2025-11-20 04:19

LAS VEGAS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - McLaren's Formula One leader Lando Norris and other top drivers braced for a cold and wet start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend on Wednesday but hoped for better weather on race night. Forecasts predicted a high likelihood of rainfall in the Nevada city on Thursday and Friday after storms, flash floods and lightning on Wednesday. Sign up here. "From what I'm aware of, I think it's just going to rain on Thursday and a bit into Friday for maybe FP3 (final practice)," Norris told reporters on a chilly media day. "I think it will be an incredibly difficult track in the rain. Yeah, pretty nasty. It's going to be a hell of a challenge. Obviously not a lot of room for error," added the Briton, who leads Australian teammate Oscar Piastri by 24 points with three rounds remaining. "You've got the white lines, all the paint and stuff ... it's pretty horrible at times when you're in the car feeling these kind of things. It will be a pretty insane challenge, I think, if it stays wet." George Russell, winner in Las Vegas last year in a Mercedes one-two, also preferred a dry race. The Briton added, however, that rain always opened up opportunities and Mercedes saw Las Vegas as a clear one. "If we were to pinpoint one race on the calendar where we think we can fight for victory, this would be the race," said Russell, a winner of two races so far this season. "So, out of all the races, I would choose for this one not to be wet." Russell said he expected McLaren to struggle with the circuit characteristics, given their past form in Canada and Baku, but was also open to being surprised even if Red Bull probably had a better chance. Red Bull's four-times world champion Max Verstappen, third overall behind the McLaren pair, said he was not looking forward to lapping in the wet and likely on cold tyres. "I prefer to just have a dry race," said the Dutch driver. "It's already hard enough to get everything working here or understanding at least something. "I mean if the track floods, maybe less practice. That's also not a bad thing." https://www.reuters.com/sports/formula1/f1-drivers-wary-wet-start-vegas-weekend-2025-11-20/

2025-11-20 04:16

BEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) - China's rare earth magnet exports in October fell 5.2% from a month earlier, customs data showed on Thursday, down for a second month, but shipments to the United States surged to a nine-month high. Beijing announced earlier this month it would suspend the rare earth export control measures it announced on October 9 for one year as part of its pledge to Washington at a summit in Busan, South Korea, in late October to de-escalate their trade war. Sign up here. For October, outbound shipments from the world's largest producer and exporter of rare earth magnets, used in a wide array of technology from cars to weapons, were 5,473 metric tons last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. That was down from 5,774 tons in September but was up 15.8%from 4,725 tons in the same month in 2024. Exports to the U.S. in October, however, jumped by 56.1% from the prior month to 656 tons, the highest since January. China has begun designing a new rare earth licensing regime that could speed up shipments, but it is unlikely to amount to a complete rollback of restrictions as hoped by Washington, industry sources said. By country, Germany, the U.S., South Korea, Vietnam and India were the top five export destinations for Chinese rare earth magnets by volume last month. Year to date, China's rare earth magnet exports totaled 45,290 tons, an annual decline of 5.2%. Exports hit a seven-month high in August. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-october-rare-earth-magnet-exports-fall-second-month-us-shipments-surge-2025-11-20/

