2025-08-29 12:21
Stocks hesitant ahead of US PCE inflation data Dollar headed for monthly fall on rate cut bets, Fed worries European market risk on the rise due to French political woes China stocks and yuan score bumper months LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - World stocks inched back from their latest tech-led record highs on Friday ahead of U.S. inflation data that will feed the Federal Reserve's crucial - and increasingly politicised - interest rate plans. Traders were squaring up after another bullish month for global equities that has come despite brewing bond market worries over U.S. President Donald Trump's move to fire Fed policymaker Lisa Cook, and renewed political strife in France. Sign up here. Both Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab share index and the euro were down on the day and heading for their first weekly losses in four, while 0.4% dips on France's CAC 40 (.FCHI) , opens new tab and Germany's DAX (.GDAXI) , opens new tab left them set for trend-defying monthly drops. State Street's head of global macro strategy Michael Metcalfe said it was the first time in a long while that political risk was on the rise after a period where international investors have been pouring money into the region. "The question is do you take the fiscal risk in the euro or the Fed independence risk in the dollar," Metcalfe said. "This week, it looks like it's a score draw." Wall Street looked set for a groggy start after two record highs for the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab on the bounce. European 30-year bond yields are set to suffer their biggest monthly jumps since March though. The largest has come in France, where Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has called a confidence vote for September 8 that many expect him to lose. The closely-watched spread France pays over Germany for 10-year debt held at 78 basis points on Friday, having soared over the last fortnight. . Investors were also digesting moderately higher inflation numbers from France and from key parts of Germany. A UK bank share index (.FTNMX301010) , opens new tab fell 4.4% meanwhile after an influential think tank suggested the cash-strapped government there could begin taxing banks based on their Bank of England reserves. Asia had been mixed overnight with Chinese shares (.CSI300) , opens new tab clocking up their best month in almost a year with a more than 10% gain on hopes that its economy, especially the tech sector, is picking up. Japan's heavyweight Nikkei ended down on the day, although it too has jumped 4% in August and both it and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab are on an unbroken 5-month run of gains. One blip in China, where the yuan has also been on the charge, was a 1.7% pull back on the tech-focused STAR 50 Index (.STAR50) , opens new tab after its near 30% boom this month. It came as shares in chip firm Cambricon Technologies (688256.SS) , opens new tab dropped more than 6% as it issued an official risk alert over the more than doubling of its stock price since late July. "Certainly, when you see such a very, very large move, and then some warning coming from the company, you could think that there has been a little bit of overshooting," said Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Societe Generale. Stocks in Bangkok (.SETI) , opens new tab also fell 1.5% and the Thai baht eased 0.3% after the country's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sacked for an ethics breach - a telephone call, during which she appeared to kowtow to Cambodia's powerful former leader Hun Sen. WAITING ON PCE The broader market focus is now on the soon-to-be-released U.S. PCE price index data - the Fed's preferred measure of inflation. Economists polled by Reuters expect the index to stay steady at 2.6% in July from the month before. Excluding volatile items like food and energy, however, the index is expected to rise 2.9%, up from 2.8% in June. Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ, said analysts would be looking to see whether the impact of trade tariff increases is starting to show. "There are three important pieces of data ahead of the September FOMC. So there's the PCE, then there's the payrolls number next week, and then the CPI reading." Traders are currently pricing in an 85% chance of a rate cut in September, up from 63% a month earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Thursday said he wants to start cutting interest rates next month and "fully expects" more rate cuts to follow, to bring the Fed's policy rate closer to a neutral setting. The heightened expectations of imminent Fed rate cuts left the dollar on course for a monthly fall of 2% against a basket of currencies (.DXY) , opens new tab on Friday. The euro was last down 0.2% at $1.1661, pressured in part by the political and fiscal worries in France, while sterling eased 0.4% to $1.3458, though was set for a monthly gain of more than 2%. The dollar was also battling headwinds from worries about Fed independence as Trump steps up his campaign to exert more influence over monetary policy, including his latest attempt to fire Fed Governor Cook. Cook filed a lawsuit on Thursday claiming Trump has no power to remove her from office. Elsewhere, oil markets saw Brent crude futures drop 0.6% to $68.20 a barrel and U.S. crude dip to $64.21. Safe-haven gold was down 0.2% at $3,408.78 an ounce, while bitcoin fell 2% to just under 110,000 per dollar. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-4-pix-2025-08-29/
2025-08-29 11:46
