2025-08-06 20:26

Aug 6 (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) , opens new tab beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher production countered lower crude oil prices. The company's quarterly average global production was at 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboepd), up about 11% from a year earlier. Sign up here. Last week, oil majors Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab reported a quarterly profit beat as higher production helped them offset lower crude prices. Occidental also disclosed $950 million of additional divestitures since the start of the second quarter, of which $370 million already closed. The company said it had agreed in July to sell an entity that owns certain gas gathering assets in the Midland Basin to a unit of Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N) , opens new tab for $580 million, as a part of the overall divestments. The oil and gas firm said it had repaid $3 billion of debt year-to-date. The company's shares were up 1.1% in extended trading on Wednesday. Occidental's earnings were also helped by a rise in natural gas prices, which more than doubled to $1.33 per thousand cubic foot (Mcf) from a year earlier. However, the company said quarterly average realized price for oil was at $63.76 per barrel, down about 20% from a year earlier. Average Brent crude futures fell about 20% to about $70 per barrel in the second quarter from a year earlier, as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs created global uncertainty and weighed on oil demand. The Houston, Texas-based company also reduced the mid-point of current year capex forecast by $100 million and international operating costs by $50 million. The company reported an adjusted profit of 39 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of 29 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/occidental-petroleum-beats-quarterly-profit-discloses-additional-divestments-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 20:23

TSX ends up 1.3%, at 27,920.87 Exceeds Tuesday's record closing high Shopify shares jump 21.5% after results beat estimates Shares of Thomson Reuters end 10.1% lower TORONTO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Toronto stock market climbed on Wednesday to a new record high, as Shopify took over as Canada's most valuable publicly traded company after the e-commerce firm reported quarterly results that impressed investors, sending its shares soaring. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 350.79 points, or 1.3%, at 27,920.87, exceeding the record closing high it posted on Tuesday. Sign up here. "All the heavy lifting is being done by one stock today, and that's Shopify," said Mike Archibald, a portfolio manager at AGF Investments. "The numbers were astonishing - an absolute blowout quarter." Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) , opens new tab reported second-quarter results that beat estimates and forecast upbeat revenue for the third quarter, saying there was no slowdown in consumer demand yet and sellers on its platform are holding up well under tariff pressures. Its shares ended 21.5% higher in a move that lifted the company's market capitalization to roughly C$277 billion ($201.63 billion), surpassing that of Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) , opens new tab. The technology sector climbed 5.1%, while financials added 0.4% and the materials group, which includes metal mining shares, ended 0.6% higher. Shares of SSR Mining (SSRM.TO) , opens new tab jumped 17.1% after the company beat second-quarter profit expectations. Industrials were a drag, losing 0.6%. Thomson ReutersTRI.TO , opens new tab reported higher revenue for the second quarter, during which it launched new AI features in its tax and accounting and legal divisions. The shares ended down 10.1%, however, with some analysts disappointed the company did not raise its financial guidance. Energy also lost ground, falling 0.5%, as the price of oil settled 1.2% lower at $64.35 a barrel. ($1 = 1.3738 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/tsx-hits-record-high-shopify-becomes-indexs-most-valuable-stock-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 20:08