2025-11-20 03:31

European stocks gain; US stocks turn negative Nvidia's results beat expectations; AI bubble concerns persist Delays, mixed signals in jobs data cloud Fed policy expectations Bitcoin slides on souring risk appetite NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street reversed early gains on Thursday as a mixed employment report diminished hopes for further easing by the Federal Reserve this year and as worries resurfaced over inflated tech valuations, unassuaged by Nvidia's better-than-expected earnings report. All three major U.S. stock indexes closed sharply lower, with weakness in artificial intelligence-related momentum stocks dragging the tech-heavy Nasdaq down the most. Benchmark Treasury yields dipped and bitcoin tumbled, offering further signs of market participants' souring risk appetite. Sign up here. Chipmaker and AI darling Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab posted its hotly anticipated results after Wednesday's closing bell, delivering consensus-beating earnings and stronger-than-expected forward guidance, which initially soothed fears over inflated valuations in the sector. But jitters over inflated tech stock prices returned as the session progressed, resulting in the Nasdaq's widest one-day swing since April 9, a difference of 4.9 percentage points. "There was a lot of anticipation about Nvidia and it was a good report," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT in Atlanta. "But the other questions are still there: What is happening with inflation? Employment? What is the Fed going to do? There's still confusion about tariffs." "People just aren't done selling yet," Martin added. "The market is adjusting, this is what an adjustment process looks like." U.S. employment data, unavailable throughout the six-week federal government shutdown, reported more jobs than expected, but a surprising uptick in the unemployment rate suggested a softening in labor market conditions. A separate report showed ongoing jobless claims hitting their highest level in nearly four years. But the September jobs report is stale, and because of the decision to combine the October and November reports, the U.S. Federal Reserve will have just one month of dated employment numbers to inform its rate decision at next month's policy meeting. Financial markets are pricing in a 39.8% likelihood that the central bank will implement its third interest rate cut of the year at the meeting, down from about 50% at the same time last week and a near certainty a month ago, according to CME's FedWatch tool. But not everyone agrees. "The Fed is going to have to go on its own guts, and from a contrarian viewpoint, I believe that they will cut by 25 basis points," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "The rhetoric that we're hearing from a lot of Fed members is just playing it safe," Cardillo added. "But I think the dovish members are probably going to win, and they are going to be right." FROM RALLY TO SELLOFF The CBOE Market Volatility index (.VIX) , opens new tab, considered a barometer of investor anxiety, closed at its highest level since late April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 386.51 points, or 0.84%, to 45,752.26, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab fell 103.40 points, or 1.56%, to 6,538.76 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab fell 486.18 points, or 2.15%, to 22,078.05. European shares gained following Nvidia's earnings beat but pared their advance amid renewed uncertainty regarding the Fed's monetary policy path. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab fell 9.01 points, or 0.92%, to 968.20. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index rose 0.4%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) , opens new tab rose 8.72 points, or 0.39%. Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) , opens new tab rose 9.58 points, or 0.70%, to 1,369.89. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab closed higher by 0.8%, at 703.56, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab rose 1,286.24 points, or 2.65%, to 49,823.94. U.S. Treasury yields dropped in the wake of the mixed employment data as investors assessed the probability of further easing from the Fed before the year end. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.1 basis points to 4.1%, from 4.131% late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond yield fell 1.9 basis points to 4.7328% from 4.752% late on Wednesday. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 4.4 basis points to 3.554%, from 3.598% late on Wednesday. The dollar firmed as the jobs data tempered monetary policy expectations. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.16% to 100.25, with the euro down 0.1% at $1.1525. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.22% to 157.49. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 4.44% to $86,514.72. Ethereum declined 4.85% to $2,843.98. Oil prices initially got a boost from a bigger-than-expected draw on U.S. crude stockpiles, but reversed those gains amid the push for a U.S.-brokered end to Russia's war on Ukraine. U.S. crude dipped 0.55% to settle at $59.14 per barrel, while Brent settled at $63.38 per barrel, down 0.2% on the day. Gold prices inched lower as investors assessed the delayed jobs report. Spot gold fell 0.06% to $4,078.15 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.18% to $4,070.50 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-1-pix-2025-11-20/

2025-11-20 02:34

BEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) - China imported no soybeans from the U.S. for a second straight month in October even as total imports surged to a record high on purchases from South America, with buyers aiming to avert supply disruptions amid trade tensions with Washington. Data from China's General Administration of Customs on Thursday showed U.S. soybean imports in October fell to zero from 541,434 metric tons a year earlier. Sign up here. The decline followed China's imposition of high tariffs on U.S. soybeans earlier in the year and the depletion of previously harvested U.S. supplies, or old-crop beans. China is the world's biggest soybean importer. In contrast, arrivals from Brazil last month jumped 28.8% year-on-year to 7.12 million tons, representing 75.1% of China's total imports of the oilseed, customs data showed, while shipments from Argentina rose 15.4% to 1.57 million tons, making up one-sixth of the total. China's overall soybean imports hit 9.48 million metric tons in October, a record for the month. From January to October, China imported 70.81 million tons from Brazil, up 4.5% year-on-year, and 4.46 million tons from Argentina, up 23.9% year-on-year. Despite the recent drop in arrivals, earlier purchases in 2025 lifted year-to-date imports of American beans to 16.82 million tons, an increase of 11.5%, data showed. After largely shunning U.S. soybeans for months during the tense trade standoff between Washington and Beijing, China has stepped up purchases following late-October talks between the two countries' leaders in South Korea. State-run grain buyer COFCO has led the buying, booking more than 1 million tons of U.S. soybeans since late October, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Markets are now watching for additional large Chinese purchases to meet the 12-million-ton year-end target announced by the White House. China has not yet confirmed the figure. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-imports-no-us-soybeans-second-month-brazil-arrivals-up-29-2025-11-20/

