, Ukrainian, SYDNEY, Asia, Japan, Straits, Hormuz, OF ASIA, ” “, GENEVA, OPEC, U.S, Tehran

☆ Extreme fear is haunting stock markets again. Here's why investors are running scared
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The S&P 500 index (SPX) has risen 11% since the start of the year, the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NDX) 33%, and the Stoxx Europe 600 (STOXX) 5%. The Stoxx Europe 600 has fallen 3.3%. ‘Higher for longer’ interest ratesThe world’s major central banks have spent the past two years hiking borrowing costs in a bid to control runaway inflation. High interest rates typically put pressure on stocks, since investors tend to favor bonds when they offer comparable returns as they are safer. An ailing ChinaA slew of disappointing economic data out of China has also put pressure on stocks.

Persons: Michael Hewson, —, Cushing, Strategic Petroleum Reserve —, Goldman Sachs, Giovanni Staunovo, Brent, stoking Organizations: London CNN —, CMC, CNN, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Brent, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, UBS, country’s National Bureau of Statistics, Evergrande Group Locations: United States, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Russia, OPEC, Cushing , Oklahoma, Ukraine, Saudi, China, Hong Kong

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Jerome Powell to speak at 10:05 a.m. Powell is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at 10:05 a.m. "While Powell is unlikely to be anywhere near as hawkish as he was last year, he won't want to declare victory either." ET, Dow e-minis were up 106 points, or 0.31%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 10 points, or 0.23%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 5 points, or 0.03%.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Jerome Powell, Powell, Michael Hewson, Amruta Khandekar, Shinjini Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Marvell Technology, Dow, Nasdaq, Federal, CMC, Fed, Traders, Nvidia, Microsoft, Dow e, Marvell Technology Inc, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Maui

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 19, 2023. Wall Street closed sharply lower on Tuesday after solid retail sales growth in July added to uncertainty around the interest rate outlook, with concerns over a possible downgrade of several U.S. lenders by Fitch further denting risk sentiment. Investors are now focused on the Federal Reserve's July 25-26 meeting minutes, due at 1400 ET (1800 GMT), which may indicate how many policymakers feel the U.S. central bank is done raising interest rates. The central bank had raised rates by 25 basis points at the end of the meeting. Coinbase(COIN.O) gained 5.4% as the crypto exchange secured regulatory approval to allow U.S. retail customers to trade crypto futures.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Piper Sandler, Fitch, Michael Hewson, Tesla, Amruta Khandekar, Vinay Dwivedi, Maju Samuel Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nvidia, Dow, Nasdaq, Federal, Target, Traders, Committee, CMC Markets, Walmart, Dow e, Tower Semiconductor, Intel, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Bengaluru

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July, due on Thursday, is expected to show a slight year-over-year acceleration. On a month-to-month basis, consumer prices are seen increasing 0.2%, the same rate as in June. [1/2]Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 7, 2023. ET, Dow e-minis were up 44 points, or 0.12%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9 points, or 0.20%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 31.5 points, or 0.21%. Of the 443 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings as of Tuesday, 78.6% beat analyst expectations, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Patrick Harker, Michelle Bowman, FEDWATCH, Brendan McDermid, Michael Hewson, Penn Entertainment's, Walt Disney's, Uber, Bansari Mayur, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Penn, Dow, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Index, Philadelphia Fed, Traders, Bank of America, Citigroup, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, ECB, Bank of England, CMC Markets, Dow e, Casino, Walt, Walt Disney's ESPN, Rivian, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York City, Asia, Bengaluru

[1/2] The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. Investor attention will be squarely on the July U.S. non-farm payrolls report, with a Reuters survey of 80 economists expecting payrolls to have increased by 200,000 last month, after rising 209,000 in June. "Today’s U.S. payrolls data is likely to continue to showcase the resilience of the U.S. economy," Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a note. The dollar meanwhile rose 0.1% against a basket of major currencies , heading for its third weekly gain in a row. Oil prices headed for a sixth straight weekly gain, driven up by the prospect of reduced supply from Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Persons: Toby Melville, payrolls, Michael Hewson, Germany's DAX, Francesco Sandrini, Fitch, Brent, Ankur Banerjee, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kirsten Donovan, Alexander Smith Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, Treasury, U.S . Federal, CMC Markets, FTSE, Nasdaq, Apple, Bank of England, U.S ., U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, U.S, United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Singapore