Kashkari, citing growth slowdown, sees two rate cuts this year Dissenters also cited worries about job market slowdown Latest job-market data "concerning," Cook says WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Less than a week after deciding against an interest-rate cut, some Federal Reserve policymakers are signaling rising angst about a cooling U.S. labor market and a slowing economy, even as they continue to express uncertainty about the outlook for inflation, which remains stuck above the Fed's 2% goal. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Wednesday said that for him, it all adds up to a case for interest rate cuts in coming months. Sign up here. "The economy is slowing, and that means in the near term it may become appropriate to start adjusting," Kashkari said on CNBC's Squawk Box, adding that two quarter-percentage-point rate cuts by the end of the year "seems reasonable to me." Recent data "suggests the real underlying economy is slowing. I've got confidence that that is happening," Kashkari said. "How long can we wait until the tariff effects become clear? That's just weighing on me right now." Speaking early this week to Reuters, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said it could take six months or more to learn whether the Trump administration's tariffs will push up inflation persistently. Meanwhile, while she was "willing" to leave rates on hold last week, the slowing labor market makes her increasingly uncomfortable about making that same decision in upcoming meetings, she said. Like Kashkari, she views two rate cuts this year as probably appropriate, though given the state of the economy she said that doing more than two rate cuts is more likely than doing fewer. Neither Kashkari nor Daly has a vote on interest rate policy this year, but their arguments are similar to those made by two Fed governors who dissented at the Fed's decision last week to hold the policy rate steady while awaiting more clarity on how rising import tariffs will feed through to consumer prices. Two days after the meeting, the Labor Department released a monthly jobs report that showed weaker-than-expected job growth in July and big downward revisions to payroll estimates for May and June. "This is concerning," Fed Governor Lisa Cook said of the report, noting that revisions typically occur at inflection points in the economy. Cook did not say how the fresh labor market data has influenced her view on appropriate monetary policy. She, like Kashkari and Daly, said she is also focused on whether any increase in prices will be one time or more persistent. "It is critical that we try to understand better which one this could be, but it's limited and the information we have is limited and the way we can incorporate it into our models is limited," she said. President Donald Trump, who has pushed for sharply lower interest rates, has said he will nominate a new member to the Fed's Board shortly, following Fed Governor Adriana Kugler's surprise resignation last week. It's unclear if the new governor would function as a Fed chief-in-waiting until Jerome Powell completes his term as Fed chair on May 15, or would merely serve out the rest of Kugler's term, which runs to the end of January. https://www.reuters.com/business/fed-policymakers-signal-rising-angst-about-cooling-economy-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 20:00

Apple to announce $100-billion pledge, says White House official Earnings reports continue to come in mostly better than expected NEW YORK Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, led by a more than 1% gain in the Nasdaq, as Apple shares climbed after news of its plans to announce a domestic manufacturing pledge, and as the latest batch of corporate reports was mostly upbeat. Shares of Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab jumped and provided the biggest boost to all three of the major indexes after a White House official said the company would announce a $100-billion domestic manufacturing pledge. Sign up here. In addition, shares of McDonald's (MCD.N) , opens new tab were up after the fast-food restaurant's affordable menu drove global sales past expectations, while Arista Networks (ANET.N) , opens new tab shares jumped after the cloud networking company projected current-quarter revenue above estimates. "Earnings continue to come in better than expected," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. He said while there is uncertainty surrounding tariffs, investors appear to be upbeat about the near term. Results are now in from about 400 of the S&P 500 companies for the second-quarter earnings season. About 80% of reports are beating analyst earnings expectations - above the 76% average of the last four quarters - and earnings growth for the quarter is estimated at 12.1%, up from 5.8% at the start of July, according to LSEG data. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 46.06 points, or 0.72%, to end at 6,344.67 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 251.97 points, or 1.21%, to 21,168.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 79.42 points, or 0.18%, to 44,191.16. Also positive for stocks were increasing bets for a September interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Last week's jobs report showed slowing employment growth and downward revisions for previous months. Odds for next month's rate cut stand at 93.2%, compared with just 46.7% last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Traders also bet on at least two cuts by the end of 2025. Among the day's decliners, shares of chip company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab and server maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O) , opens new tab fell sharply after the companies posted disappointing results in their data center segments. Walt Disney (DIS.N) , opens new tab delivered a strong quarter and lifted its full-year outlook, but its shares slipped. https://www.reuters.com/business/nasdaq-leads-gains-wall-street-helped-by-apple-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 19:28

Trump cites progress in talks with Putin Trump's tariffs on India affect oil market dynamics US crude inventories decline more than expected, supporting prices OPEC+ supply increase and US inventory decline sway market NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Oil prices slid about 1% to an eight-week low on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about progress in talks with Moscow created uncertainty on whether the U.S. would impose new sanctions on Russia. Brent crude futures fell 75 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $66.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 81 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $64.35. Sign up here. Those moves marked a fifth consecutive day of losses for both crude benchmarks, with Brent closing at its lowest since June 10 and WTI closing at its lowest since June 5. Trump said on Wednesday that his special envoy Steve Witkoff made "great progress" in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington continued its preparations to impose secondary sanctions on Friday. Trump has threatened additional sanctions on Moscow if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. "Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," Trump said, without providing further details. Russia is the world's second-biggest producer of crude after the U.S., so any potential deal that would reduce sanctions would make it easier for Russia to export more oil. Earlier in the day, oil prices rose after Trump issued an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India, saying it directly or indirectly imported Russian oil. The new import tax will go into effect 21 days after August 7. India, along with China, is a major buyer of Russian oil. "For the time being, the 21-day start to the new Indian tariffs, while Russia tries to put together some kind of cease fire agreement ahead of President Trump’s August 8 deadline, still leaves too much uncertainty around the situation," Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho, said in a note. In addition to the tariff and sanction uncertainty, analysts said a planned OPEC+ supply increase has weighed on the market in recent days. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said on Wednesday, in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the U.S. rise. In other news, Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, on Wednesday hiked its September crude oil prices for Asian buyers, the second monthly rise in a row, on tight supply and robust demand. OIL INVENTORIES Oil markets found support earlier in the day from a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories last week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms pulled 3 million barrels of crude from inventories during the week ended August 1. , That was much bigger than the 0.6-million-barrel draw analysts forecast in a Reuters poll, but was smaller than the decline of 4.2 million barrels that market sources said the American Petroleum Institute trade group cited in its figures on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-slide-8-week-low-us-russia-talks-stir-sanction-uncertainty-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 19:27

