Shares gain as markets weigh Trump's tariffs
LONDON: World shares gained on Tuesday as investors weighed up the latest tariff-related news, while long-dated US Treasury yields were set for their biggest one-day fall since mid-April, mirroring a steep price rally in super-long Japanese debt. After a weekend call with the European Commission's president, US President Donald Trump paused until July 9 his threatened tariff of 50% on goods entering the United States from the European Union. European shares .STOXX added 0.5 percent, supported by defense stocks, with UK shares climbing 0.8 percent to their highest in three weeks, following a holiday at the start of the week.
Wall Street shares, which also saw no trade on Monday due to a US holiday, were set for solid gains too. S&P futures ESc1 were up 1.4 percent. 'Markets are getting more accustomed to Trump's threats and now partly assume the full threat won't immediately materialize,' Deutsche Bank analysts wrote. 'There is certainly fear fatigue.' Meanwhile, the yield on 30-year US Treasuries, which affects US government borrowing costs to home mortgage rates, fell as much as 8 basis points to 4.9572 percent, their lowest in a week.
The 30-year yields - at the epicenter of the market sell-off in April following Trump's initial raft of tariffs - are still just below 5 percent, near their highest since October 2023. The move mirrored a near-20 basis point fall in yields for Japanese 30-year debt that came after a Reuters report on Tuesday that Tokyo will consider trimming issuance of the super-long bonds, after recent sharp rises in yields. 'Debt sustainability is again creeping into investors minds,' regarding heavily indebted Japan, said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro for ING Research. 'That is a spillover from the concerns about the US'
A major focus for investors this week will be results from Nvidia on Wednesday, where the AI bellwether is expected to report a 66 percent jump in first-quarter revenue. Speeches from a slew of Federal Reserve policymakers and Friday's US core PCE price index are also due, which could provide clues on the outlook for US rates. In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. US fell 0.4 percent, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index outperformed with a gain of 0.4 percent.
Loss of confidence
The dollar edged up 0.4 percent against a basket of currencies as investors took comfort from Trump's tariff delay. Still, it was still heading for a fifth straight month of declines, which would mark its longest such losing streak since 2017. The euro EUR=EBS fell 0.4 percent, near a one-month high at $1.134725, while the yen weakened 0.6 percent to 143.71 per dollar.
Trump's flip-flops on tariffs and concerns over the worsening US deficit outlook have undermined sentiment towards US assets and in turn been a drag on the dollar. 'A US dollar regime change could be in the making in the long term after it appears to have peaked recently,' said David Meier, an economist at Julius Baer. 'Erratic US policymaking, the tense fiscal situation, and large external indebtedness, against the backdrop of the twin deficit, suggest that a weaker USD is the route of least resistance.'
And as the dollar loses some of its safe-haven appeal, investors have instead sought alternatives such as gold, sending prices to record highs this year. Still, gold fell 1.4 percent to $3,298 an ounce as the dollar strengthened. Oil prices were little changed on increasing expectations that members of OPEC+ will decide to increase their output at a meeting later this week. Brent crude futures LCOc1 clawed back losses and was last flat at $64.71 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 fell 0.1 percent to $61.46 a barrel. - Reuters
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Arab Times
a day ago
- Arab Times
US Embassy in Kuwait fully staffed
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The State Department said it has ordered the departure of all nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad based on its latest review and a commitment 'to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad.' The embassy had already been on limited staffing, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel. The department, however, also is authorizing the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait. That gives them the option of leaving those countries at government expense and with government assistance. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 'has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations' across the region, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The command 'is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.' Speaking at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump said, 'They are being moved out, because it could be a dangerous place, and we'll see what happens. 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Trump, who has previously said Israel or the U.S. could carry out airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations failed, gave a less-than-optimistic view about reaching a deal with Iran, telling the New York Post's 'Pod Force One' podcast that he was 'getting more and more less confident about' a deal. 'They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them,' he said in the interview recorded Monday and released Wednesday. Iran's mission to the U.N. posted on social media that 'threats of overwhelming force won't change the facts.' 'Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and U.S. militarism only fuels instability,' the Iranian mission wrote. Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh separately told journalists Wednesday that he hoped talks with the U.S. would yield results, though Tehran stood ready to respond. 'If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent's casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,' he said. 'We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.' Meanwhile, the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency was potentially set to vote on a measure to censure Iran. That could set in motion an effort to snap back United Nations sanctions on Iran via a measure in Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that's still active until October. Trump withdrew from that agreement in his first term. 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Arab Times