☆ Gloomy data makes investors more cautious on world economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Lawrence Delevingne | Thomson Reuters | Delevingne Works Primarily On Enterprise Stories Related To Finance. He Joined Reuters In | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 26, 2023. European stocks (.STOXX) fell 0.9%, stepping back from a 2% increase in July, the index's second month of gains. UK stocks (.FTSE) also fell 0.4%, though HSBC (HSBA.L) climbed 1.3% after announcing a $2 billion share buyback and raising its key profitability target. U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday with 30-year paper touching a new year-high as investors expected an increase in government debt issuance and anticipated more signs of economic resilience, despite data showing a slowdown in activity. China's stumbling post-pandemic recovery remained in focus, for instance, after a surprise contraction in manufacturing in a private-sector survey released Tuesday.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Michael Hewson, Ronald Temple, Brent, Lawrence Delevingne, Tom Wilson, Kevin Buckland, Angus MacSwan, Susan Fenton, Deepa Babington Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Merck & Co, Pfizer, Caterpillar Inc, HSBC, . Federal, CMC Markets, U.S, Lazard, Fed, Energy, BP, Bank of, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Asia, Boston, London, Tokyo

SummaryCompanies Delta rises on FY profit forecast raisePepsiCo gains on lifting FY revenue, profit outlookJune PPI data due at 8:30 a.m. A slower rise in prices has boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve could soon end its monetary tightening campaign. Economists polled by Reuters expect producer inflation to have eased to 0.4% over the 12 months through June from 1.1% in the previous month. ET, Dow e-minis were up 54 points, or 0.16%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 15 points, or 0.33%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 107.25 points, or 0.69%. Overall, earnings for the S&P 500 constituents are expected to have dropped 6.4% in the second quarter, Refinitiv data showed.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Walt Disney, Robert Iger's, Christopher Waller, Johann M Cherian, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Maju Samuel Organizations: PepsiCo, Dow, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Reuters, Traders, CMC Markets, Dow e, Delta Air Lines, Meta, Fed, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) ended 0.7% higher, rising for the third straight session. Irish stocks (.ISEQ) jumped 2.1%, leading the advance among its continental peers. Irish stocks were boosted by gains in Kingspan (KSP.I) which jumped 15.7% after forecasting record profit for the first half of the year. Shares of China-exposed luxury firms including LVMH (LVMH.PA), Hermes (HRMS.PA) and Richemont (CFR.S) rose between 2% and 2.3% while industrial stocks (.SXNP) also sensitive to China advanced 1.0%. Mercedes-Benz Group (MBGn.DE) shares rose 0.7% after sales in the second quarter rose 6% year-on-year on the back of demand for all-electric and top-end vehicles.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Richard Flax, Matteo Allievi, Shreyashi Sanyal, Rashmi Aich, Nivedita, Emelia Organizations: Miners, U.S . Federal Reserve, LVMH, CMC Markets, tomorrow's U.S, Nordic Semiconductor, Daimler, Benz Group, Thomson Locations: China, Kingspan, Europe, U.S, tomorrow's, Britain, Gdansk, Amruta, Bangalore

European stocks (.STOXX) slipped 0.6%, heading for their first daily loss in eight sessions, with German shares (.GDAXI) down the same amount. The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell 0.2%. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) dropped 0.8% after the China data. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) also fell 0.3% on profit-taking after climbing to three-decade highs. Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to $75.97 a barrel after climbing 2.1% overnight.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Guy Miller, Brent, Tom Wilson, Stella Qiu, Dhara, Sam Holmes, Helen Popper, Christina Fincher Organizations: Global, Federal, Independence, CMC Markets, Reuters, Zurich Insurance Group, U.S, Japan's Nikkei, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, China, U.S, Europe, United States, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Tokyo, Saudi Arabia, Russia, London, Sydney