Dollar resumes fall on rate cut expectations Traders focused on nominations for next Fed Chair Bank of England expected to cut rates on Thursday NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The dollar dropped on Wednesday and the euro hit a one-week high as traders bet that the Federal Reserve will cut rates more times than previously expected this year, following weaker than expected jobs data for July. With no major U.S. economic releases on Wednesday traders continued to focus on the implications from Friday's jobs report. Sign up here. U.S. employment growth was weaker than expected in July while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down by a massive 258,000 jobs, suggesting a sharp deterioration in labor market conditions. The greenback fell sharply after the report, paring gains from what had been a relatively strong July for the currency, the first month this year in which the dollar index posted a gain. “We had the first dollar bounce under Trump's second term, and many people thought that maybe it had some legs, but I think Friday's jobs data killed it,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. “The renewed speculation of not only a cut in September, but another cut at the end of the year, has capped the dollar's bounce.” Fed funds futures traders are now pricing in a 95% probability of a 25 basis point cut at the Fed’s September meeting, up from 48% a week ago, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. In total, traders see 62 basis points in cuts this year. The Fed may need to cut interest rates in the near term in response to a slowing U.S. economy, even though it remains unclear whether tariffs will continue to push inflation higher, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Wednesday. Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India, saying the country directly or indirectly imported Russian oil, adding to 25% tariffs already announced. The dollar index <=USD> was last down 0.56% on the day at 98.18, the lowest since July 28. It posted a 1.35% drop on Friday, the largest one day fall since April. The dollar spiked briefly in late morning New York time in line with Treasury yields, which may have been due to traders placing large futures bets before a 10-year Treasury auction. The greenback extended losses after the Treasury Department saw soft demand for the $42 billion sale of the 10-year notes. The euro rose 0.76% to $1.1662, the highest since July 28. It recorded a 1.48% gain on Friday. Investors are also focused on Trump’s expected nomination to fill a coming vacancy on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors and the candidates for the next Fed Chair. Trump said on Tuesday he would decide on a nominee to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler by the end of the week and had separately narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Trump said he has narrowed his list of candidates to replace Powell to economic adviser Kevin Hassett, former Fed governor and Trump supporter Kevin Warsh, and two other people. Trump did not name those people, but one is thought to be current Fed Governor Christopher Waller. “From what we can ascertain, Warsh seems to be the most hawkish of the three, while Waller is clearly the most dovish, having dissented at the last FOMC meeting, so any shift in the odds towards the latter would likely be bearish for the dollar,” Matthew Ryan, Head of Market Strategy at Ebury said in a note. The dollar fell 0.35% to 147.09 yen . It dropped 2.24% against the Japanese currency on Friday, the largest daily decline since January 2023. Taro Kono, touted as a candidate to become the next prime minister, said that Japan must balance its budget and push the central bank to raise interest rates to alleviate concern over the country's finances. Ruling party heavyweight Ken Saito, meanwhile, told Reuters that the Bank of Japan must be cautious about raising interest rates given the expected hit from U.S. tariffs on the fragile economy. Sterling rose 0.47% to $1.3362 before the Bank of England on Thursday is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points. Against the Swiss franc , the dollar weakened 0.17% to 0.806. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said she had a "very good meeting" with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday as Switzerland strives for a deal to avert a crippling 39% tariff on its exports to the United States. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 1.63% to $115,516. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-falls-traders-bet-more-rate-cuts-2025-08-06/