Latest news with #AlunJohn
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
European stocks tumble, bonds rally after Trump recommends 50% tariff on EU
By Alun John LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks tumbled, the euro gave back some gains, and euro zone government bond yields fell sharply on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he is recommending a straight 50% tariff on goods from the European Union starting on June 1. Trump's remarks in a social media post, brought a sudden halt to investors expectations that the bulk of tariffs Trump announced in early April would be negotiated away, a view which had supported stocks market gains in recent weeks. Europe's broad Stoxx 600 index (^STOXX) was last down 2%, with auto and banking stocks both falling well over 3%. U.S. S&P 500 futures also fell around 1.5%, as investors also worried that the tariffs would hurt U.S. and global growth. "This is a major escalation of trade tensions," said Holger Schmieding, chief economist, at Berenberg. "With Trump you never know but this would be a major escalation. The EU would have to react and it is something that would really hurt the U.S. and European economy." Investor expectations that tariffs would hurt economic growth in the currency bloc caused them to up bets on the scale of European Central Bank easing this year, and sent them scurrying to government bonds. Germany's rate-sensitive two year bond yield was last down 10 basis points at 1.73%, while benchmark 10 year yields were down 9 bps at 2.55%. In currency markets the biggest gainer was the safe haven Japanese yen. The dollar was last down 0.9% on the yen at 142.77, while the euro was down 0.56% at 161.43 yen. The euro was more muted versus the dollar - in recent weeks investors have sold the U.S. currency when worried about tariffs - and so traders had to balance that with concern about the euro zone growth outlook. The euro gave back some of its earlier gains against he dollar on the tariff news, but remained 0.3% higher on the day at $1.1311. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Mint
21-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Bitcoin surges to all-time peak as crypto sentiment improves
By Samuel Indyk, Alun John, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bitcoin rose to its highest level on record on Wednesday, eclipsing the previous high from January, as risk sentiment continues to improve after last month's tariff-induced selloff. The world's largest cryptocurrency touched a high of $109,760.08, and was last up 1.1% at $108,117. Its ascent was driven by a combination of factors including easing trade tension between the United States and China and Moody's downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt which has prompted investors to seek alternative investment sources to the dollar. "Now that January's high has been surpassed - and the 50 percent upside from April's lows has been achieved - bitcoin enters blue sky territory with tailwinds in the form of institutional momentum and a favorable U.S. regulatory environment," Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of digital asset trading platform Nexo, said in an emailed comment. Bitcoin at times trades in a similar fashion to tech stocks and other assets that rise in value when investor sentiment is high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 30% from its early April low. That has also coincided with continued weakness in the dollar, a further boost for bitcoin's exchange rate against the U.S. currency. Crypto market participants often point to increased involvement from traditional financial firms as reasons for its gains. This week they have referenced JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, a longtime crypto skeptic, who said the bank will let clients buy bitcoin. Earlier this month, crypto exchange Coinbase was added to the S&P 500 index. Coinbase said on Monday the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a probe into a recent data breach at the company. "We're still in year four of the bitcoin price cycle - the year after the bitcoin halving when miner rewards are slashed in half - which historically means its best days are still ahead of it and - while macro uncertainty and the threat of further volatility remains, a target of $150,000 in 2025 is still very much on the cards," Trenchev said. Meanwhile, ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, surprisingly did not rise in tandem with bitcoin. It was last down 0.5% at $2,513. (Reporting by Samuel Indyk and Alun John in London and Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Matthew Lewis)
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Morning Bid: Whoah, we're halfway there
By Alun John (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today, by Alun John, EMEA Breaking News Correspondent, finance and markets Wall Street looks set for another up day, thanks to above-expectations earnings from Google, which sent its shares around 6% higher in out-of-hours trading, and further signs that deals will be done to avoid the most extreme trade war. South Korean and U.S. delegations gave positive signals after their first round of trade talks and Reuters, and others, reported China was considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs. S&P 500 futures were up around 0.6%, suggesting the index would build on what's already been a 3.8% gain for the week, and the U.S. dollar too was rising on nearly all developed market currencies. Mike Dolan is enjoying some well-deserved time off this week, but the Reuters markets team is here to provide you with all the information you need to start your day. Today's Market Minute * China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking businesses to identify goods that could be eligible. * Google parent Alphabet reassured jittery tech investors that its AI investments were powering returns at its crucial ad business. * South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the pause on reciprocal tariffs is lifted in July. * Republicans in the U.S. Congress plan to introduce a sweeping $150 billion defense package that will give an initial $27 billion boost to President Donald Trump's controversial Golden Dome missile defense shield, according to a document and a congressional aide. * Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central bank would continue to raise interest rates if underlying inflation converges toward its 2% inflation target as projected, but said the central bank would scrutinise how U.S. tariffs could affect this. Whoah, we're halfway there The S&P 500, after three straight days of gains, closed Thursday down "only" around 10.7% from its February closing high. That's not a bad little comeback, given that it was down more than 20% at one point a couple of weeks ago, even if it