Live News: Elkstone private markets report; executive moves; Asian markets rise
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Live News: Elkstone private markets report; executive moves; Asian markets rise
Fionn Thompson
07:21
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Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Dollar surges against the euro after US court blocks Trump's tariffs
The US dollar rallied on Thursday in a knee-jerk reaction to a court blocking President Donald Trump from imposing his import tariffs on other countries, providing some relief for the currency that has struggled this year due to trade uncertainty. The Manhattan-based Court of International Trade said the US Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries that is not overridden by the president's emergency powers to safeguard the US economy. In response, the Trump administration filed an appeal within minutes. "It's almost impossible to know if the tariffs will be completely unwound by this. But in the hypothetical situation that they are, it's natural to see dollar appreciation," said Yunosuke Ikeda, head of macro research at Nomura in Tokyo. "Trump's tariffs will lead to stagflation pressure on the US economy, so reversing those tariffs would be a positive for the dollar." US assets including the dollar, equities and longer-dated Treasury bonds have witnessed sharp declines in recent months as investors reassessed historic assumptions about the strength and outperformance of US markets as Trump's erratic trade and tax policies sap confidence and spur inflation. On Thursday, the dollar reversed some of those moves and rose 0.72% against the yen to 145.86 and 0.63% against the Swiss franc to 0.8326. The euro slid 0.42% to $1.1245, and sterling fell 0.30% to $1.3432. That left the dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major peers, back above 100 for the first time in a week. The index, though, is down 8% this year, and analysts remain sceptical of a sustained dollar rally and expect a long court battle over tariffs. "There's an initial reaction of a stronger dollar and weaker yen. However, considering judicial processes like appeals, I don't expect a continuous rise in the dollar," said Hirofumi Suzuki, chief FX strategist at SMBC. The greenback has weakened about 2% against the Japanese yen, nearly 6% against the Swiss franc and 4% against the euro since Trump slapped harsh levies on global economies on April 2, while the broader dollar index has fallen more than 3%. "The markets are buying back the dollar on the news, rather than selling the yen," said Tohru Sasaki, chief strategist at Fukuoka Financial Group. "But if the dollar continued to rise to above 148 yen, speculative short yen positions may be forced to unwind, causing the dollar-yen pair to rise even more," he said. US stock futures and Asian bourses jumped on a risk-on rally. Traders also cut their expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve to 42 basis points of easing compared to 50 basis points earlier in the week, LSEG data showed. Investor focus this month has been on the bond market, with lacklustre demand for longer-dated debt globally drawing attention to worsening government deficits. Traders are also watching the progress of a budget and spending bill in the US Congress that is expected to add trillions of dollars to debt. But sentiment about the US economy has improved after Trump delayed on the weekend a plan to impose 50% tariffs on European Union imports, and investors are on the lookout for any signs of improving relations between the United States and its trade partners. Reuters.
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- RTÉ News
Shein working towards Hong Kong listing after London IPO stalls
Shein is working towards a listing in Hong Kong after the online fast-fashion retailer's proposed initial public offering (IPO) in London failed to secure the green light from Chinese regulators, said three sources with knowledge of the matter. The China-founded company aims to file a draft prospectus with Hong Kong's stock exchange in the coming weeks, one of the sources said. Shein plans to go public in the Asian financial hub within the year, two of the sources said. Shein plans to change the listing venue as it had not yet received approval for its London IPO from Chinese regulators, notably the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the two sources said. The company in March secured approval from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for its IPO in London, and soon informed the CSRC, one of the sources said. The company initially expected the green light from Chinese regulators to follow swiftly after the FCA but has since experienced an unexpected delay and limited communication from the CSRC, said the source. Details about Shein's Hong Kong listing plan have not been reported previously. All the sources spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Shein and CSRC did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. A spokesperson for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd declined to comment on individual companies. Before its attempt to list in London, Shein had pursued a listing in New York, as part of its efforts to gain legitimacy as a global, rather than a Chinese company, and access to a wide pool of large Western investors. A listing in Hong Kong would go against that strategy and could hurt its global credentials. Allegations that Shein's products contain cotton from China's Xinjiang region and a planned legal challenge to the London IPO by a non-governmental organisation campaigning against forced labour in China have complicated the London listing and risk embarrassment for the Chinese government, a separate source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Tensions with the US over trade only exacerbate the wariness of Beijing and the CSRC, the source said. The US and NGOs accuse China