Wall Street was set for losses, too, with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures down 0.2%-0.4%. The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell 0.2%. The U.S. dollar drifted near the middle of its range of the past three weeks against major peers, with the dollar index down 0.1% to 102.99, after tracking between 103.75 and 102.75 since early June. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) dropped 0.7% after the China data. Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to $76.05 a barrel after climbing 2.1% overnight.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Guy Miller, Brent, Tom Wilson, Stella Qiu, Dhara, Sam Holmes, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Nikkei, Global, Federal, Nasdaq, CMC Markets, Reuters, Zurich Insurance Group, U.S, Japan's Nikkei, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, U.S, United States, Asia, Pacific, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, London, Sydney

Earlier in the day, Australia's central bank held interest rates steady, but reiterated its warning that further tightening might be needed to cool prices. However, a 2.7% increase in real estate stocks (.SX86P) helped keep the STOXX 600 steady, while healthcare stocks (.SXDP) rebounded from the previous day's sharp declines. Travel and leisure (.SXTP) stocks edged higher as Irish airline Ryanair's(RYA.I) upbeat monthly traffic numbers helped sentiment for the sector. Britain's second-largest supermarket group Sainsubury (SBRY.L) fell 1.8% as fierce competition in the sector took shine off its robust quarterly sales. German chip firm Aixtron (AIXGn.DE) dropped 0.5% after China said it will control exports of some metals widely used in the semiconductor industry.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Stuart Cole, Amruta Khandekar, Shreyashi Sanyal, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S, Independence, CMC Markets, EU, Fed, ECB, European Central Bank, Equiti, Wall, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Bengaluru

[1/2] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 26, 2023. Asian shares received a boost from Chinese Premier Li Qiang saying Beijing will roll out policies to boost China's economy. But the positive market sentiment faded in early European trading, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.4% by 1149 GMT (.STOXX). MSCI's Europe index (.MSER) was down 0.1%, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.3% and Germany's DAX declined 0.1% (.GDAXI). It hit a seven-month high against China's yuan as investors braced for the possibility of China doing more to support the currency.

Persons: Li Qiang, Germany's DAX, Hani Redha, Christine Lagarde, Analysts, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Michael Hewson, Shunichi Suzuki, Elizabeth Howcroft, Ed Osmond, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Staff LONDON, PineBridge Investments, U.S . Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Monetary, European Central Bank, Wagner Group, CMC Markets, U.S, ECB, U.S ., Finance, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, United States, Beijing, Russia, U.S, China

☆ Shares get a tech boost; dollar dithers ahead of inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 9, 2023. REUTERS/StaffLONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - Global shares rose on Tuesday, taking their lead from an upbeat session on Wall Street ahead of key U.S. inflation data that could shape the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy. Money markets show traders now anticipate a peak in UK rates at around 5.6% by February, up from a terminal rate of 4.85% by November a month ago. In currencies, the dollar index , which measures the performance of the U.S. currency against six others, fell 0.2% to 103.32. Sterling rose 0.4% against the dollar to $1.2567 after the UK wage data , while the euro rose 0.4% to $1.0796.

Persons: Michael Hewson, it’s, BoE, we've, Fiona Cincotta, Farouq Suleiman, Julie Zhu, Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed, Simon Cameron, Moore, Conor Humphries Organizations: REUTERS, Staff LONDON, Federal Reserve, Nvidia, Nikkei, Nasdaq, Amazon, Apple, Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Canada, Fed, ECB, Bank of England, European Central Bank, Bank of, Sterling, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, Swedish, Bank of Japan, London, Hong Kong

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 0.2% higher, with the DAX (.GDAXI) up 0.9%. Luxury majors LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Hermes (HRMS.PA) climbed 1.8% and 3%, respectively, further supporting the STOXX 600. Meetings of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are lined up for the week. The STOXX 600 started the year on a stronger footing compared to the S&P 500 index (.SPX) but lost steam during the second quarter due to a rise in preference for growth-oriented stocks as opposed to value stocks. Shares in SES tumbled 14.6% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after the satellite company announced its chief executive Steve Collar would step down.