did not close below that symbolic level. And with futures pointing to a higher open, the benchmark is set for further gains on Friday - though one would not want to make too many firm predictions with a whole day of trading still to come. A major part of the bounceback has been driven by the U.S. administration walking back some of its more "out there" positions on Fed independence and tariffs, and getting some positive signs back from the rest of the world too. Investors have spent weeks agonising about whether the tariff announcement on April 2 was a negotiating tool or a genuine belief, and while we still do not know what the plan was at the time, there's enough going on to give traders hope that the outcome will be a series of deals that see the worst of the duties negotiated away. After a first round of trade talks in Washington on Thursday, a delegation from Seoul said that South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the 90-day pause is lifted in July. And after some encouragement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week, China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs, Reuters and others have reported. Some numbers are also helping the mood, with no real sign of a recession in hard economic data, as opposed to surveys, Thursday's initial jobless claims were the latest to come in fine. Again, it does not tell us anything much about the future, but strong earnings from Alphabet are also helping. The next, and harder, question is how much further things can go. The first bit of a market move is normally the easiest, as there are plenty of people who can stop selling and start buying - not the case when things are more balanced. "My view is that the damage to U.S. exceptionalism will be longer lasting, but that it's understandable that there'll be a relief recovery after the U.S. has come back from the brink policy wise," says Jim Reid, global head of macro research at Deutsche Bank. It's also worth keeping an eye on the dollar, which gives a view of the U.S. on a relative basis. That's now stopped depreciating, and is stronger on the week against the euro, yen and Swiss franc, though that's sufficiently marginal in the case of the first two that it may have changed by the time you read this. The dollar certainly isn't halfway back to its position on April 2, let alone recent highs. Let's wait for that to happen to say things are halfway back to normal. Chart of the day Google's mainstay advertising revenue was one of the focuses of Alphabet's results late Thursday and saw an 8.5% rise, above analysts expectations' of a 7.7% increase. It also helped ease some concerns about whether big tech's ambitious AI build-out will bear fruit, as Alphabet reaffirmed its plans and said AI Overviews, the summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks to relevant webpages, now have 1.5 billion users per month. Today's events to watch * University of Michigan sentiment index April * Corporate earnings, including from Aon and Colgate * Trade headlines (of course) * IMF-World Bank meetings
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Morning Bid: Whoah, we're halfway there
By Alun John (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today, by Alun John, EMEA Breaking News Correspondent, finance and markets Wall Street looks set for another up day, thanks to above-expectations earnings from Google, which sent its shares around 6% higher in out-of-hours trading, and further signs that deals will be done to avoid the most extreme trade war. South Korean and U.S. delegations gave positive signals after their first round of trade talks and Reuters, and others, reported China was considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs. S&P 500 futures were up around 0.6%, suggesting the index would build on what's already been a 3.8% gain for the week, and the U.S. dollar too was rising on nearly all developed market currencies. Mike Dolan is enjoying some well-deserved time off this week, but the Reuters markets team is here to provide you with all the information you need to start your day. Today's Market Minute * China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking businesses to identify goods that could be eligible. * Google parent Alphabet reassured jittery tech investors that its AI investments were powering returns at its crucial ad business. * South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the pause on reciprocal tariffs is lifted in July. * Republicans in the U.S. Congress plan to introduce a sweeping $150 billion defense package that will give an initial $27 billion boost to President Donald Trump's controversial Golden Dome missile defense shield, according to a document and a congressional aide. * Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central bank would continue to raise interest rates if underlying inflation converges toward its 2% inflation target as projected, but said the central bank would scrutinise how U.S. tariffs could affect this. Whoah, we're halfway there The S&P 500, after three straight days of gains, closed Thursday down "only" around 10.7% from its February closing high. That's not a bad little comeback, given that it was down more than 20% at one point a couple of weeks ago, even if it did not close below that symbolic level. And with futures pointing to a higher open, the benchmark is set for further gains on Friday - though one would not want to make too many firm predictions with a whole day of trading still to come. A major part of the bounceback has been driven by the U.S. administration walking back some of its more "out there" positions on Fed independence and tariffs, and getting some positive signs back from the rest of the world too. Investors have spent weeks agonising about whether the tariff announcement on April 2 was a negotiating tool or a genuine belief, and while we still do not know what the plan was at the time, there's enough going on to give traders hope that the outcome will be a series of deals that see the worst of the duties negotiated away. After a first round of trade talks in Washington on Thursday, a delegation from Seoul said that South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the 90-day pause is lifted in July. And after some encouragement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week, China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs, Reuters and others have reported. Some numbers are also helping the mood, with no real sign of a recession in hard economic data, as opposed to surveys, Thursday's initial jobless claims were the latest to come in fine. Again, it does not tell us anything much about the future, but strong earnings from Alphabet are also helping. The next, and harder, question is how much further things can go. The first bit of a market move is normally the easiest, as there are plenty