of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where they say Uyghur people are forced to work producing cotton and other goods. Beijing has denied any abuses. Shein says it has a zero tolerance policy for forced labour and child labour in its supply chain. As it awaited a response from the CSRC, Shein dropped the communications firms Brunswick and FGS it had hired to help with public relations ahead of the London listing, Reuters reported earlier this month. Reuters could not determine if Shein had sought or received a nod from the CSRC for the Hong Kong listing. The company had sought Chinese regulatory approval for going ahead with processes to list in New York and later in London. Shein's filings with the CSRC makes it subject to Beijing's listing rules for Chinese firms going public offshore, two sources have said. The rules are applied on "a substance over form" basis, giving the CSRC discretion on when and how to implement them, the sources added. Shein does not own or operate any factories, and instead sources its products from 7,000 third-party suppliers in China as well as some factories in other countries like Brazil and Turkey. Shein's aim was to go public in London in the first half of this year. But its business model of sending products straight from factories to shoppers around the world has been disrupted by the Trump administration ending duty-free access and slapping steep tariffs on e-commerce packages from China. The "de minimis" exemption allowed e-commerce packages from China worth less than $800 to enter the US duty-free and helped Shein, Temu, and Amazon Haul sell clothes, gadgets and accessories extremely cheaply. Now, those parcels are subject to a minimum tariff of 30%. Regardless of where Shein lists, its eventual IPO valuation will hinge on the impact of the removal of the de minimis exemption, the sources have said. The US exemption is still in place for goods that are not from China or Hong Kong. The European Union has also proposed changes to its duty exemption on parcels under €150, adding to pressure on the business model.
Irish Examiner
26-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
US futures jump while Asian shares slip after Trump delays tariffs on the EU
US futures jumped and Asian shares mostly fell on Monday after US President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50% tariff on goods from the European Union to July 9 from June 1. Mr Trump announced the decision after a call on Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who said she 'wants to get down to serious negotiations', according to the US president's retelling. Last week, Mr Trump said on social media that trade talks with the European Union 'were going nowhere' and that 'straight 50%' tariffs could go into effect on June 1. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta) The future for the S&P 500 gained 1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.8%. In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7% to 37,427.48 while the Kospi in Seoul picked up 1.2% to 2,622.07. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1% to 23,370.94, and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% to 3,338.42. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,360.70. Other regional markets were mostly lower. On Friday, US stocks fell as traders weighed whether Mr Trump's latest threats were just negotiating tactics. The S&P 500 lost 0.7% to 5,802.82 to close out its worst week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% to 41,603.07, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1% to 18,737.21. Apple dropped 3% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after Mr Trump said he has been pushing Apple chief executive Tim Cook to move production of iPhones to the United States. He warned that a tariff 'of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US' if it does not. Mr Trump later clarified his post to say that all smartphones made abroad would be taxed, and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the end of June. 'It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,' Mr Trump said. 'Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair.' Mr Trump has been criticising companies individually when he is frustrated with how they are acting because of his tariffs and because of the uncertainty his trade war has created. The curve of the German stock index DAX is seen on a screen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt (AP/Michael Probst) He earlier told Walmart it should 'eat the tariffs', along with China, after the retailer said it would likely have to raise prices to cover the increased cost of imports. Deckers Outdoor, the company behind the Hoka and Uggs brands, became one of the latest companies to say all the uncertainty around the economy means it would not offer financial forecasts for the full upcoming year. Its stock shed 19.9%, even though the company reported a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Ross Stores fell 9.8% after it pulled its financial forecasts for the full year, citing that more than half the goods it sells originate in China. On the winning side of Wall Street was Intuit, which rose 8.1% after the company behind TurboTax and Credit Karma reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Stocks in the nuclear industry also rallied after Mr Trump signed executive orders to speed up nuclear licensing decisions, among other measures meant to charge up the industry. Oklo, which is developing fast fission power plants, jumped 23%. Mr Trump's latest tariff threats stirred up Wall Street after it had recovered most of the losses it had earlier taken because of the trade war. The S&P 500 dropped roughly 20% below its record at one point last month, when worries were at their height about whether Mr Trump's stiff tariffs would cause a global recession. The index then climbed back within 3% of its all-time high after Mr Trump paused his tariffs on many countries, most notably China.