a day ago
- Arab Times
S. Korean, Vietnamese presidents hold phone talks on ties
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Kuwait Times
2 days ago
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ZOI, PCCW Global, Sparkle and Telecom Egypt to construct Asia-Africa-Europe subsea cable system
Consortium aims to deliver unprecedented capacity and reliable connectivity by creating a future-proof data highway across the three continents KUWAIT: In a landmark move to advance global connectivity, a consortium of four powerful subsea cable operators, namely Zain Omantel International (ZOI), PCCW Global, Sparkle and Telecom Egypt have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the construction of the Asia-Africa-Europe-2 (AAE-2) subsea cable system. The project aims to establish a robust next-generation subsea digital link connecting Hong Kong and Singapore to Italy traversing secure and high-capacity terrestrial corridors across Thailand, the Arabian Peninsula, and Egypt. It is planned to strategically deliver unprecedented capacity and foster seamless, reliable connectivity across the three continents. AAE-2 will also feature strategic extensions to additional key destinations across its route, further enhancing intercontinental connectivity and supporting the growing demands of cloud services, content delivery, and digital transformation initiatives across the regions. This ambitious initiative is designed to revolutionize global connectivity by delivering a geographical diverse, resilient, and high-performance route for international traffic. By integrating both subsea and terrestrial infrastructure, AAE-2 will create a future-proof data highway between Asia, Africa and Europe. Building on the legacy of the AAE-1 cable, AAE-2 will incorporate the most advanced technological innovations offering unprecedented bandwidth capacity to serve the tremendous traffic needs and empowering communities and businesses across Asia, Africa and Europe. The project is spearheaded by industry leaders ZOI, PCCW Global, Sparkle, and Telecom Egypt, combining expertise and resources to deliver a world-class infrastructure. This groundbreaking project marks a vital step in addressing the increasing demand for robust internet infrastructure, facilitating faster data transfer and improved connectivity across multiple regions. The consortium is dedicated to ensuring the successful delivery of this transformative infrastructure project, which will play a crucial role in shaping the future of global connectivity. Sohail Qadir, Chief Executive Officer of ZOI, commented: "This collaboration marks a defining milestone for ZOI and the region we proudly serve. As the international gateway for the Middle East, we are uniquely positioned at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, making us a strategic enabler of next-generation connectivity. AAE-2 reflects our long-term vision to connect continents and digital ecosystems through resilient and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Our cooperation brings together advanced infrastructure, diverse terrestrial routes and AI-ready capacity. AAE-2 will strengthen global traffic flows, empower emerging markets and unlock new avenues for economic growth across the region and beyond.' Frederick Chui, Chief Executive Officer of PCCW Global, commented:'PCCW Global is proud to contribute to the AAE-2 initiative, building on our legacy of supporting vital global infrastructure. Following our instrumental role in the success of the AAE-1 system, we are pleased to bring our expertise to AAE-2, an advanced, high-capacity and geographically diverse subsea cable system connecting Asia and Europe. This next-generation network underscores our continued commitment to delivering resilient, secure and scalable connectivity for key markets such as Hong Kong, empowering the digital growth of tomorrow.' Enrico Bagnasco, Chief Executive Officer of Sparkle, commented: 'The AAE-2 cable system is an innovative project perfectly in line with Sparkle's long-term strategy to strengthen the Asia-Africa-Europe corridor by enhancing route diversity and ensuring the highest levels of network resilience. In recent years, we have invested in new submarine systems and established advanced landing hubs along this strategic route, reinforcing our commitment to reliable global connectivity. Among the key initiatives, the Blue & Raman submarine cable systems- linking Italy to India through an innovative path - together with the strengthening of the Sicily Hub in Palermo and the hub in Chania as well as the creation of a brand new scalable landing platform in Genoa. With AAE-2, we are taking a further step forward, contributing to the creation of a distinctive infrastructure that combines terrestrial and subsea solutions to deliver secure, high-capacity, and low-latency connectivity in support of the digital transformation of businesses and communities worldwide" Mohamed Nasr, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Egypt, commented:"Over the years, we have made major investments and established partnerships to develop our cutting-edge subsea cable infrastructure, that we are witnessing today. The construction of AAE-2 cable system is a continuation of our success stories as a global data connectivity provider and is another testament to our commitment to driving digital connections through major collaborations. AAE-2 will also benefit from accessing and cross-connecting with the other subsea cables using our WeConnect ecosystem. We are thrilled to be embarking with PCCW Global, Sparkle and ZOI on this transformative project that will reshape the future of digital infrastructure."