of people who can stop selling and start buying - not the case when things are more balanced. "My view is that the damage to U.S. exceptionalism will be longer lasting, but that it's understandable that there'll be a relief recovery after the U.S. has come back from the brink policy wise," says Jim Reid, global head of macro research at Deutsche Bank. It's also worth keeping an eye on the dollar, which gives a view of the U.S. on a relative basis. That's now stopped depreciating, and is stronger on the week against the euro, yen and Swiss franc, though that's sufficiently marginal in the case of the first two that it may have changed by the time you read this. The dollar certainly isn't halfway back to its position on April 2, let alone recent highs. Let's wait for that to happen to say things are halfway back to normal. Chart of the day Google's mainstay advertising revenue was one of the focuses of Alphabet's results late Thursday and saw an 8.5% rise, above analysts expectations' of a 7.7% increase. It also helped ease some concerns about whether big tech's ambitious AI build-out will bear fruit, as Alphabet reaffirmed its plans and said AI Overviews, the summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks to relevant webpages, now have 1.5 billion users per month. Today's events to watch * University of Michigan sentiment index April * Corporate earnings, including from Aon and Colgate * Trade headlines (of course) * IMF-World Bank meetings Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
25-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Morning Bid: Whoah, we're halfway there
April 25 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today, by Alun John, EMEA Breaking News Correspondent, finance and markets Wall Street looks set for another up day, thanks to above-expectations earnings from Google, which sent its shares around 6% higher in out-of-hours trading, and further signs that deals will be done to avoid the most extreme trade war. South Korean and U.S. delegations gave positive signals after their first round of trade talks and Reuters, and others, reported China was considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs. S&P 500 futures were up around 0.6%, suggesting the index would build on what's already been a 3.8% gain for the week, and the U.S. dollar too was rising on nearly all developed market currencies. Mike Dolan is enjoying some well-deserved time off this week, but the Reuters markets team is here to provide you with all the information you need to start your day. Today's Market Minute * China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking businesses to identify goods that could be eligible. * Google parent Alphabet reassured jittery tech investors that its AI investments were powering returns at its crucial ad business. * South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the pause on reciprocal tariffs is lifted in July. * Republicans in the U.S. Congress plan to introduce a sweeping $150 billion defense package that will give an initial $27 billion boost to President Donald Trump's controversial Golden Dome missile defense shield, according to a document and a congressional aide. * Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central bank would continue to raise interest rates if underlying inflation converges toward its 2% inflation target as projected, but said the central bank would scrutinise how U.S. tariffs could affect this. Whoah, we're halfway there The S&P 500, after three straight days of gains, closed Thursday down "only" around 10.7% from its February closing high. That's not a bad little comeback, given that it was down more than 20% at one point a couple of weeks ago, even if it did not close below that symbolic level. And with futures pointing to a higher open, the benchmark is set for further gains on Friday - though one would not want to make too many firm predictions with a whole day of trading still to come. A major part of the bounceback has been driven by the U.S. administration walking back some of its more "out there" positions on Fed independence and tariffs, and getting some positive signs back from the rest of the world too. Investors have spent weeks agonising about whether the tariff announcement on April 2 was a negotiating tool or a genuine belief, and while we still do not know what the plan was at the time, there's enough going on to give traders hope that the outcome will be a series of deals that see the worst of the duties negotiated away. After a first round of trade talks in Washington on Thursday, a delegation from Seoul said that South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the 90-day pause is lifted in July. And after some encouragement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week, China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs, Reuters and others have reported. Some numbers are also helping the mood, with no real sign of a recession in hard economic data, as opposed to surveys, Thursday's initial jobless claims were the latest to come in fine. Again, it does not tell us anything much about the future, but strong earnings from Alphabet are also helping. The next, and harder, question is how much further things can go. The first bit of a market move is normally the easiest, as there are plenty of people who can stop selling and start buying - not the case when things are more balanced. "My view is that the damage to U.S. exceptionalism will be longer lasting, but that it's understandable that there'll be a relief recovery after the U.S. has come back from the brink policy wise," says Jim Reid, global head of macro research at Deutsche Bank. It's also worth keeping an eye on the dollar, which gives a view of the U.S. on a relative basis. That's now stopped depreciating, and is stronger on the week against the euro, yen and Swiss franc, though that's sufficiently marginal in the case of the first two that it may have changed by the time you read this. The dollar certainly isn't halfway back to its position on April 2, let alone recent highs. Let's wait for that to happen to say things are halfway back to normal. Chart of the day Google's mainstay advertising revenue was one of the focuses of Alphabet's results late Thursday and saw an 8.5% rise, above analysts expectations' of a 7.7% increase. It also helped ease some concerns about whether big tech's ambitious AI build-out will bear fruit, as Alphabet reaffirmed its plans and said AI Overviews, the summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks to relevant webpages, now have 1.5 billion users per month. Today's events to watch * University of Michigan sentiment index April * Corporate earnings, including from Aon and Colgate * Trade headlines (of course) * IMF-World Bank meetings Editing by Alex Richardson Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
