2025-10-23 10:44

Oct 23 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. Oil prices jumped 4% on a wave of new retaliatory sanctions on Russian crude over Moscow's repeated bombardment of Ukraine, adding to fresh trade and inflation anxiety on Wall Street just as megacap Tesla tumbled overnight on a big profits miss. U.S. President Donald Trump hit Russia's two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, with the sanctions in a turnaround that also saw him cancel a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Although still down 15% year-on-year, U.S. crude jumped above $60 per barrel to two week highs. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the latest Trump moves over Ukraine were "an act of war against Russia." Britain sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil last week. Separately, EU countries approved a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for the war that includes a ban on imports of Russian LNG. And the move came as industry sources told Reuters Indian refiners were poised to sharply curtail imports of Russian oil to ensure they were in compliance with U.S. sanctions. New Delhi is under pressure from stiff U.S. trade tariffs over the issue. The energy jolt comes as Wall Street awaits the September U.S. inflation report tomorrow and pushed up Treasury yields despite a decent 20-year bond auction on Wednesday. The dollar firmed too, with the yen hitting its weakest since October 10. Gold regained some of its poise after steep losses earlier in the week. Hit by a 10% earnings-day drop in Netflix and a 6% drop in chipmaker Texas Instruments, the S&P500 lost 0.5% on Wednesday as U.S.-China trade tensions heated up once again. Tesla's 4% stock drop overnight adds to the jitters after the electric car giant's fourth consecutive profit miss and Wall Street index futures failed to rebound ahead of Thursday's bell. Intel tops Thursday's heavy earnings diary. The China trade worries jangled more broadly. According to a Reuters report, the Trump administration is considering a plan to curb an array of software-powered exports to China to retaliate against Beijing's latest round of rare earth export restrictions. Trump said the long-awaited meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping may now not happen as the November 1 deadline for more severe U.S. tariffs looms. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index tumbled 2.4%. Trump's cabinet secretaries view China's move on rare earths as "full-blown economic war", a person familiar with administration thinking told Reuters. "The prospect for escalation is severe." China's ruling Communist Party Central Committee, meanwhile, released a communique on its latest five-year plan, emphasizing a strong domestic market and an expansion of domestic demand. Elsewhere, markets were more mixed as global political and trade issues jostled with waves of corporate earnings. China's stocks advanced, but Japan's Nikkei fell back more than 1%. In today's column, I take a look at how Europe navigates the trade crosswinds from both Washington and Beijing. Today's Market Minute * The United States hit Russia's major oil companies with sanctions on Wednesday and accused the Russians of a lack of commitment toward ending the war in Ukraine, as Moscow conducted a major training exercise involving nuclear arms. * Just a month after U.S. President Donald Trump hailed "progress" in talks with China, the world's two most powerful nations are scrambling to salvage a planned summit of their leaders, now just a week away, while trading blame for a spike in tension. * The Trump administration is considering a plan to curb a dizzying array of software-powered exports to China, from laptops to jet engines, to retaliate against Beijing's latest round of rare earth export restrictions, according to a U.S. official and three people briefed by U.S. authorities. * Critical minerals, and especially rare earths, as well as the ongoing need to decarbonise and a bigger role for governments are the three top areas of concern for the global mining industry. Read the latest from ROI Asia Commodities Columnist Clyde Russell. Chart of the day Trump hit Russia's two biggest oil companies with sanctions in his latest sharp policy shift on Moscow's war in Ukraine, prompting global oil prices to rise by 3% on Thursday and India to consider cutting Russian imports. Oil and gas revenue, which is currently down by 21% year-on-year, accounts for around a quarter of Russia's budget and is the most important source of cash for Moscow's war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Today's events to watch (All times EDT) * U.S. September existing home sales (1000), Kansas City Federal Reserve October business survey (1100); euro zone October consumer confidence (1000); Canada August retail sales (0830) * Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Board Governor Michael Barr speak; European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane speaks; Bank of England policymaker Swati Dhingra speaks * European Union summit in Brussels, with ECB President Christine Lagarde attending * U.S. corporate earnings: Intel, Blackstone, Ford, Dow, PG&E, Honeywell, Newmont, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, VeriSign, Mohawk, Valero, Dover, Allegion, Hasbro, Southwest Airlines, Textron, Pool, CBRE, Roper etc * U.S. Treasury sells 5-year inflation-protected notes Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 10:35

PARIS, Oct 23 (Reuters) - British finance app Revolut has been granted a licence by Cyprus that will enable it to continue to target crypto-related services to grow its business, the company said on Wednesday, revealing that one fifth of its customers trade cryptocurrency. Crypto has been one of the driving forces in the rapid growth of Revolut, which last month started a secondary share sale at a $75 billion valuation. Sign up here. At least 14 million of Revolut's more than 65 million customers - 22% - are crypto users, which the company defined as users who have passed know-your-customer checks and been fully onboarded for crypto services. Revolut said it had been granted a crypto licence by Cyprus's financial regulator which allows it to offer crypto services throughout the European Union. The company had introduced crypto trading on its app in 2017, and a standalone crypto trading platform, Revolut X, in 2024. But under the EU's new crypto regulations, companies will need a licence to continue operating in the bloc. Last year, revenue in the company's "Wealth" segment almost tripled, "driven by increased crypto trading activity as observed throughout the industry and the launch of the Revolut X crypto exchange," according to its annual report. Cryptocurrency prices have surged in the past year, helped by U.S. President Donald Trump's support for the nascent industry, but regulators have long warned about a lack of protection for investors. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/revolut-gets-cyprus-crypto-licence-it-targets-more-users-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 08:00

