2025-11-06 05:56
MUMBAI, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee shuffled in a tight range on Thursday as a boost from improved risk appetite globally ran into importers' dollar demand, while dollar-rupee far forward premiums slid as U.S. Treasury yields rose. The rupee was last at 88.6050 against the U.S. dollar, up modestly from its close of 88.6550 on Tuesday. India's financial markets were shut on Wednesday for a local holiday. Sign up here. An easing of the selloff in global tech stocks helped boost risk appetite globally, helping Asian currencies and equities nudge higher. The MSCI's gauge of Asian equities outside of Japan was up nearly 1% and India's equity benchmarks, the Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab and BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab were little changed on the day. While the rupee kicked off the session on a stronger note too, importer activity eroded some of its gains, according to traders. On the flipside, frequent interventions by the Reserve Bank of India to prevent the rupee from falling past its all-time low at 88.80 have spurred expectations that the central bank is unlikely to relent in its defence of the key level in the near-term. State-run banks were also spotted offering dollars near 88.65 on Wednesday, a trader at a large private bank said. "The RBI has successfully defended the 88.80 level twice, establishing it as a strong resistance zone for USD/INR, while support now sits at 88.50–88.60," said Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex. Meanwhile, the dollar index was perched at the 100-handle and U.S. Treasury yields rose after data showed that U.S. services sector activity increased to an eight-month high in October, lowering chances of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December. Money markets trimmed wagers on the Fed's December rate cut, leading to dollar-rupee forward premiums retreating. This pegged the 1-year dollar-rupee implied yield back to 2.13%, the lowest level since late-August. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rbis-shadow-asia-tailwind-likely-lift-rupee-open-2025-11-06/
2025-11-06 05:33
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rae Wee The Bank of England announces its interest rate decision on Thursday, where what had once seemed like a straightforward hold is now under intense scrutiny. Sign up here. Markets are pricing in an almost one-in-three chance of a cut to 3.75%, up from a one-in-10 possibility a month ago. At 3.8%, Britain's inflation rate remains the highest among the Group of Seven major advanced economies, but a steady reading and a cooling labour market have offered tentative signs that inflationary pressures are abating. More crucially, it's the likelihood of further belt-tightening in the nation's upcoming budget that could provide an added impetus for policymakers to lower rates on Thursday. British finance minister Rachel Reeves earlier this week paved the way for broad tax rises to avoid a return to "austerity", framing her second annual budget as one of "hard choices" to protect public spending while reducing Britain's debt. Reeves' rare pre-budget speech left some analysts puzzled over the timing, though they generally expect the upcoming budget to be disinflationary. ASIAN SHARES BOUNCE BACK Investors will also get a clutch of earnings from European companies later in the day, with AstraZeneca (AZN.L) , opens new tab and Deutsche Post (DHLn.DE) , opens new tab among those set to report results. The outlook for European corporate health has substantially improved, the latest earnings forecasts showed, as investors' worst fears for quarterly earnings failed to materialise. Elsewhere in markets, Asia shares were upbeat, reversing their steep losses from the previous session after better-than-expected U.S. economic data drew investors back into indexes trading near record highs. Fears of inflated technology stock valuations seem to have abated for now, with investors seeing little cause for panic after Wednesday's sharp selloff. In Hong Kong, Pony Ai and WeRide stocks dropped as the Chinese autonomous driving developers started trading, after raising nearly $1.2 billion in share offerings. A host of Federal Reserve officials are also due to speak later on Thursday, which could offer some clues on the U.S. rate outlook. Resilience in the world's largest economy has led traders to pare back bets of a Fed cut in December, with markets now pricing in a 61% chance of a 25-basis-point cut, down from about 70% earlier in the week. And on the tariffs front, U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday raised doubts over the legality of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, in a case with implications for the global economy that marks a major test of Trump's powers. Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday: - Bank of England rate decision - AstraZeneca, Deutsche Post, Henkel, Sainsbury earnings - Fed's Barr, Williams, Hammack, Waller, Paulson, Musalem speak https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-view-europe-2025-11-06/
2025-11-06 05:13
Dollar slips for second straight session Bank of England holds rates in knife-edge vote Cost cutting, AI lead to surge in planned US layoffs in October Norges Bank held rates at 4%, citing inflationary pressure NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell against the euro and Swiss franc for a second straight session on Thursday as data showed weakness in the U.S. labor market, increasing expectations of another rate cut this year. Meanwhile, sterling rose after the Bank of England kept rates unchanged ahead of this month's budget. The central bank had been expected to leave rates unchanged, although markets had attached a one-in-three chance of a cut earlier on. Sign up here. U.S.