China's 240-hour transit visa-free policy extended to 55 countries, Xinhua reports
HONG KONG, June 12 (Reuters) - China's 240-hour transit visa-free policy has been extended to people arriving from 55 countries, including Indonesia, Russia and Britain, who will be able to engage in tourism and business, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The changes take effect from Thursday.
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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Asian shares slide while oil prices surge after Israel's strike on Iran
Markets in Asia opened lower early Friday while oil prices surged after Israel attacked Iran 's capital amid the ramping up tensions over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. U.S. benchmark crude oil rose by $5.6, or 8.2%, to $73.61 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, increased by $5.52 to $74.88 per barrel. In share trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% to 37,721.63 while the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.7% lower to 2,900.14. Hong Kong 's Hang Seng retreated 0.4% to 23,929.62 and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 3,394.52. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 drifted 0.3% lower to 8,540.80. 'An Israeli attack on Iran poses a top ten of our global risk, but Asian markets are expected to recover quickly as they have relatively limited exposure to the conflict and growing ties to unaffected Saudi Arabia and the UAE,' said Xu Tiachen of The Economist Intelligence. On Thursday, U.S. stock indexes ticked higher following another encouraging update on inflation across the country. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,045.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 42,967.62, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.2% to 19,662.48. Oracle pushed upward on the market after jumping 13.3%. The tech giant delivered stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and CEO Safra Catz said it expects revenue growth 'will be dramatically higher' in its upcoming fiscal year. That helped offset a 4.8% loss for Boeing after Air India said a London-bound flight crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport Thursday with 242 passengers and crew onboard. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a residential area near the airport five minutes after taking off. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known. Stocks broadly got some help from easing Treasury yields in the bond market following the latest update on inflation. Thursday's update said inflation at the wholesale level wasn't as bad last month as economists expected, and it followed a report on Wednesday saying something similar about the inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling. Wall Street took it as a signal that the Federal Reserve will have more leeway to cut interest rates later this year in order to give the economy a boost. The Federal Reserve has been hesitant to lower interest rates, and it's been on hold this year after cutting at the end of last year, because it's waiting to see how much President Donald Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation. While lower rates can goose the economy by encouraging businesses and households to borrow, they can also accelerate inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.35% from 4.41% late Wednesday and from roughly 4.80% early this year. Besides the inflation data, a separate report on jobless claims also helped to weigh on Treasury yields. It said slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, and the total number remained at the highest level in eight months. That could be an indication of a rise in layoffs across the country. 'We believe that were it not for the uncertainty caused by the tariffs, the combined information coming from the inflation and labor-market data would have compelled the Fed to have resumed cutting its policy rate by now,' according to Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie. The Fed's next meeting on interest rates is scheduled for next week, but the nearly unanimous expectation on Wall Street is that it will stand pat again. Traders are betting it's likely to begin cutting in September, according to data from CME Group. Trump's on-and-off tariffs have raised worries about higher inflation and a possible recession, which had sent the S&P 500 roughly 20% below its record a couple months ago. But stocks have since rallied nearly all the way back on hopes that Trump will lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries. Many of Trump's tariffs are on hold at the moment to give time for negotiations, but Trump added to the uncertainty late Wednesday when he suggested the United States could send letters to other countries at some point 'saying this is the deal. You can take it or you can leave it.' On Wall Street, Chime Financial jumped 37.4% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The technology company is trying to be the main financial hub for customers, connecting them with its bank partners. GameStop dropped 22.5% after saying it plans to raise $1.75 billion by borrowing at zero interest rates, though the lenders could choose to be repaid in the video-game retailer's stock instead of cash. In currency trading early Monday, the U.S. dollar fell to 143.10 Japanese yen from 143.46 yen. The euro edged lower, to $1.1552 from $1.1590.
Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Foxconn sends 97% of India iPhone exports to US as Apple tackles Trump's tariffs
NEW DELHI, June 13 (Reuters) - Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn from India went to the United States between March and May, customs data showed, far above the 2024 average of 50% and a clear sign of Apple's efforts to bypass high U.S. tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the U.S. market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to countries including the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Britain. During March-May, Foxconn exported iPhones worth $3.2 billion from India, with an average 97% shipped to the United States, compared to a 2024 average of 50.3%, according to commercially available customs data seen by Reuters. India iPhone shipments by Foxconn to the United States in May 2025 were worth nearly $1 billion, the second-highest ever after the record $1.3 billion worth of devices shipped in March, the data showed. Apple and Foxconn did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said China will face 55% tariffs after the two countries agreed on a plan, subject to both leaders' approval, to ease levies that had reached triple digits. India is subject, like most U.S trading partners, to a baseline 10% tariff and is trying to negotiate an agreement to avert a 26% "reciprocal" levy that Trump announced and then paused in April. Apple's increased production in India drew a strong rebuke from Trump in May. "We are not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well, we want you to build here," Trump recalled telling CEO Tim Cook. In the first five months of this year, Foxconn has already sent iPhones worth $4.4 billion to the U.S. from India, compared to $3.7 billion in the whole of 2024. Apple has been taking steps to speed up production from India to bypass tariffs, which would make phones shipped from China to the U.S. much more expensive. In March, it chartered planes to transport iPhone 13, 14, 16 and 16e models worth roughly $2 billion to the United States. Apple has also lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to clear customs at Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu from 30 hours to six hours, Reuters has reported. The airport is a key hub for iPhone exports. "We expect made-in-India iPhones to account for 25% to 30% of global iPhone shipments in 2025, as compared to 18% in 2024," said Prachir Singh, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. Tata Electronics, the other smaller Apple iPhone supplier in India, on average shipped nearly 86% of its iPhone production to the U.S. during March and April, customs data showed. Its May data was not available. The company, part of India's Tata Group, started exporting iPhones only in July 2024, and only 52% of its shipments went to U.S. during 2024, the data showed. Tata declined to comment on the numbers. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in recent years promoted India as a smartphone manufacturing hub, but high duties on importing mobile phone components compared to many other countries means it is still expensive to produce the devices in India. Apple has historically sold more than 60 million iPhones in the U.S. each year, with roughly 80% made in China.
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil spike, risk off on Middle East flare up may drag rupee past 86/USD
MUMBAI, June 13 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to slip past 86 to the U.S. dollar at the open on Friday, hit by surging oil prices and sliding risk assets after Israel attacked targets in Iran. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated a open in the 86.02 to 86.10 range, versus 85.60 in the previous session. Brent crude soared 11%, U.S. equity futures plunged 1.8% and safe-haven demand boosted the struggling dollar. "The real concern for the rupee isn't just today's oil spike - it's the risk of a sustained rally if Middle East tensions deepen," a currency trader at a Mumbai-based bank said. According to the trader, the 86.00 to 86.10 zone is a major support for the rupee, though he warned that defending it "will be challenging". Israel said it targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders on Friday, warning that it marked the beginning of a sustained campaign aimed at preventing Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Another report suggested that explosions were heard northeast of Iran's capital Tehran. The strikes by Israel came amid mounting tensions over U.S. efforts to halt Iran's production of atomic bomb materials. "Markets will carefully assess the risk of escalation," DBS Research said in a note. Safe-haven demand lifted the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc and helped the dollar index recover to the 98 handle. The 10-year U.S. yield dropped despite the jump in oil. Brent crude is potentially headed for its biggest one-day rise in over three years. Oil is a major component of India's import bill. A $10 barrel increase in crude can widen the current account deficit by up to 0.4% of GDP, economists estimate, and can add up to 35 basis points to headline consumer inflation. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 86.12; onshore one-month forward premium at 8.75 paise ** Dollar index up at 98.05 ** Brent crude futures up 11.3% at $77.2 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.33% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $15.4 mln worth of Indian shares on Jun. 11 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors sold a net $296 mln worth of Indian bonds on Jun. 11