2025-11-20 00:43

Nov 20 (Reuters) - Trafigura unit Nyrstar (NYR.BR) , opens new tab said on Thursday it had started casting antimony metal in a pilot plant at its Port Pirie metals facility in South Australia, a project listed as part of the U.S.-Australia Critical Minerals and Rare Earths Framework. The milestone follows an A$135 million ($87 million) investment from the South Australian and Australian governments in August as part of the country's strategy to become a key supplier of critical minerals to Western allies. Sign up here. Antimony, an alloy hardener for other metals, is critical to the manufacture of semiconductors used in electronics and defense applications. Initial batches of antimony metal are expected to be exported in the first half of next year, with the target of ramping up production to 2,000 tons per annum by end of 2026, the company said in a statement. The facility could scale up to 5,000 tons of refined antimony metal per annum by 2028, the company said. Australia signed an agreement with Washington in October aimed at countering China's dominance in critical minerals needed for industries spanning artificial intelligence to defence systems. "Nyrstar’s aim is to explore possible production of not just antimony, but bismuth, tellurium, germanium and indium - minerals critical to the clean energy future and important defence and technology sectors," Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas said in a separate statement. On Wednesday, Australia's trade minister said the country is seeing more interest in its strategic critical minerals reserve from allies including the European Union since it signed a deal with the United States in October. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/trafiguras-nyrstar-casts-first-antimony-south-australia-plant-2025-11-20/

2025-11-19 23:52

TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Japan's government is in the final stages of assembling a stimulus package worth 21.3 trillion yen ($135.38 billion) to help households cope with persistent inflation, a draft seen by Reuters showed, in what would be the largest stimulus since the COVID pandemic. The package reflects Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's expansionary fiscal and monetary policy stance, but comes as markets are increasingly worried about the scale of borrowing needed to fund her stimulus plans. Sign up here. The package will include general account outlays of 17.7 trillion yen, far exceeding the previous year's 13.9 trillion yen. It will also include 2.7 trillion yen in tax cuts. It will be funded by an expected rise in overall tax revenue, as well as an additional issuance of government bonds, though the size of the issue has still to be finalised. The additional government bond issuance is expected to be larger than the 6.69 trillion yen issued for last year's stimulus, said sources familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified as the matter was still private. Including private-sector funds that will get a boost from the planned government spending, the total package size will reach 42.8 trillion yen, the draft said. The package will allocate 11.7 trillion in public funds for measures to curb rising prices and boost consumption. A further 7.2 trillion yen will go towards crisis management and sectors deemed crucial to economic security. Local media reported that the government would give 20,000 yen per child to each family on top of existing child allowances, offer income tax breaks and reduce the gasoline tax rate as part of the package. Public broadcaster NHK first reported the size of the stimulus package. The cabinet plans to approve the package on Friday and a supplementary budget to fund it as early as November 28, aiming to secure parliamentary approval by the end of the year. The prime minister's office was not immediately available to comment. Takaichi has pledged to create a large spending package to mitigate households' pain from rising living costs and boost investment since taking office last month. Her administration has also promised to promote investment in industries like artificial intelligence, semiconductor chips and shipbuilding. Market expectations that Takaichi will pursue huge spending backed by low interest rates have fuelled a sell-off in the yen and Japanese government bonds. ($1 = 157.3300 yen) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-127-billion-stimulus-plan-include-payouts-children-asahi-reports-2025-11-19/