WARSAW, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Polish refiner Orlen (PKN.WA) , opens new tab signed a long-term contract with Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab for the supply of over 6 million tons of crude oil to its refineries covering about 15% of annual demand of the entire group, the company said on Friday. Under the one-year contract, oil will be delivered from the Norwegian port of Mongstad starting next month. Shipments may be directed to refineries in Poland as well as to Lithuania and the Czech Republic, the refiner said. Sign up here. "We are strengthening the energy security of Poland and the region as a whole. We have fully eliminated Russian crude from all our refineries, which was made possible through effective diversification of supply sources," Orlen CEO Ireneusz Fafara said in a statement. Orlen refineries process feedstock from the Middle East and Persian Gulf, the North Sea, Africa, and the Americas. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/orlen-signs-12-month-deal-with-equinor-supply-15-oil-it-uses-2025-08-29/
2025-08-29 11:45
HONG KONG, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Eric Trump, the second son of U.S. President Donald Trump, predicted on Friday at a conference in Hong Kong that bitcoin would reach $1 million within several years, and he called China "a hell of a power" in developing cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has risen 18% this year but it still well off that $1 million mark. It hit a record high of $124,480 in mid-August, buoyed by friendlier regulations from the Trump administration and strong demand from institutional investors. Sign up here. On Friday it traded around $110,000, off those record highs. "There's no question bitcoin hits $1 million," Eric Trump said during a panel discussion at the Bitcoin Asia conference, citing surging institutional demand and limited supply. Mainland China bans crypto trading but is considering yuan-backed stablecoins to boost its usage globally, Reuters reported last week, citing sources. Hong Kong passed a stablecoin bill in May, vying with the United States and regional peers to become a global digital asset hub. Asked whether his father and Chinese President Xi Jinping would discuss cryptocurrencies any time soon, Eric Trump said both countries probably understood the digital currency "better than anybody else in the world". Eric Trump, an executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said the bitcoin community had supported his father before he became U.S. president for a second time. "And I hope that's paid off in spades because we love this community. We believe in this community," he said. The Trump family has expanded into several cryptocurrency ventures over the past year, including a crypto exchange, a stablecoin, a bitcoin mining operation, and digital asset ETFs. A bitcoin miner backed by Eric Trump and his brother Donald Trump Jr. is gearing up for a Nasdaq listing next month. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao told a separate panel at Friday's conference that the U.S. was "setting the case" for forward-leaning regulations that were making other governments take action. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/eric-trump-sees-bitcoin-hitting-1-million-praises-china-cryptocurrency-role-2025-08-29/
2025-08-29 11:37
Jio aims for IPO by first half of 2026 Meta and Reliance announce $100 million joint venture Google to establish Jamnagar Cloud region for Reliance Aug 29 (Reuters) - Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) , opens new tab is planning to take its telecoms and digital arm Jio Platforms public by mid-2026, its chairman said on Friday, one of India's most anticipated listings. At its annual general meeting on Friday, Reliance also said it was creating an artificial intelligence unit with Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and Meta (META.O) , opens new tab as strategic partners. Sign up here. The group's billionaire chairman Mukesh Ambani first flagged plans in 2019 to list Jio within five years. On Friday he told shareholders at the AGM that Jio is preparing to file for an IPO next year. Reuters reported exclusively in July that Jio had decided not to launch its planned IPO in 2025. It was valued by analysts at over $100 billion at that time. Jio is not being fully valued within Reliance's broader petrochemicals and retail portfolio, Saurabh Parikh, senior analyst at ICRA, said, and a separate listing would help unlock higher value for the telecom and digital unit. Jio Platforms houses India's largest telecom operator, Reliance Jio Infocomm, which has over 500 million users. Backed by global investors including Meta, Google and KKR (KKR.N) , opens new tab, it has been central to Ambani's push to diversify Reliance beyond oil and chemicals into consumer, retail and technology, with AI now a key pillar of its growth strategy. Reliance and Meta on Friday announced a new AI joint venture with an initial investment of about $100 million. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the AGM the new unit will deliver Meta's open-source AI models to Indian businesses. Google CEO Sundar Pichai also told the AGM his company is partnering with Reliance to use AI across its energy, retail, telecom and financial services businesses, and will establish a Jamnagar Cloud region dedicated to Reliance. Reliance also outlined five priorities for Jio's next phase of growth, which includes driving an "AI Everywhere for Everyone" push and expanding operations overseas. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/ambanis-reliance-plans-take-jio-public-by-2026-chairman-says-2025-08-29/
2025-08-29 11:23
