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New Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street logs a 3rd straight winning week
BANGKOK: Asian shares are mixed and US futures have edged higher after US stocks logged their third straight winning week. Markets were closed for a holiday in Japan, where the ruling Liberal Democrats have lost their coalition majorities in both houses of parliament for the first time since 1955 following Sunday's election and the loss of their lower house majority in October. A grim Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to stay on, but the outcome of the upper house election reflects voters' frustration with rising prices and political instability. Analysts said they expect his weakened government to crank up spending, adding to Japan's huge debt burden. Japan is also facing the imposition of 25% tariffs across the board on its exports to the US as talks with the Trump administration appear to have made little headway. "We expect short-term political instability to intensify due to the difficulties of forming a majority coalition, a likely change in leadership, and a potential deadlock in trade negotiations," Peter Hoflich of BMI, a part of the Fitch Group, said in a commentary. "Without a structural reset through snap elections, Japan is likely to face prolonged policy drift throughout 2026," he said. Chinese shares advanced after the central bank kept its key 1-year and 5-year loan prime interest rates unchanged. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 24,895.20, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4% to 3,549.89. Recent stronger economic data have eased pressure on the Chinese leadership to soften credit. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's administration has softened its criticism of Beijing, raising hopes that the two sides can work out a trade deal and avert the imposition of sharply higher tariffs on imports from China. South Korea's Kospi picked up 0.5% to 3,205.71 after the government reported a slight improvement in exports in June. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.1% to 8,659.50, while Taiwan's Taiex dropped 0.3%. In India, the Sensex rose 0.2%, while Bangkok's SET was down 0.5%. This week will bring updates on US home sales, jobless claims and manufacturing. Several Big Tech companies including Alphabet and Tesla are due to provide earnings reports. On Friday, the S&P 500 handed back less than 1 point after setting an all-time high the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1% to add its own record. Norfolk Southern chugged 2.5% higher after an AP source said it was discussing a merger with Union Pacific to create the largest railroad in North America, one that would connect the East and West coasts. Any such deal, though, would likely face tough scrutiny from U.S. regulators. Union Pacific's stock fell 1.2%. The heaviest weight on the market, meanwhile, was Netflix, which fell 5.1% despite reporting a stronger-than-expected profit. Exxon Mobil sank 3.5% and also tugged on the market. It had been challenging Chevron's $53 billion deal to buy Hess, but an arbitration ruling in Paris about Hess assets off Guyana's coast allowed the buyout to go through. Chevron fell 0.9% after losing an early gain. Treasury yields eased after a report suggested US consumers may be feeling less fearful about coming inflation. They're bracing for inflation of 4.4% in the year ahead, down from last month's projection of 5%, according to preliminary results from a University of Michigan survey. Prices may already be starting to feel the upward effects of President Donald Trump' s higher tariffs, according to data released last week. The Trump administration is preparing to impose steeper import duties on many countries as of Aug. 1, although some have worked out deals to mitigate some of the damage. In other trading early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 14 cents to $66.19 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 10 cents to $69.38 per barrel. The US dollar rose to 148.50 Japanese yen from 147.98 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1628 from $1.1629. (ELAINE KURTENBACH)
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Iran To Host Fresh Negotiations With European Powers Over Nuclear Programme
Iran confirmed fresh talks with European powers to be held on Friday in Istanbul, the country's state media reported, the first since the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago. Iranian diplomats will meet counterparts from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, after the trio warned that sanctions could be reimposed on Tehran if it does return to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme. Western nations and Israel have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has consistently denied. "In response to the request of European countries, Iran has agreed to hold a new round of talks," said foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghai, as quoted by state TV on Monday. The subject of the talks will be Iran's nuclear programme, it added. A German diplomatic source had told AFP on Sunday the E3 were in contact with Tehran and said "Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon". "That is why Germany, France and the United Kingdom are continuing to work intensively in the E3 format to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear programme," the source said. Israel launched on June 13 a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis, targeting key military and nuclear facilities. The United States launched its own set of strikes against Iran's nuclear programme on June 22, hitting the uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, in Qom province south of Tehran, as well as nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz. Kremlin Meeting Iran and the United States had held several rounds of nuclear negotiations through Omani mediators before Israel launched its 12-day war against Iran. However, US President Donald Trump's decision to join Israel in striking Iranian nuclear facilities effectively ended the talks. The E3 countries last met with Iranian representatives in Geneva on June 21 -- just one day before the US strikes. Also Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a surprise meeting in the Kremlin with Ali Larijani, top adviser to Iran's