Film Previews: July 2025
Although the calendar might disagree, the movie industry's 'summer season' unofficially ends in the first week of July. This is when the major studios start rolling out their (mostly) B-material: stuff not considered prime (early May through July 4).
The next seven weeks might contain a few gems, but don't count on it. Once Labor Day has come and gone, the studios place box office receipts on the back burner and move awards-hopefuls to the front of the stove.
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France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Most Asian stocks rise as investors eye US trade talks
And the dollar weakened on growing expectations for more interest rate cuts, while eyes were on Donald Trump's signature tax-cutting bill -- now inching towards a Senate vote -- that some experts warn could add trillions of dollars to the national debt. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at all-time peaks Friday amid optimism governments will be able to avoid swingeing tariffs imposed by the US president in April and paused until July 9 to allow for negotiations. Officials from Japan and India have extended their stays in Washington to continue talks, raising hopes for agreements with two of the world's biggest economies. Hopes that the deadline could be extended were boosted Friday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told Fox Business "we have countries approaching us with very good deals" but they might not all be finalised by next week. But he added: "If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18 -- there are another important 20 relationships -- then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," which falls on September 1. Trump said at the weekend that he did not expect to extend the deadline, telling the "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" show: "I don't think I'll need to". "I could, no big deal," he added in the interview that was taped Friday. Meanwhile, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Sunday that Ottawa would rescind taxes impacting US tech firms in hopes of reaching a trade agreement with Washington after Trump called off talks in retaliation for the levy. Negotiations would resume with the aim of getting a deal by July 21, Ottawa added. After Wall Street's record day, most of Asia followed suit. Tokyo extended its recent rally fuelled by tech firms, while there were also gains in Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta. But Hong Kong, Wellington and Taipei fell. There was little major reaction to data showing the contraction in Chinese factory activity eased further in June after a China-US trade truce. The dollar extended losses against its peers as traders increased bets on at least two rate cuts this year following Trump's indication he could choose a successor to Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell within months. "Markets... are already pricing not just two Fed cuts this year, but a full-blown easing cycle stretching deep into 2026," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes. "Powell may still hold the gavel, but traders are betting the next Fed chair walks, talks, and cuts like a dove in MAGA red." Senators were also debating Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill", which extends his expiring first-term tax cuts at a cost of $4.5 trillion and beefs up border security. The Republican president has ramped up pressure to get the package to his desk by July 4, and called out wavering lawmakers from his party. However, there are worries about the impact on the economy, with the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimating the measure would add nearly $3.3 trillion to US deficits over a decade. Key figures at around 0230 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 40,809.82 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 24,183.73 Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,433.80 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1724 from $1.1718 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3723 from $1.3715 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.31 yen from 144.68 yen Euro/pound: UP at 85.45 pence from 85.43 pence Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $67.57 per barrel © 2025 AFP
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
KSE-100 soars past 125,000 as bullish momentum continues
Bullish momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the benchmark KSE-100 crossed 125,000 level amid a gain of over 800 points during the opening hours of trading on Monday. At 9:45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 125,191.97 level, an increase of 812.91 points or 0.65%. Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO and SSGC traded in the green. During the previous week, the PSX witnessed a stellar performance as the benchmark KSE-100 Index jumped by 4,355 points, or 3.6%, on a week-on-week (WoW) basis to close at an all-time high of 124,379 points on Friday. The sharp rally was largely driven by easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the smooth passage of the federal budget in the National Assembly. Internationally, Asia shares firmed on Monday as signs of progress in a trade standoff between the United States and Canada helped risk sentiment, while the dollar dipped on concerns U.S. jobs data will show enough weakness to justify larger rate cuts. Canada on Sunday said it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations, bowing to pressure from President Donald Trump. The talks are aimed at getting a deal done by July 21, extending Trump's original July 9 deadline for his 'reciprocal' tariffs. Officials have suggested most deals could now be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge U.S. tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by Trump's preferred July 4 deadline. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries. There was no doubting the demand for the U.S. tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.4%, while S&P 500 e-minis added 0.3%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.2%, while FTSE futures were flat and DAX futures gained 0.3%. The bullish sentiment spilled over into Japan's Nikkei which rose 1.6%, while South Korean stocks gained 0.8%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2%. This is an intra-day update
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Shares firm in Asia as US-Canada trade talks resume
SYDNEY: Asia shares firmed on Monday as signs of progress in a trade standoff between the United States and Canada helped risk sentiment, while the dollar dipped on concerns U.S. jobs data will show enough weakness to justify larger rate cuts. Canada on Sunday said it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations, bowing to pressure from President Donald Trump. The talks are aimed at getting a deal done by July 21, extending Trump's original July 9 deadline for his "reciprocal" tariffs. Officials have suggested most deals could now be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge U.S. tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by Trump's preferred July 4 deadline. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt, testing foreign appetite for U.S. Treasuries. There was no doubting the demand for the U.S. tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.4%, while S&P 500 e-minis added 0.3%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.2%, while FTSE futures were flat and DAX futures gained 0.3%. The bullish sentiment spilled over into Japan's Nikkei which rose 1.6%, while South Korean stocks gained 0.8%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2%. Chinese blue chips edged up 0.2%, as surveys showed manufacturing improved slightly in June while service activity picked up. A holiday on Friday means U.S. payrolls are a day early, with analysts forecasting a rise of 110,000 in June with the jobless rate ticking up to the highest in almost a year at 4.3%. The resilience of the labour market is a major reason the majority of Federal Reserve members say they can afford to wait on cutting rates until they can gauge the true impact of tariffs on inflation, so a weak report would stoke speculation of a rate cut in July rather than September. "While initial jobless claims retreated somewhat from their recent high, continuing claims jumped higher yet again," noted Michael Feroli, head of U.S. economics at JPMorgan. "Consumers' assessment of labor market conditions also deteriorated in the latest confidence report." "Both of these developments suggest that the unemployment rate in June should tick up to 4.3%, with a significant risk of reaching 4.4%." The latter outcome would likely see futures push up the chance of a July easing from the current 18% and price in more than the present 63 basis points of cuts for this year. DOLLAR DOLDRUMS Fed Chair Jerome Powell will have an opportunity to repeat his cautious outlook when he joins several other central bank chiefs at the European Central Bank forum in Sintra on Tuesday. The prospect of an eventual policy easing has helped Treasuries weather worries about the U.S. budget deficit and the huge amount of borrowing it entails. Yields on 10-year Treasuries were steady at 3.28%, having fallen 9 basis points last week. The dollar has not fared so well, in part due to concerns tariffs and chaotic policies from the White House will drag on economic growth and erode the country's claim to exceptionalism. The euro was near its highest since September 2021 at $1.1727, having climbed 1.7% last week, while sterling stood near a similar peak at $1.3722. The dollar was down 0.3% on the yen at 144.14, and slipped 0.1% on the Canadian dollar to 1.3665 following the trade news. The dollar index eased to 97.146 . James Reilly, a senior markets economist at Capital Economics, noted the dollar had fallen by more at this stage in the year than in any previous year since the U.S. moved to a free-floating exchange rate in 1973. "At this point, further weakness could become self-reinforcing as underhedged European/Asian portfolios chase the move," he added. "So, we suspect that this could be a pivotal period for the greenback - either it turns around here or there is another 5% or so fall around the corner." In commodity markets, the general revival in risk sentiment has undermined gold, which hovered at $3,279 an ounce and further away from April's record top of $3,500. Oil prices continued to struggle on concerns about plans for increased output from OPEC+, which contributed to a 12% slide last week. Brent dropped a further 27 cents to $67.50 a barrel, while U.S. crude eased 43 cents to $65.09 per barrel. - Reuters
