Asian stocks end mixed, China's benchmark end 0.32% higher
Traders also reacted to the passage of Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which is set to massively widen the U.S.' budget deficit and leave an added 12 million Americans without health insurance.
The 218-214 vote in the House Thursday sends the legislation to Trump, who expects to sign the bill on Friday at a 4 p.m. ceremony at the White House.
The dollar retraced earlier gains after Trump during late Thursday evening said that his administration will start sending letters to countries starting Friday to identify the tariff rates they would face on imports to the United States.
Gold ticked higher after falling 1 percent the previous day on diminished expectations for an imminent Fed interest-rate cut.
Oil prices dipped as investors braced for an increase in production output by OPEC.
China's Shanghai Composite index closed 0.32 percent higher at 3,472.32 on signs of de-escalating Sino-U.S. trade tensions, with the U.S. lifting chip design software curbs against China and the latter moving to restart rare earths exports to the U.S.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
31 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Oil falls slightly ahead of expected OPEC+ output increase
Oil futures slipped slightly in thin holiday trading on Friday, as the market looked ahead to this weekend's OPEC+ meeting and the likelihood that member countries will decide to raise output. ADVERTISEMENT Brent crude futures settled down 50 cents, or 0.7%, at $68.30 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 50 cents, or 0.75%, at $66.50 just before 1300 EDT (1700 GMT). Trade was sparse due to the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Brent settled about 0.8% higher than last Friday's close and WTI was around 1.5% higher. Eight OPEC+ countries are likely to make another oil output increase for August at a meeting on Saturday in their push to boost market share. The meeting was moved forward a day to Saturday. "If the group decides to increase its output by another 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, as expected, for the fourth successive month, oil balance estimates for the second half of the year will be reassessed and will suggest accelerated swelling in global oil reserves," said PVM analyst Tamas Varga. "There seems to be some profit-taking on concerns that OPEC will raise production by more than expected," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with the Price Futures added that investors seem to be in wait-and-see mode, getting ready to react to OPEC's move while also watching for implications of U.S. President Donald Trump's massive package of tax and spending cuts, which was set to be signed into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday. Crude prices also came under pressure from a report on U.S. news website Axios, which said the United States was planning to resume nuclear talks with Iran next week, while Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy was back in the spotlight as the end of a 90-day pause on higher levies approaches. European Union negotiators have failed so far to achieve a breakthrough in trade negotiations with the Trump administration and may now seek to extend the status quo to avoid tariff hikes, six EU diplomats briefed on the talks said on Friday. Separately, Barclays said it had raised its Brent oil price forecast by $6 to $72 a barrel for 2025 and by $10 to $70 a barrel for 2026 on an improved demand outlook. (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
38 minutes ago
- First Post
Decoding the ‘Big Beautiful Bill' that Donald Trump signed into law
During an outdoor event on the Fourth of July, US President Donald Trump signed the tax and spending cut bill into law at the White House on Friday. The nearly 900-page bill includes a mix of tax cuts, spending reductions, and key Republican priorities such as increased funding for national defence and immigration enforcement. Hundreds of Trump supporters attended the event, including White House staff, members of Congress, and military families read more Trump held the ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on Independence Day. Reuters US President Donald Trump signed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' into law at the White House on Friday. This happened during an outdoor event on the Fourth of July. Military jets flew overhead as hundreds of supporters gathered to witness the signing. Trump signed the bill just one day after the Republican-led House of Representatives narrowly passed what has become the key legislation of his second term. Democrats stood united in opposition to the bill but were unable to stop it, while Republicans held together. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday, with Vice President JD Vance casting the deciding vote. The House had earlier passed a version of the bill in May, winning by just one vote. The final version was passed on Thursday with a 218-214 margin. ALSO READ | He spoke for 8 hrs and 44 mins on Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill'. Who is Hakeem Jeffries? The bill, nearly 900 pages long, includes a collection of tax cuts, spending reductions, and other priorities for Republicans. These include new funding for national defence and immigration enforcement. Trump gave a 22-minute speech before signing the bill. Though brief, he appeared energised, especially as the bill's approval meant another recent success for his administration. This came after the campaign in Iran and several US Supreme Court decisions that he has fought for. Trump signed the bill into law during an outdoor event on the Fourth of July. Reuters Trump held the ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on Independence Day, featuring a flyover by stealth bombers and fighter jets, some of which were involved in the recent strikes on Iran's nuclear sites. Hundreds of Trump supporters attended the event, including White House staff, members of Congress, and military families. Here's a look at what the bill includes and when some of its changes will start to apply: Reductions for businesses and new tax breaks Republicans say the bill is crucial because there would be a massive tax increase after December when tax breaks from Trump's first term expire. The legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. The existing tax rates and brackets would become permanent under the bill, solidifying the tax cuts approved in Trump's first term. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It would temporarily add new tax deductions on tip, overtime and auto loans. There's also a $6,000 deduction for older adults who earn no more than $75,000 a year, a nod to his pledge to end taxes on Social Security benefits. It would boost the $2,000 child tax credit to $2,200. Millions of families at lower income levels would not get the full credit. A cap on state and local deductions, called SALT, would quadruple to $40,000 for five years. It's a provision important to New York and other high-tax states, though the House wanted it to last for 10 years. There are scores of business-related tax cuts, including allowing businesses to immediately write off 100% of the cost of equipment and research. Proponents say this will boost economic growth. The wealthiest households would see a $12,000 increase from the legislation, and the bill would cost the poorest people $1,600 a year, mainly due to reductions in Medicaid and food aid, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House's version. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Funding the border wall, deportations and a missile shield The bill would provide some $350 billion for Trump's border and national security agenda, including for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds, as he aims to fulfil his promise of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. Money would go for hiring 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with $10,000 signing bonuses and a surge of Border Patrol officers, as well. The goal is to deport some 1 million people per year. To help pay for it, immigrants would face various new fees, including when seeking asylum protections. For the Pentagon, the bill would provide billions for shipbuilding, munitions systems, and quality of life measures for servicemen and women, as well as $25 billion for the development of the Golden Dome missile defence system. The Defence Department would have $1 billion for border security. Huge cuts to Medicaid, Snap To help partly offset the lost tax revenue and new spending, Republicans aim to cut back on Medicaid and food assistance for people below the poverty line. Republicans argue they are trying to rightsize the safety net programmes for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse. The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and food stamps, including older people up to age 65. Parents of children 14 and older would have to meet the programme's work requirements. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There's also a proposed new $35 co-payment that can be charged to patients using Medicaid services. More than 71 million people rely on Medicaid, which expanded under Obama's Affordable Care Act, and 40 million use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme. Most already work, according to analysts. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, and 3 million more would not qualify for food stamps, also known as Snap benefits. Republicans are looking to have states pick up some of the cost for Snap benefits. Currently, the federal government funds all benefit costs. Under the bill, states beginning in 2028 will be required to contribute a set percentage of those costs if their payment error rate exceeds 6%. Payment errors include both underpayments and overpayments. But the Senate bill temporarily delays the start date of that cost-sharing for states with the highest Snap error rates. Alaska has the highest error rate in the nation at nearly 25%, according to Department of Agriculture data. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, had fought for the exception. She was a decisive vote in getting the bill through the Senate. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD ALSO READ | Who gains and who loses most from Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill'? 'Big Beautiful' Bill cuts clean energy tax credits Republicans are proposing to dramatically roll back tax breaks designed to boost clean energy projects fuelled by renewable sources such as energy and wind. The tax breaks were a central component of former US President Joe Biden's 2022 landmark bill focused on addressing climate change and lowering health care costs. Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden went so far as to call the GOP provisions a 'death sentence for America's wind and solar industries and an inevitable hike in utility bills.' A tax break for people who buy new or used electric vehicles would expire on Sept. 30 of this year, instead of at the end of 2032 under current law. Meanwhile, a tax credit for the production of critical materials will be expanded to include metallurgical coal used in steelmaking. Hundreds of Trump supporters attended the event, including White House staff, members of Congress, and military families. Reuters Creation of 'Trump Accounts', funding national hero garden A number of extra provisions reflect other GOP priorities. The bill creates a new children's savings programme, called Trump Accounts, with a potential $1,000 deposit from the Treasury. The Senate provided $40 million to establish Trump's long-sought 'National Garden of American Heroes.' There's a new excise tax on university endowments and a new tax on remittances, or transfers of money that people in the US send abroad. The tax is equal to 1% of the transfer. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A $200 tax on gun silencers and short-barrelled rifles, and shotguns was eliminated. One provision bars for one year Medicaid payments to family planning providers that provide abortions, namely Planned Parenthood. Another section expands the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a hard-fought provision from GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, for those impacted by nuclear development and testing. Billions would go for the Artemis moon mission and for the exploration of Mars, while $88 million is earmarked for a pandemic response accountability committee. Additionally, a provision would increase the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion to allow continued borrowing to pay already accrued bills. State AI regulations cut from bill The Senate overwhelmingly revolted against a proposal meant to deter states from regulating artificial intelligence. Republican governors across the country asked for the moratorium to be removed, and the Senate voted to do so with a resounding 99-1 vote. A provision was thrown in at the final hours that will provide $10 billion annually to rural hospitals for five years, or $50 billion in total. The Senate bill had originally provided $25 billion for the programme, but that number was upped to win over holdout GOP senators and a coalition of House Republicans warning that reduced Medicaid provider taxes would hurt rural hospitals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The amended bill also stripped out a new tax on wind and solar projects that use a certain percentage of components from China. Final price tag: Bill could add $3.3 trillion to deficit Altogether, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the bill would increase federal deficits over the next 10 years by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034. Or not, depending on how one does the maths. Senate Republicans are proposing a unique strategy of not counting the existing tax breaks as a new cost because those breaks are already 'current policy.' Republican senators say the Senate Budget Committee chairman has the authority to set the baseline for the preferred approach. Under the alternative Senate GOP view, the bill would reduce deficits by almost half a trillion dollars over the coming decade, the CBO said. Democrats say this is 'magic math' that obscures the true costs of the tax breaks. Some nonpartisan groups worried about the country's fiscal trajectory are siding with Democrats in that regard. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says Senate Republicans were employing an 'accounting gimmick that would make Enron executives blush.' With inputs from AP
India Today
40 minutes ago
- India Today
Rahul Gandhi's forecast on trade deal: Modi will bow to Trump tariff deadline
With just three days left for Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs to kick in, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would meekly bow to the deadline amid a deadlock over the trade reaction came as Union Minister Piyush Goyal asserted that India would enter into a trade agreement with the US only if its interests were protected. Sources had earlier told India Today that an interim trade deal between India and the US was likely to be signed before the July 9 deadline. advertisement"Piyush Goyal can beat his chest all he wants. Mark my words, Modi will meekly bow to the Trump tariff deadline," the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha THE DELAY IN TRADE DEAL? Trump, who has previously called India a big abuser of tariffs and a "tariff king", had announced a 26% duty on Indian products as part of his April 2 "Liberation Day" reciprocal tariffs. The US President later suspended the tariffs for 90 days, allowing countries to strike a deal with the without an interim trade deal agreement, India must prepare for a 26% tariff.A major sticking point has been India's hard stance on not reducing tariffs on American agricultural imports such as maize and soybeans. The Trump administration's demand for wider access to the dairy sector, which employs over 80 million people in India, has also been a bone of the other hand, India has demanded greater access to US labour-intensive industries, including textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, and issue has not been resolved despite India's negotiating team, led by special secretary Rajesh Agarwal, extending their stay in Washington for at a business event in Delhi, Goyal underscored that India would not compromise the interests of farm and dairy sectors."India never enters into trade deals based on deadlines or time pressure. It should be a win-win agreement, and only when India's interests are safeguarded, if a good deal is formed, India is always ready to engage with developed countries," Goyal said.- EndsMust Watch