ZURICH, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank saw no need to lower interest rates at its last monetary policy decision, according to minutes published on Thursday, although it raised concerns about the risk of U.S. tariffs extending to the pharmaceutical industry. The SNB kept its interest rate at 0% last month despite a weaker economic outlook, it said in the minutes, the first time it had published details of its monetary policy discussions. Sign up here. The expansionary policy was supporting the economy, with the full impact of previous rate cuts yet to be felt, the SNB said, adding it saw inflation remaining within its 0-2% target range. "The inflation forecast and the economic outlook support the case for not changing monetary policy," the minutes of its September 25 rate decision said. Analysts said the minutes indicated the SNB was not considering reintroducing negative borrowing costs. "In the absence of major shocks, it is highly likely that the current status quo of a 0% policy rate remains the most likely scenario," said Gero Jung, head of investment strategy at Walliser Kantonalbank. UBS economist Maxime Botteron said in the SNB's assessment, monetary policy is currently sufficiently expansionary to slightly lift inflation over the coming quarters. The SNB's decision to publish minutes was a move by the conservative central bank to catch up with peers who have been more transparent on how they set monetary policy. The SNB flagged the risks of U.S. tariffs, particularly if they extended to pharmaceuticals, which have so far been exempt. The U.S. imposed 39% tariffs on Swiss goods in August. "At present, there are hardly any signs of the negative effects of the tariffs spreading from the export-oriented industries affected to other parts of the economy," the SNB said. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/swiss-national-bank-minutes-say-bank-saw-no-need-cut-rates-further-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 07:14

BUCHAREST, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The European Commission has agreed to delay the shut-down of five coal-fired power units in Romania until the end of 2026 and 2029, reducing the risks of blackouts and higher electricity prices this winter, Romanian Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan said. The European Union state uses a mix of gas, coal, hydro, nuclear and renewable energy for electricity generation. Sign up here. The government in Bucharest had committed to phasing out lignite and hard coal from 2026 under its European Union-funded recovery funds package. The five plants produce 2.6 GW of coal-fired power. Under the country's resilience EU funds package, Romania had committed to shut down 1.78 GW of the total this December. "Coal-fired power plants will remain active," Ivan told reporters, "three units until end-2029, two units until end-August 2026." The postponement will give Romania time to replace the coal units with gas-powered and renewable generation, Ivan said. State-owned lignite power holding company CE Oltenia has partnered with three private companies - OMV Petrom (ROSNP.BX) , opens new tab, Tinmar and Alro Slatina (ALR.BX) , opens new tab - to build solar parks and gas-fired power plants to replace coal assets, but the projects will be completed later than initially envisioned. In central Romania, private developer MAS Group Holding is building a 1.7 GW steam and gas power plant that will replace outdated hard coal-fired generation. Had Brussels not accepted the postponement, Romania would have needed to return 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion), Ivan said. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/romania-eu-agree-extend-coal-fired-plants-operation-minister-says-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 07:09

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Chilean miner Antofagasta (ANTO.L) , opens new tab reported on Thursday a modest 1% rise in third-quarter copper production, and said it expects annual output at the lower end of its forecast range of 660,000-700,000 metric tons. Antofagasta produced 161,800 tons of copper in the third quarter, bringing year-to-date production to 476,600 tons, a 2.8% increase compared with the same period in 2024. Sign up here. The company operates four copper mines in Chile and is expanding output to meet growing demand from the power, construction, and green energy transition sectors. It lowered its capital expenditure guidance for the year to $3.6 billion, from $3.9 billion previously, due to depreciation of the Chilean peso. "The capex guidance for 2025 is revised... which we see as being deferred for spending in 2026," Citi analysts said. Antofagasta now expects 2026 copper production to be between 650,000 and 700,000 tons, with higher output from Los Pelambres. "A low guidance (for 2026) at one of the best run mining operations is likely to be another example of supply constrained for (the) global copper market," Citi said. Copper prices hit $11,000 per ton on October 9, within touching distance of their all-time high of $11,104.50 set in May 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/antofagasta-sees-annual-copper-output-lower-end-guidance-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 07:03

LUANDA, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Angola's first major copper mine, Tetelo, will start production on October 29, officials said on Wednesday, part of the oil-rich African country's efforts to diversify into clean energy minerals. The $250 million mine is owned by Shining Star Icarus, a partnership between China's Shining Star International Group and Angola's Sociedade Mineira de Cobre de Angola and is expected to produce 25,000 metric tons of copper concentrate annually in the first two years of operation. Sign up here. "I am honoured to announce the inauguration of the Tetelo mine, which will take place in a few days," Mines Minister Diamantino Azevedo told a conference in the capital Luanda. "This event will mark the start of production at the first underground mine for this very important metal," he said. Alongside battery metals, such as lithium, cobalt or nickel, copper is also considered essential in the transition towards renewable energy. Shining Star Icarus deputy managing director Rui Lopes told Reuters the initial phase will be an open-pit operation, followed by underground mining from the second half of 2026. The mine has an offtake agreement with commodities trader Glencore, Lopes added. Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) , opens new tab and Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab also have copper exploration projects in Angola. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/angolas-first-major-copper-mine-starts-production-2025-10-22/