2025-07-18 10:39
July 18 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency-related stocks rose in premarket trading on Friday, with shares linked to ether leading the charge after the No. 2 crypto hit a six-month high. Shares of BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR.A) , opens new tab, which holds about $1 billion worth of ether, soared 14%. Other ether holding firms Bit Digital (BTBT.O) , opens new tab and BTCS (BTCS.O) , opens new tab added 4% and 12.5%, respectively. Sign up here. Ether climbed to $3,675.81, its highest since January 6, and was last up 5% at $3,601.40, outperforming bitcoin , which eased 0.7% to $118,961 after hitting a record high of $123,153 this week. BitMine, where tech billionaire Peter Thiel is the top investor and Fundstrat's Tom Lee serves as chairman of the board, said on Thursday it had accumulated 300,657 ether in just three weeks and aims to acquire about 5% of over ether supply which currently stands at 120.71 million. A number of other companies recently decided to add ether to their balance sheets, following the example of Strategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. Strategy's bitcoin stockpile was acquired at a sharp discount over the years to current price. SharpLink (SBET.O) , opens new tab, which has funded its ether treasury through stock sale over the past seven weeks, said it had raised its current $1 billion share sale plan by an additional $5 billion. Its shares rose 5.6%. Ether benefits from increased usage of U.S.-dollar-pegged tokens known as stablecoins. Most stablecoins are issued and transacted on the underlying blockchain Ethereum, driving up demand for ether to pay transaction fees. "The standout proposition of institutional Ethereum accumulation seems to be stablecoin growth which has been further accelerated by the recent success of Circle IPO," said Matthew Dibb, CIO at Astronaut Capital, a Singapore-based crypto asset manager. "Ethereum is by far the biggest beneficiary of stablecoin usage." The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a watershed moment for the digital asset industry. "Time will tell whether these treasury companies outperform the core ETH ETF, but given the success of (Strategy) in recent years, it won't stop them from trying." BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT.O) , opens new tab has gained 10% so far this month, while the ether equivalent ETF (ETHA.O) , opens new tab has added nearly 36% in the same period. Among other crypto stocks, stablecoin issuer Circle Internet (CRCL.N) , opens new tab gained 2.7%, while crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN.O) , opens new tab added 2% on Friday. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/ether-linked-stocks-jump-crypto-coin-hits-6-month-high-2025-07-18/
2025-07-18 09:47
WARSAW, July 18 (Reuters) - Polish companies feared business conditions were getting worse in the second quarter, with rising costs of raw materials and supplies seen as the most important barriers to growth, the central bank said. However, the impact of those factors was clearly decreasing, as was the impact of other barriers such as changing regulations, high taxes and fees, or high labour costs, the National Bank of Poland said in a survey published on Friday on business sentiment in the April-June quarter. Sign up here. "The negative impact of low or declining demand remained unchanged. However, uncertainty, related in part to the geopolitical situation, was a barrier that clearly gained significance," the central bank said. While companies fretted about the broader outlook, they reported a significant weakening of price pressures. The percentage of companies which raised their selling prices fell, resulting in a price pressure index at its lowest level in five years. Polish companies also reported a decline in wage pressures, with the percentage of enterprises indicating its intensification falling to the lowest level since the end of 2020, the report showed. The report also showed that the share of companies planning to continue ongoing investments had increased, while the percentage of those initiating new investments had decreased, both quarterly and yearly. Greater investment optimism was noted in the public sector, while it was slightly lower in the private sector. "The plans of foreign companies were particularly pessimistic, with plans to reduce rather than increase their investments within the quarter," the central bank said in the report. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/polish-companies-worried-conditions-were-worse-q2-central-bank-says-2025-07-18/
2025-07-18 07:28
