Taiwan test-fired a new, US-supplied rocket system for the first time. Here's what this means
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Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Asia shares, yen weather Japan uncertainty as earnings loom
By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian shares and the yen held their ground on Monday as Japanese elections proved bad for the government but no worse than already priced in, while Wall Street futures braced for earnings from the first of the tech giants. Investors were also hoping for some progress in trade talks ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline, with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick still confident a deal could be reached with the European Union. There were reports Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping were closer to arranging a meeting, though likely not until October at the earliest. In Japan, the ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power as a tariff deadline looms. Ishiba expressed his intention to stay in the position, which along with a market holiday, limited the reaction and the yen was 0.4% firmer at 148.29 to the dollar. "Ishiba will try to govern with support from some within the opposition, but this likely means a looser fiscal policy and is not good news for bond yields," said Rodrigo Catril, a senior FX strategist at NAB. "History also suggests that domestic political uncertainty tends to keep the BOJ on the side-lines, so the prospect of rate hikes is now set to be delayed for a little bit longer." The Bank of Japan still has a bias to raise rates further but markets are pricing little chance of a move until the end of October. While the Nikkei was shut, futures traded up at 39,875 and just above the cash close of 39,819. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, while South Korean stocks added 0.4%. MEGA CAPS KICK OFF S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both edged up 0.1%, and are already at record highs in anticipation of more solid earnings reports. A host of companies reporting this week include Alphabet and Tesla, along with IBM. Investors also expect upbeat news for defence groups RTX, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Ramped up government spending across the globe has seen the S&P 500 aerospace and defence sector rise 30% this year. In bond markets, U.S. Treasury futures held steady having dipped late last week after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller repeated his call for a rate cut this month. Most of his colleagues, including Chair Jerome Powell, have argued a pause is warranted to judge the true inflationary impact of tariffs and markets imply almost no chance of a move in July. A September cut is put at 61%, rising to 80% for October. Powell's reticence on rates has drawn the ire of Trump who threatened to fire the Fed chief, before backing down. The spectre of a potential political appointee who would seek to ease policy sharply has investors on edge. The European Central Bank meets this week and is expected to hold its rates steady at 2.0% following a string of cuts. "The press conference will likely keep highlighting uncertainty and need to wait for tariff negotiations to conclude before deciding the next step," said analysts at TD Securities in a note. "Similarly, its 'meeting-by-meeting' language would be retained in the release." The euro was unchanged at $1.1630 in early trading, having dipped 0.5% last week and away from its recent near-four-year top of $1.1830. The dollar index was a fraction lower at 98.40. In commodity markets, gold was little changed at $3,348 an ounce with all the recent action in platinum which last week hit its highest since August 2014. [GOL/] Oil prices were caught between the prospect of increased supply from OPEC+ and the risk European Union sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine could curb its exports.[O/R] Brent edged up 0.1% to $69.36 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 0.1% to $67.39 per barrel. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Yen firms as investors gird for political uncertainty
By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The yen firmed on Monday after Japan's ruling coalition lost its majority in the upper house as investors braced for a period of policy paralysis and market tumult in the world's fourth-largest economy ahead of a deadline on tariff negotiations with the U.S. The Japanese markets are closed for the day leaving the yen as an indicator of investor angst. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party returned 47 seats, short of the 50 seats it needed to ensure a majority in the 248-seat upper chamber in an election where half the seats were up for grabs. The yen firmed to 148.32 per dollar in early trading, staying close to the 3-1/2-month low it hit last week as the election result was mostly priced in by investors. It firmed a bit against the euro to 172.64. While the ballot does not directly determine whether Ishiba's administration will fall, it heaps political pressure on the embattled leader who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said the LDP coalition could still partner with the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) to get the 50 seats required, and "that is helpful for the yen." "However, most importantly, PM Ishiba has been defiant in his stance to stay the course as PM, but his hand has been sufficiently weakened." The election result, while not entirely a shock to markets, also comes at a tricky time for a country trying to get a tariff deal with U.S. President Donald Trump before an Aug. 1 deadline. Japanese government bonds (JGBs) plunged last week, sending yields on 30-year debt to an all-time high, while the yen slid to multi-month lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro. If Ishiba resigns, the political maelstrom could be a trigger for foreign investors to sell Japanese shares and the yen, analysts said. Elsewhere, investor focus has been firmly on Trump's global tariff salvos, with a Financial Times report last week indicating the U.S. president was pushing for steep new tariffs on European Union products. The euro was steady at $1.163225 in early trading, while sterling last fetched $1.13417. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, was at 98.352. The New Zealand dollar eased 0.18% to $0.5951 after annual consumer inflation accelerated in the second quarter but stayed below economists' forecasts, leading markets to raise the chance of a rate cut next month given the broader economic weakness. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1% to $116,939, holding below a record $123,153 reached last week.
Bloomberg
19 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
China Stops US Commerce Worker From Leaving Country, Media Say
China has stopped a US citizen who works for America's Commerce Department from leaving the nation for several months, according to media reports, an episode that comes as Beijing and Washington try to arrange a leaders' summit so they can address their differences on trade. The Chinese-American individual who works for the Patent and Trademark Office had traveled to the Asian nation to meet relatives, the Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with the matter. The newspaper said it didn't know the name of the man facing a so-called exit ban, adding that the incident was over a failure to disclose on a visa application that he worked for the US government.