supreme leader on nuclear issues. Larijani "conveyed assessments of the escalating situation in the Middle East and around the Iranian nuclear programme", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the unannounced meeting. Putin had expressed Russia's "well-known positions on how to stabilise the situation in the region and on the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear programme", he added. Moscow has a cordial relationship with Iran's clerical leadership and provides crucial backing for Tehran but did not swing forcefully behind its partner even after the United States joined Israel's bombing campaign. Snapback Mechanism Iran and world powers struck a deal in 2015 called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which placed significant restrictions on Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. But the hard-won deal began to unravel in 2018, during Trump's first presidency, when the United States walked away from it and reimposed sanctions on Iran. European countries have in recent days threatened to trigger the deal's "snapback" mechanism, which allows the reimposition of sanctions in the event of non-compliance by Iran. After a call with his European counterparts on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Western allies had "absolutely no moral (or) legal grounds" for reactivating the snapback sanctions. He elaborated in a post to social media Sunday. "Through their actions and statements, including providing political and material support to the recent unprovoked and illegal military aggression of the Israeli regime and the US... the E3 have relinquished their role as 'Participants' in the JCPOA," said Araghchi. That made any attempt to reinstate the terminated UN Security Council resolutions "null and void", he added. "Iran has shown that it is capable of defeating any delusional 'dirty work' but has always been prepared to reciprocate meaningful diplomacy in good faith," Araghchi wrote. However, the German source said Sunday that "if no solution is reached over the summer, snapback remains an option for the E3". Ali Velayati, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said last week there would be no new nuclear talks with the United States if they were conditioned on Tehran abandoning its uranium enrichment activities.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Ishiba's top negotiator leaves for Washington as Donald Trump's tariff clock ticks
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday that he will remain in office despite a significant loss in a crucial election for the upper house of Japan's parliament. In Sunday's vote, Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito fell three seats short of securing a majority in the 248-seat upper house. As a result, the coalition now holds a minority in both chambers of the Diet, though the LDP remains the dominant party. Ishiba acknowledged the defeat and said he takes the outcome seriously. However, he noted the importance of preventing a 'political power vacuum' and addressing key issues, such as 'rising living costs and the upcoming August 1 deadline for a tariff agreement with the United States.' US President Donald Trump is mounting pressure on Tokyo by criticising the slow pace of trade negotiations and the limited sales of US automobiles and American-grown rice to Japan, even though Japan is experiencing a domestic rice shortage. 'While I painfully feel my serious responsibility over the election results, I believe I must also fulfil my responsibility I bear for the country and the people so as not to cause politics to stall or go adrift,' Ishiba said. 'Challenges such as the global situation and natural disasters won't wait for a better political situation.' Prime Minister Ishiba signalled his intent to seek direct talks with Trump and push for concrete progress on trade, reiterating that the focus should be on boosting investment rather than imposing tariffs. He added that he will strive to reach a deal with the US on tariffs while protecting 'national interests'. With less than two weeks before sweeping new tariffs are set to take effect, Ishiba's top negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, is heading to Washington on Monday to resume talks with US officials. The trip reflects a continued strategy of maximising engagement with American negotiators. Akazawa has already travelled to the U.S. seven times, covering more than 90,000 miles, yet has made limited headway in securing a breakthrough. 'We will achieve an agreement that is beneficial to both Japan and the US, based on the concept of investment rather than tariffs,' said Ishiba. The 68-year-old leader said he had no plans to expand his coalition but would work with opposition parties to address voter concerns about inflation. He cautioned, though, that tax changes would not deliver the immediate help households need. The prime minister said he hopes to reach a mutually beneficial deal and meet Trump, adding, 'Any agreement on tariffs has to be fair to both Japan and the US.' The right-wing Sanseito party won 14 seats. Sanseito wants "stricter rules and limits" on immigration, opposes 'radical' gender policies, and wants a rethink on decarbonisation and vaccines. LDP supporter Takeshi Nemoto, 80, told AFP that launching a new leadership contest now 'would be a losing battle' for the party and would only make trade negotiations with Trump's administration more difficult. 'Diplomacy is under pressure at the moment,' echoed Shuhei Aono. 'Who is going to take care of it? I don't think (Ishiba) can step down so easily.' After years of flat or declining prices, consumers in the world's fourth-largest economy have been hit hard by inflation following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Adding to the pressure are lingering public frustrations over an LDP funding scandal and the looming imposition of 25 per cent U.S. tariffs, which will take effect on 1 August if no trade deal is reached. While I painfully feel my serious responsibility over the election results, I believe I must also fulfil my responsibility I bear for the country and the people so as not to cause politics to stall or go adrift. Japanese imports already face a 10 per cent tariff, and the country's vital auto industry, responsible for around 8 per cent of all jobs, is struggling under an existing 25 per cent levy. (With inputs from agencies)