July 21 (Reuters) - Slice and dice it anyway you like and the week ahead for world markets will likely be dominated by politics and central banks in some shape or form. Japan's ruling coalition loses control of its upper house, the European Central Bank holds its pre-summer break policy meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump's constant pressure on the Federal Reserve chief stays on the watch list and Turkey's central bank meets against a backdrop of domestic political uncertainty. Sign up here. Here's your heads up on the week ahead for financial markets from Rae Wee in Singapore, Lewis Krauskopf in New York and Amanda Cooper, Yoruk Bahceli and Karin Strohecker in London. 1/ HIGH STAKES Japan's shaky government lost control of the upper house in Sunday's election, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power even as he vowed to remain party leader. While the ballot does not directly determine whether Ishiba's administration will fall, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October. Longer-dated Japanese government bond yields have scaled new highs as concerns about the deteriorating fiscal outlook grow, following promises of tax cuts and fiscal largesse by opposition parties. Their preference for keeping interest rates low also complicates the Bank of Japan's plans to normalise monetary policy. And while expectations are that trade talks between Tokyo and Washington could make further progress once the election is over, the clock is ticking to an Aug. 1 deadline, when Japan will face 25% tariffs. 2/ PAUSE The ECB is set to pause on Thursday after eight consecutive rate cuts that halved its policy rate to 2%. The threat of a 30% U.S. tariff looms over the euro zone, but there's little that's certain about the scale of trade restrictions that will end up prevailing, so the ECB has no reason to move the dial yet. Policymakers will be reluctant to create the sense that they are reacting to a threat, but they will have to reassess their worst case scenario from June, which foresaw a lower tariff level. Also, the focus isn't on Thursday's decision, but what comes next. Given the scale of uncertainty, traders are unsure. They fully price one more rate cut by year-end, but the timing is up in the air, with a September move seen as a coin toss. 3/ EARNINGS IN EARNEST U.S. corporate earnings season kicks into high gear with market heavyweights Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab leading the charge. Q2 results have started flowing in, with major banks expressing optimism about the investment banking outlook for the rest of the year after dealmaking rebounded. More than one-fifth of S&P 500 companies are expected to report in the coming week. Google parent Alphabet and Tesla are the first of the "Magnificent Seven" megacaps to report this period, while results are also due from Coca-Cola (KO.N) , opens new tab, IBM (IBM.N) , opens new tab and Philip Morris International (PM.N) , opens new tab. S&P 500 earnings are expected to have climbed 6.5% in the quarter from the year-ago period, according to LSEG IBES data as of Wednesday. 4/ BUSINESS TIME July surveys of business activity across the globe may capture some immediate shifts in behaviour in both services and manufacturing in response to Trump's new Aug. 1 tariff deadline. Global factory activity has struggled to remain in expansionary territory in the last year. Out of 34 of the world's largest economies, 22 have slowing activity - leaving the services sector to do much of the heavy lifting. But that's also starting to show the strain from the uncertainty for anyone from retailers, to hairdressers and accountants, from Trump's chaotic tariff policy. In June, services activity in the United States, the euro zone, China and Germany was slower than in December and well below last June. Among richer nations, only Japan and Britain saw a year-on-year improvement in service-sector activity last month and even that was modest at best. 5/ BACK TO THE FUTURE Turkey's central bank is expected to return to rate cuts on Thursday, back on track after market turmoil following an unprecedented crackdown on the CHP opposition party clouded the monetary policy outlook. The March detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - seen as President Tayyip Erdogan's most formidable rival - roiled markets, knocked the lira to a record low, saw stocks trading suspended and prompted the central bank to hike overnight rates to 46% - short circuiting an easing cycle that had only begun in December. A Reuters poll showed expectations for a 250 basis point cut, with some predicting as much as 350 bps. But there's some uncertainty over the speed and scale of easing with markets nervous against the backdrop the opposition crackdown recently accelerating. Central banks in Hungary and Russia also hold rate meetings in the coming week. https://www.reuters.com/business/take-five/global-markets-themes-update-1-graphic-2025-07-18/
2025-07-18 07:25
July 18 (Reuters) - South Africa's Valterra Platinum (VALJ.J) , opens new tab expects to report a sharp fall in first half profit by as much as 88% due to lower output and sales as well as one-off costs related to its demerger from Anglo American Plc (AAL.L) , opens new tab group, it said on Friday. Valterra, formerly Anglo American Platinum, said it expects headline earnings between 800 million rand and 1.6 billion rand ($44.97 million-$89.94 million) in the six months to June 30, down from 6.5 billion rand during the same period last year. Sign up here. Platinum group metal (PGM) sales volumes fell 25% after heavy rainfall and flooding disrupted operations at Valterra's Tumela mine within its Amandelbult complex, the company said in a trading statement. Demerger costs amounted to 1.4 billion rand during the first half. Valterra demerged from Anglo in June and is now separately listed in Johannesburg and London, as the global mining giant restructures its business to primarily focus on energy metal copper. Cost savings of about 2.1 billion rand helped offset the decline in earnings over the period, Valterra said. The company said its refined production guidance of 3.0 million-3.4 million PGM ounces for the year remains unchanged. Valterra will release its half-year financial results on July 28, its first as a standalone company. ($1 = 17.7897 rand) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-valterra-platinum-flags-fall-first-half-profit-2025-07-18/
