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BusinessToday
an hour ago
- Business
- BusinessToday
KLCI May Continue To Trend Higher With Resistance Level At 1,540
Asian markets mostly closed higher, buoyed by hopes that the US-brokered Israel-Iran ceasefire would hold, which also contributed to a decline in oil prices. Sentiment across the region was further boosted by a mildly dovish tone from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, echoing earlier remarks from Fed officials Waller and Bowman, which kept the possibility of a July rate cut in play, contingent on inflation trends and rising labour market risks. United States Market: In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 107 points, experiencing profit-taking after rallying 917 points over the past three consecutive sessions. Investors weighed the progress of the Middle East ceasefire against Powell's cautious congressional remarks. Powell indicated that tariff-driven inflation is manageable but reaffirmed that the Fed is not yet ready to cut rates despite political pressure. Economic data from the US showed new home sales falling to their lowest level since October 2024, impacted by high mortgage rates. Markets are now looking ahead to the release of durable goods data on June 26 and the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) reading on June 27. After market hours, Micron Technology (MU) gained 0.9% on strong earnings and outlook. Malaysian Market Performance: mirroring positive trends in Wall Street and regional markets, Malaysia's FBM KLCI gained 5.5 points to close at 1,519.8. Market breadth remained positive, indicating more advancing stocks than declining ones. Trading volume stood at 3.15 billion shares, a 15% increase compared to the June month-to-date (MTD) average of 2.74 billion shares. The total trading value reached RM2.27 billion, up 7.6% from the June MTD average of RM2.11 billion, signaling underlying market strength. Local institutions resumed their net buying, adding RM110 million (June MTD: +RM1.78 billion; Year-to-Date (YTD): +RM10.56 billion). In contrast, foreign funds continued their net outflows, recording -RM51 million today after a brief RM5 million nibble a day ago (June MTD: -RM1.50 billion; YTD: -RM12.33 billion). Retail investors also registered net outflows of -RM59 million (June MTD: -RM279 million; YTD: +RM1.77 billion). The KLCI is trending higher, with HLIB noting that major resistance levels are identified at 1,523, 1,532, and 1,540. Related
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trump says he wants interest rate cut to 1%, would 'love' if Powell resigned
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would "love" if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell were to resign, and the president also said he wanted interest rates cut to 1%. KEY QUOTES by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Specialist Down Jackets for Ultralight Adventures Trek Kit India Learn More Undo "I'd love him to resign if he wanted to, he's done a lousy job," Trump said, also labeling the Fed chair as "stupid." "I think we should be paying 1% right now, and we're paying more because we have a guy who suffers from, I think, Trump Derangement Syndrome ," Trump added. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Trump has long attacked the Federal Reserve chair over interest rates that the U.S. president wants lowered. Fed chairs have long been seen as insulated from presidential dismissal for reasons other than malfeasance or misconduct, but Trump has threatened to test that legal premise with frequent threats to fire Powell. Live Events Powell's term ends in May 2026, and Trump is expected to nominate a successor in the coming months. CONTEXT Trump said he will name as successor to Powell someone who will lower rates. Last week, the Fed decided to leave short-term borrowing costs in the 4.25%-4.50% range.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trump says he won't appoint anyone to Fed who doesn't back rate cuts
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not appoint anyone to head the Federal Reserve who would not lower interest rates from where they are, setting perhaps the most explicit litmus test yet for candidates to be the next central bank chief to align with his demands for steep rate cuts in order to get the job. "If I think somebody's going to keep the rates where they are or whatever, I'm not going to put them in," Trump said. "I'm going to put somebody that wants to cut rates. There are a lot of them out there." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo Presidents in the past have complained about the Fed setting interest rates too high for their liking, but Trump has taken it further than any recent U.S. leader in setting a clear expectation for whomever he nominates to be in line with his wishes. Trump, who said rates should be cut to 1% from the current Fed benchmark rate of 4.25% to 4.50%, has repeatedly railed against Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering borrowing costs since Trump returned to the White House in January, and he did so again on Friday. "I'd love him to resign if he wanted to, he's done a lousy job," Trump, speaking at the White House, said, while also labeling the Fed chair as "stupid." Live Events After raising rates aggressively coming out of the pandemic to combat the largest