Persons: BOJ, Bernstein, DAX, Lionel Messi's, Hermes, Daniela Hathorn, Sergio Ermotti, he’s, Michael Hewson, Silvio Berlusconi, Steve Collar, Shreyashi Sanyal, Bansari, Eileen Soreng Organizations: Fed, ECB, Adidas, UBS, CS, Inter Miami, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Credit Suisse, CMC Markets, MEDIAFOREUROPE, Italian, Novartis, Seattle, Chinook Therapeutics, SES, BNP, Exane, Thomson Locations: Europe, Bengaluru

☆ The UK will scrap windfall tax on energy firms if prices keep falling
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The UK government plans to scrap its windfall tax on oil and gas companies if energy prices fall below certain levels, abolishing a levy that has raised around £2.8 billion ($3.5 billion) since it was introduced a year ago. The tax helped subsidize the energy bills for millions of UK households and businesses after they soared following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Energy prices have fallen sharply over the past few months. UK natural gas was trading at £0.67 ($0.84) per therm, according to Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at stockbroker CMC Markets UK. There are a number of ways to measure oil and gas prices and the Treasury didn’t specify which prices it would use as a reference for its thresholds.

Persons: Brent, Michael Hewson, ” Organizations: London CNN, UK Treasury, Treasury, CMC Locations: North, Ukraine

"That would suggest that core prices will come down, albeit at a much slower rate than originally thought." ET, Dow e-minis were up 31 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.75 points, or 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 17 points, or 0.12%. Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW.O) climbed 4.6% as the cybersecurity firm looks set to replace Dish Network (DISH.O) in the S&P 500 index. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) rose 1.0% ahead of its annual software developer conference, where it is widely expected to announce a new mixed-reality headset. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Loretta Mester, Sruthi Shankar, Shristi, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Wall, Traders, CMC Markets, P Global, Institute for Supply Management, Fed Cleveland, Dow e, . Energy, Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp, Schlumberger Ltd, Saudi, Palo Alto Networks, Dish Network, Big, Wall Street Journal, Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, Apple Inc, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, U.S, Washington, Big U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Shares fall as US debt deal goes to a vote; China data rattles nerves
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Data showed China's manufacturing activity fell more than expected in May, while services growth -- which has been one of the few bright spots in its patchy recovery -- slackened to its slowest pace in four months. For any investors hoping for a sustained bounce in Chinese growth after the elimination of stringent COVID restrictions late last year, the figures offered more evidence that the economy is losing steam, further dimming the global outlook. The euro tumbled by as much as 0.7% on the day after data showed a rapid cooling in consumer price pressures in both France and Germany - the region's two largest economies. Meanwhile, Treasury yields fell after a deal to suspend the U.S. debt limit and avoid a default cleared a House of Representatives committee overnight. Two-year yields fell 5 bps to 4.428%.

Persons: they're, Michael Hewson, COVID, Matt Simpson, Treasuries, Brent, Tom Westbrook, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Global, CMC, Burberry, Swatch Group, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: China, Washington, Europe, France, Germany, Singapore

While the Fed is widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points at its policy rate announcement at 1800 GMT, the hopes of a pause in increases have grown after a banking crisis that has threatened to hurt economic growth. Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) edged down 0.8% despite beating quarterly profit estimates, as the bellwether lender echoed rivals in maintaining its full-year forecasts. However, energy stocks (.FTNMX601010) were a drag, down 1.2%, tracking weakness in crude prices. Haleon (HLN.L) lost 3.8% as the world's biggest standalone consumer health business reported first-quarter profit below analyst expectations. Luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda (AML.L) lost 2.2% after it reported a narrower quarterly pre-tax loss and maintained its 2023 outlook.

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