-based employers cut more than 150,000 jobs in October, marking the biggest reduction for the month in more than 20 years, a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday as industries adopt AI-driven changes and intensify cost cuts. Economic data from private sources has drawn increased investor interest amid the absence of official data during the U.S. government's longest-ever shutdown. Thursday's weakness for the dollar follows a strong rally that started last week after the Federal Reserve tempered expectations for additional cuts this year amid limited economic data, persistent inflation, and internal disagreement among policymakers. "The move lower in the dollar this morning was largely anticipated," Antonio Ruggiero, FX & macro strategist at Convera, said. "The lack of data from the government shutdown led investors to inflate optimism around the U.S.," he said. "When figures like the Challenger layoff report emerge, they easily trigger fear among investors who remain unconvinced about the durability of improved USD sentiment. That's enough to prompt position unwinds, driving the dollar lower," Ruggiero said. Traders now see a 69% probability of a December rate cut, up from 62% the previous day, according to CME FedWatch. However, this remains well below the roughly 98% odds priced in late October. The euro rose 0.49% against the dollar to $1.1547, while the dollar slipped 0.42% to 99.70 against a basket of major rivals, including the common currency. Against the Swiss franc , the dollar fell 0.49% to 0.806 and was down 0.66% against the yen to 153.09 yen , pulling back from the near nine-month high of 154.48 yen touched on Tuesday. BOE HOLDS PAT Sterling traded 0.3% higher at $1.3088. It had touched a seven-month low of $1.3011 on Wednesday. Before the BoE meeting, markets were pricing a one-in-three chance of a cut, while most analysts believed the central bank would likely hold fire. By next month, the BoE will have seen official inflation and jobs data for October and November, and will know the extent of tax increases that are widely expected in finance minister Rachel Reeves's November 26 budget. Reeves paved the way on Tuesday for broad tax rises to avoid a return to "austerity", framing her second annual budget as one of "hard choices" to protect public spending while reducing Britain's debt. "We had expected a clearer Sterling-positive reaction to a hold today, which is more consistent with the subsequent retracement," said Goldman Sachs analysts led by Stuart Jenkins. "But from a broader perspective, the muted FX reaction today and the BoE surprising our expectations on the decision but signalling openness to further easing in coming months appears close to what market participants had anticipated, even if the final rate decision itself was more binary, and it keeps the prospects for gradual Sterling underperformance intact in the coming months in our view." NOK RECOVERS AFTER NORGES BANK DECISION The Norwegian crown was 0.36% higher against the euro at 11.78 after Norges Bank's rate decision on Thursday. Against the dollar, was flat at 10.204 krone. Norway's central bank kept its policy interest rate on hold at 4.0% to combat inflationary pressure, as unanimously predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll, and reiterated that further easing was likely in the year ahead. Norges Bank began the current easing cycle in June and cut the policy rate again in September. https://www.reuters.com/business/dollar-dips-peaks-sterling-squeezed-ahead-boe-2025-11-06/
2025-11-06 05:12
Nov 6 (Reuters) - Argentina's President Javier Milei has rejected investor calls to allow the peso to float freely following his victory in midterm elections, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. In an interview to the Financial Times, Milei vowed to accelerate his free-market reforms and deepen his alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump. Sign up here. Milei told the newspaper he would keep the peso within gradually widening bands against the U.S. dollar at least until elections in late 2027 to temper Argentina's chronic volatility. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentinas-milei-defies-calls-float-argentine-peso-freely-ft-reports-2025-11-06/
2025-11-06 00:23
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab recovered for most users in the United States on Wednesday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com. At the peak, more than 6,000 incidents were flagged for Amazon, Downdetector showed. That number has since dropped below 1,000, indicating a broad restoration of access. Sign up here. Downdetector, which aggregates user-submitted reports, also noted that Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud computing arm, experienced issues for a limited number of users. "AWS services are operating normally," a spokesperson for AWS told Reuters. In October, AWS faced an internet outage that caused global turmoil among thousands of sites. https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-down-over-6000-users-us-downdetector-says-2025-11-05/
2025-11-06 00:05
LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves should break election pledges not to raise taxes on working people so she can build "real fiscal headroom" in her budget this month, the Confederation of British Industry said on Thursday. Reeves has warned taxes are likely to rise in her Nov. 26 budget. She did not explicitly rule out raising taxes on workers later this month despite a promise in the Labour Party's election manifesto not to hike income, value-added taxes or social security contributions paid by workers. Sign up here. Last year Reeves imposed a big tax rise on employers' social security contributions to raise money for infrastructure spending, which hurt business confidence. The CBI said she should refrain from further hikes in business taxes further. "The goal of a growing economy that raises living standards across the board won't be achieved until real fiscal headroom is created and the cycle of short-term thinking that's holding the country back is broken," Rain Newton-Smith, the chief executive of the CBI, said. She added that the Labour Party's manifesto commitments were no longer economically viable. "Tax rises and spending cuts are unpopular, but the reality is that (Reeves) faces little choice," Newton-Smith said. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research on Wednesday said Reeves should build 30 billion pounds ($40.26 billion) of margin for error - or headroom - against falling foul of her fiscal rules, higher than the 10 billion-pound buffer at her last budget. The CBI said Labour should focus on four key areas to snap the economy out the doldrums, including fast tracking the planning process, approving and delivering infrastructure projects. It also said Reeves should scrap a plan to introduce a 6% tax on international student incomes, boost tax breaks for employers to spend on preventative healthcare for staff, and remove regulatory barriers to boost UK competitiveness. ($1 = 0.7451 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-cbi-tells-reeves-break-tax-promises-build-fiscal-headroom-2025-11-06/