inflation outbreak since the 1970s and 1980s, the Fed lowered them a bit in the second half of last year but has not cut them since Trump returned to office. That is largely because Powell and the large majority of policymakers are concerned Trump's tariff policies in particular may rekindle inflation, and they prefer to wait longer to see if that develops before lowering rates again. Fed officials themselves have penciled in half a percentage point of cuts later this year, although that is a fraction of the reduction Trump is demanding. Trump's latest rant against Powell comes as he has largely backed away from threats to try to fire the Fed leader after a recent Supreme Court opinion appeared to align with long-standing views that presidents cannot dismiss top Fed officials over policy disagreements. The protection is seen as central to the Fed's independence from political interference in policymaking, which is seen as a critical pillar of its credibility as the world's most influential central bank. Trump has since turned his focus more to a successor for Powell, whose term as chair expires in May 2026. He has in recent weeks said he has three or four potential candidates in mind and he would make a decision soon. Most past Fed chair appointments have typically been made roughly three or four months before the vacancy was scheduled. There are about 10 months remaining in Powell's tenure as chair, and an early nomination by Trump is seen as an effort to undermine Powell's authority by giving voice to a "shadow chair" who would advocate for a different policy trajectory. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, seen as one of the potential candidates to replace Powell, downplayed the "shadow chair" idea, however. "I don't think anyone's necessarily talking about that," he told CNBC. Bessent noted that just one seat on the Fed Board of Governors is scheduled to open up within the year when Governor Adriana Kugler's term expires in early 2026. While Powell's term as chair expires next May, he is not required to leave the Fed altogether until his board seat expires in 2028. That leaves Kugler's expected departure as the first opportunity for a Trump appointment. "So there is a chance that the person who is going to become the chair could be appointed in January, which would probably mean an October, November nomination," Bessent said. Asked about reports that he is among the pool of candidates, Bessent said: "I'll do what the president wants, but I think I have the best job in Washington." Others seen as possible nominees for the job are White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, and current Governor Christopher Waller. Waller, appointed by Trump during the Republican's first term in office, in the past week has said he is open to cutting interest rates as soon as the Fed's next meeting at the end of July.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Wall Street Week Ahead-Investors eye US jobs data as stocks hit record highs
Investors who have been captivated by recent geopolitical events are poised to shift their attention in the coming week to key economic data and policy developments to see if the torrid rally in U.S. stocks extends higher. The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both tallied record highs on Friday for the first time in months, helped by optimism about interest-rate cuts and trade deals . Easing tensions in the Middle East also paved the way for the latest bump higher in stocks, as a conflict between Israel and Iran appeared to calm after missile strikes between the two nations had set the world on edge. Focus will shift to Washington in the coming week. President Donald Trump wants his fellow Republicans to pass a sweeping tax-cut and spending bill by July 4. Investors also get a crucial view into the U.S. economy with the monthly employment report due on Thursday. U.S. stock markets are closed on Friday, July 4, for the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Citigroup's U.S. economic surprise index has been weakening, indicating that data has been missing Wall Street expectations, said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments. Live Events "After some softer May data, the June data is really going to be under a microscope," Miskin said. "If the data deteriorates more, it may get the market's attention." U.S. employment is expected to have climbed by 110,000 jobs in June, according to a Reuters poll -- a slowdown from May's 139,000 increase. Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell in the prior week, but the unemployment rate could rise in June as more laid-off people struggle to find work. "The labor market right now is front and center over the next few weeks," said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management. Employment data could factor into expectations for when the Federal Reserve will next cut interest rates, with investors also watching to see if inflation is calming enough to allow for lower rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been wary that higher tariffs could begin raising inflation, a view he told the U.S. Congress this week. Some Fed officials have talked about a stronger case for cuts. Trading of fed funds futures in the past week indicated ramped-up bets for more easing this year. The level of tariffs could come into sharper view with a July 9 deadline for higher levies on a broad set of countries. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday said trade deals with other countries could be done by the Sept. 1 Labor Day holiday, citing 18 main U.S. trading partners. Stocks have rebounded sharply since plunging in April following Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement, as the president pulled back on some of the most severe tariffs. This eased fears about a recession, but markets could remain sensitive to trade developments. Investors also will focus on the U.S. fiscal bill in Congress for indication of the extent of stimulus in the legislation and how much it could widen federal deficits. With a roller-coaster first half nearly complete, the S&P 500 is up about 5% so far in 2025. Over the past 15 years, July has been a strong month for stocks, with the S&P 500 increasing 2.9% in July on average, Wedbush analysts noted in a report this week. Second-quarter U.S. corporate earnings season kicks off in the coming weeks, with concerns over how much tariffs may be biting into company profits or affecting consumer spending. S&P 500 earnings are expected to have climbed 5.9% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to LSEG IBES data. "We've been in a geopolitically focused market over the past several weeks," said Josh Jamner, senior investment strategy analyst at ClearBridge Investments. "I think the dawn of earnings season ... will refocus the market back towards fundamentals."
Economic Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record closing highs amid trade negotiations, rate cut bets
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 22.07 billion shares, compared with the 18.27 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Wall Street surged on Friday, propelling the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs amid trade optimism and expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Despite a brief setback caused by President Trump's termination of trade talks with Canada, all major indexes posted weekly gains. Economic data, including consumer spending and sentiment reports, further solidified expectations for monetary easing. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads NEW YORK: Wall Street extended its rally on Friday, sending S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time closing highs as trade deal hopes fueled investor risk appetite and economic data helped solidify expectations for rate cuts from the U.S. Federal pared gains after U.S. President Donald Trump terminated trade negotiations with Canada in response to its digital tax on technology so, all three major U.S. stock indexes posted weekly gains. Upon reaching its record closing high, the tech-heavy Nasdaq confirmed it entered a bull market when it touched its post "liberation day" trough on April blue-chip Dow remained 2.7% below its record closing high reached on December 4."This market's been pretty resilient," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "Investors are riding momentum and looking for breakouts.""They don't want to get caught on the wrong side of this thing," Carlson added. "Many investors already have missed out. And now you have the S&P flirting with an all-time high."The Personal Consumption Expenditures report from the Commerce Department showed consumer income and spending unexpectedly contracted in May. And while tariffs have yet to affect price growth, inflation continues to hover above the Fed's 2% annual inflation target.A separate report from the University of Michigan confirmed consumer sentiment has improved this month, but remains well below December's post-election markets have priced in a 76% likelihood that the Fed will implement its first rate cut of the year in September, with a smaller, 19% probability of a rate cut coming as soon as July, according to CME's FedWatch and Beijing reached an agreement to expedite rare-earth shipments from China to the U.S., a White House official said, well ahead of the July 9 expiration of the 90-day postponement of U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration's trade deals with 18 of the main U.S. trading partners could be done by the September 1 Labor Day Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 432.43 points, or 1.00%, to 43,819.27, the S&P 500 gained 32.05 points, or 0.52%, to 6,173.07 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 105.55 points, or 0.52%, to 20, the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer discretionary enjoyed the biggest percentage gain, while energy shares were the laggards. Chipmaker Micron's MU.O upbeat forecast revived investor confidence in artificial intelligence-related stocks, while Nvidia NVDA.O rose 1.8%, edging closer to $4 trillion market capitalization after reclaiming its position as the world's most valuable shares NKE.N jumped 15.2% after forecasting a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter revenue. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.29-to-1 ratio on the were 347 new highs and 55 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,111 stocks rose and 2,342 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.11-to-1 S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 101 new highs and 68 new on U.S. exchanges was 22.07 billion shares, compared with the 18.27 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