Gazprom may ship extra 6 bcm per year to China via existing link Power of Siberia 2 pipeline talks stalled, sources say Putin-Xi meeting to focus on energy cooperation Russia seeks to send gas to China after losing EU markets SINGAPORE/MOSCOW, Aug 28 (Reuters) - China is seeking to buy more Russian gas through an existing pipeline as talks between the two countries have failed to make progress on building a second link, thwarting Moscow's quest for new outlets, two industry sources told Reuters. Energy is expected to be high on the agenda when Russian and Chinese leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping meet in China next week. Sign up here. A breakthrough on the $13.6-billion Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project to supply 50 billion cubic metres of gas to China's northwest during the visit is unlikely, however, the sources said. Instead, they say China is considering increasing its purchases of gas via the existing Power of Siberia 1 pipeline from the current 38 bcm. The sources could not be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue. Russia is keen to expand oil and gas exports to Asia after losing European markets because of Western sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine. For more than 50 years, Russia has supplied gas to Europe from West Siberia, which used to provide 180 bcm a year, or up to 40% of Europe's gas needs, generating up to $90 billion a year for Moscow. Russia began deliveries to China in 2019 from East Siberia via the Power of Siberia 1 pipeline. The West and East Siberian producing areas are not yet interconnected and Moscow hopes to reroute gas from West Siberia to China by building the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline. Gazprom originally designed the pipeline to try to make China and the EU compete for gas from those fields. The project became even more important for Moscow after the EU halted most of Russian gas imports in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow and Beijing, however, have failed to agree on pricing for the gas and funding for the pipeline despite more than a decade of talks. Gazprom did not respond to requests for comment. GAZPROM COULD EARN $1.5 BILLION PER YEAR China's growing domestic gas output and production of renewables have cut its appetite for energy, although geopolitical risks such as sanctions make inland imports from Russia more attractive, said Tatiana Mitrova from Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation are in talks to boost supplies via the Power of Siberia 1 pipeline by 6 bcm per year from 2031, a Beijing-based industry source said. CNPC did not respond to a request for comment. The new supply could generate $1.5 billion a year for Gazprom, based on a price of gas of $250 per 1,000 cubic metres, according to Reuters calculations. China's state-owned infrastructure monopoly PipeChina has launched a study to expand its domestic network in preparation for receiving more gas via the Power of Siberia 1 pipeline, a second Beijing-based industry source involved in the studies said. Construction could begin in the second half of 2026, the executive added. PipeChina did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Russia and China are discussing raising flows via the Power of Siberia 1 to 45 bcm, said Sergey Sanakoev, the head of the Asia-Pacific Research Centre in Moscow, who has been involved in Russia-China talks on energy. Gazprom has said the pipeline can pump more than its nameplate capacity of 38 bcm. "It doesn't mean that Power of Siberia 2 will be abandoned," Sanakoev said. Russia is also due to start supplying China with gas via a pipeline from the Pacific island of Sakhalin in 2027. The plans call for supply of 10 bcm per year. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-seeks-more-russian-gas-via-old-link-new-pipeline-stalled-2025-08-29/
2025-08-29 11:18
BRASILIA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Brazil's Foreign Ministry has ordered trade body Camex to start analyzing whether a local reciprocity law could be used against the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on several goods from the South American country. The law, passed earlier this year by Brazil's Congress, establishes a legal framework for Brazil to respond to potential unilateral trade measures targeting its goods and services, including countermeasures such as tariffs. Sign up here. "A process will be initiated," Vice President Geraldo Alckmin told reporters late on Thursday during a trip to Mexico City. "Congress passed the law almost unanimously. Its an important and necessary instrument." The move would represent an escalation by Latin America's largest economy in reacting to Trump's 50% tariffs on U.S. imports from Brazil. The country had so far initiated dispute consultations at the World Trade Organization. Alckmin noted, however, that Brazil remains open to talks with the Trump administration. "I hope this helps accelerate dialogue and negotiation," he said. Reuters reported earlier on Thursday, citing sources, that Camex had been ordered to launch the process. The move came as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva authorized the use of the law against the U.S., the sources said. Camex has 30 days to present a report on the matter. If it approves the use of the reciprocity law, a government working group will decide which areas Brazil should target in its measures against the U.S., the sources said. They added that the U.S. is expected to be informed on Friday about the start of the process. The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on imports of Brazilian goods this month, as Trump decried what he called unfair trade practices and accused Brazil of a "witch hunt" against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial on charges of plotting a coup. Products such as orange juice and aircraft, which are among Brazil's major exports, were exempted from the higher duties. Brazilian government officials have publicly complained about lack of room to negotiate the tariffs with the U.S. counterparts. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-starts-formal-process-assess-us-tariff-retaliation-2025-08-28/