2025-07-18 07:15
Brent, WTI up 0.8% after $1 gain on Thursday Both head for slight weekly decline EU lowers price cap for Russian crude Drone attacks cut Kurdistan oil output by half SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday after the European Union agreed to new sanctions against Russia, also underpinned by supply concerns following drone attacks on northern Iraqi oilfields and tight market fundamentals. Brent crude futures climbed 62 cents, or 0.89%, to $70.14 a barrel as of 0652 GMT, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 64 cents, or 0.95%, to $68.18 a barrel. Sign up here. The EU reached an agreement on an 18th sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine, with measures aimed at dealing further blows to Russia's oil and energy industries. Its latest sanctions package will lower the G7's price cap for Russian crude oil to $47.6 per barrel, diplomats told Reuters. Four days of drone attacks on oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan that shut down half the region's output have supported prices, pushing both contracts up by $1 on Thursday. Additionally, seasonal travel demand has propped up the market. In the first two weeks of July, global oil demand has averaged 105.2 million barrels per day (bpd), up by 600,000 bpd from a year earlier and largely in line with forecasts, JPMorgan analysts said in a research note. "Crude prices have been broadly stable this week, with no significant moves as the impact of OPEC+ supply increases has been offset by strong seasonal demand in the U.S.," said LSEG analyst Anh Pham. U.S. crude inventories fell by a larger-than-expected 3.9 million barrels last week compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 552,000-barrel draw, government data on Wednesday showed. Demand in Asia also firmed as refineries came back from maintenance amid peak seasonal demand. Near-term oil fundamentals are likely to remain supportive, with the market set to remain fairly tight through this quarter, before becoming better supplied from the last three months of the year, ING analysts said in a note on Friday. Still, the uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy, which appears unlikely to be settled until after August 1, is weighing on the market. Plans by major oil producers to remove output cuts will also add to supply as the seasonal Northern Hemisphere summer demand ends. For this week, both Brent and WTI were down by 0.30% and 0.42% respectively. Oil output in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has been slashed from about 280,000 bpd to between 140,000 bpd and 150,000 bpd, two energy officials said. Officials pointed to Iran-backed militias as the likely source of attacks this week on the region's oilfields, although no group has claimed responsibility. Despite the attack, Iraq's federal government said on Thursday that Iraqi Kurdistan will resume oil exports through a pipeline to Turkey after a two-year halt. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-rises-after-eu-new-sanctions-russia-tight-market-supports-2025-07-18/
2025-07-18 07:00
BEIJING, July 18 (Reuters) - China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday that he hoped multinational companies, including Nvidia, would provide high-quality and reliable products and services to Chinese customers, the ministry said in a statement. Huang said the Chinese market was very attractive, and Nvidia was willing to deepen cooperation with Chinese partners in the field of artificial intelligence, according to the commerce ministry's statement released on Friday. Sign up here. Wang said China's policy of attracting foreign investment would not change and the door to openness would only open wider. Nvidia declined to comment further. During his third China visit this year, Huang, the founder and CEO of the world's most valuable company, also met with Ren Hongbin, chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the country's Vice Premier He Lifeng. Chinese officials told Huang they welcomed foreign companies to continue to invest in the country, the Nvidia CEO said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday. At the event, Huang described AI models from Chinese firms Deepseek, Alibaba (9988.HK) , opens new tab and Tencent (0700.HK) , opens new tab as "world class" and said AI was "revolutionising" supply chains. China's commerce ministry said in a separate statement on Friday that the U.S. had told Beijing that it would approve sales of Nvidia's H20 AI chips to Chinese customers. Huang said on Wednesday that Chinese customers' demand for the H20, which was released from U.S. export controls this week, is high but no purchase orders have been fulfilled yet as it awaits U.S. government approval for export licences. Nvidia has also announced it is developing a new chip for Chinese clients called the RTX Pro GPU, which would be compliant with U.S. export restrictions and designed specifically for smart factories and for robot training purposes. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-commerce-minister-discussed-foreign-investment-ai-meet-with-nvidia-ceo-2025-07-18/
