Latest news with #RockySwift
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
US courts tariff ruling gives markets short-term pop, long-term angst
Policy uncertainty persists despite temporary optimism Investment strategies shift to shorter horizons Court ruling boosts Asian markets, led by South Korea, Japan By Rocky Swift and Ankur Banerjee TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) - A legal roadblock on U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs drew early cheer from markets on Thursday, but the risks of extended policy and economic paralysis cast a deeper shadow for investors worried about the longer term. Most equity markets are back above water after routs following Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs announced nearly two months ago, only to be repeatedly delayed and adjusted since then. The latest twist is a U.S. trade court blocking the levies from going into effect. Trump's administration immediately appealed the ruling, but it breathed some optimism, however temporary, into risk assets and the U.S. dollar, one of the biggest losers from the chaotic tariff rollout. The prolonged uncertainty from Wednesday's ruling, however, will take an economic toll on firms longer-term, said David Chao, global market strategist for Asia Pacific at Invesco. "My big worry is that companies start to put off things like hiring or capital expense or giving people raises for these factories or manufacturing," he said. "And that could certainly put a damper then on company earnings and consumption could also be impacted by that." Following the market revolt after his April 2 tariff shock, Trump paused most import duties for 90 days and vowed to hammer out bilateral deals with trade partners. However, other than a pact with Britain this month, agreements remain elusive and the court's stay on the tariffs may dissuade countries like Japan from rushing into deals, Chao added. For now, the ruling is a "marginal positive" for sentiment as it minimises the most bearish outlooks on growth, said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo in Singapore. "Trump may still have scope to appeal or impose narrower, sector-specific tariffs, so policy uncertainty lingers," Chanana said. "Businesses still don't have clarity, and the policy path remains fluid." Markets have swung wildly through Trump's on-and-off tariff changes. The S&P 500 index is up 3.8% since they were announced, European stocks are up 2.2%, while China's benchmark indexes are nearly flat. Gold is off record highs but still up more than 4% in these eight weeks, and the U.S. dollar index is down 4%. Ten-year Treasury yields have climbed 30 basis points to around 4.5%. News of the Court of International Trade's ruling sent stock benchmarks across Asia higher, led by South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei. Both are up more than 7% from "Liberation Day" when Trump's tariff chaos and concern about expanding U.S. deficits triggered an exit from dollar-based securities into other assets. For now, that pressure has abated, though caution must be exercised in case higher courts undo the latest ruling, said Sean Callow, senior analyst at ITC Markets in Sydney. "The weight of money is being placed on the possibility that U.S. courts prevent the White House from self-imposed economic damage, brightening U.S. growth prospects and the U.S. dollar," he said. Volatility and policy reversals are what define this trading environment and investors are reacting in kind, said Ray Sharma-Ong, head of multi-asset investment solutions for Southeast Asia at Aberdeen Investments. "Trade and portfolio strategies have shifted toward shorter investment horizons," he said. "Portfolios have leaned more toward tactical trades, with positions focused on key catalysts and events linked to Trump's policies." Ultimately, this trade uncertainty is toxic to investment and economic growth, driving chief executives and policymakers to put off major decisions, said Kei Okamura, a portfolio manager for Neuberger Berman in Tokyo. "This stop and go is not helpful for businesses that need to make decisions that can take several years, even a decade, to implement," Okamura said. "For central banks, this development just reinforces their wait-and-see stance." (Reporting by the Asia markets team. Writing by Rocky Swift. Editing by Sam Holmes.)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Asian shares, U.S. dollar climb on rosy data, tech optimism
By Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares continued a rally from Wall Street and the dollar held gains on Wednesday on promising economic signs in the United States and speculation of strong tech earnings. Markets welcomed what appeared to be easing trade frictions between the U.S. and Europe while global bond markets settled down after a scary surge in long-term yields. U.S. consumer confidence surprised on the upside ahead of closely watched jobs figures on Thursday. Nvidia jumped more than 4% yesterday and will be the last of the Magnificent 7 tech giants to report earnings after markets close in the U.S. "There is renewed confidence that Nvidia can beat the consensus estimates," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. If Nvidia comes through with better-than-expected sales and profit margins "the rally is on," he added. The chipmaker is expected to report that first-quarter revenue surged 66.2% to $43.28 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. In signs of a thaw between the U.S. and Europe, European Union officials have asked companies for details of their U.S. investment plans, according to two sources familiar with the matter. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3% in morning trading while Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.6%, climbing a fourth straight session. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.1%, adding to Tuesday's 0.6% rally. The greenback advanced 0.1% to $1.132 against the euro. Australian shares were up 0.17%, but the nation's currency slid 0.2% after April consumer price data came in above expectations. The kiwi dollar slid 0.3% after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates as expected. Japanese bonds slid, trimming a surge yesterday, ahead of a 40-year auction and on speculation the Ministry of Finance will reduce the issuance of long-dated securities. Oil prices ticked up in early trading as the U.S. barred Chevron CVX.N from exporting crude from Venezuela under a new authorization on its assets there, raising the prospect of tighter supply. Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to $64.37 a barrel, while U.S. Spot gold rallied 0.1% after dropping more than 1% on Tuesday. (Rocky Swift in Tokyo; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Asian shares, U.S. dollar climb on rosy data, tech optimism
By Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares continued a rally from Wall Street and the dollar held gains on Wednesday on promising economic signs in the United States and speculation of strong tech earnings. Markets welcomed what appeared to be easing trade frictions between the U.S. and Europe while global bond markets settled down after a scary surge in long-term yields. U.S. consumer confidence surprised on the upside ahead of closely watched jobs figures on Thursday. Nvidia jumped more than 4% yesterday and will be the last of the Magnificent 7 tech giants to report earnings after markets close in the U.S. "There is renewed confidence that Nvidia can beat the consensus estimates," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. If Nvidia comes through with better-than-expected sales and profit margins "the rally is on," he added. The chipmaker is expected to report that first-quarter revenue surged 66.2% to $43.28 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. In signs of a thaw between the U.S. and Europe, European Union officials have asked companies for details of their U.S. investment plans, according to two sources familiar with the matter. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3% in morning trading while Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.6%, climbing a fourth straight session. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.1%, adding to Tuesday's 0.6% rally. The greenback advanced 0.1% to $1.132 against the euro. Australian shares were up 0.17%, but the nation's currency slid 0.2% after April consumer price data came in above expectations. The kiwi dollar slid 0.3% after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates as expected. Japanese bonds slid, trimming a surge yesterday, ahead of a 40-year auction and on speculation the Ministry of Finance will reduce the issuance of long-dated securities. Oil prices ticked up in early trading as the U.S. barred Chevron CVX.N from exporting crude from Venezuela under a new authorization on its assets there, raising the prospect of tighter supply. Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to $64.37 a barrel, while U.S. Spot gold rallied 0.1% after dropping more than 1% on Tuesday. (Rocky Swift in Tokyo; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Japan theme park aims to tap tourism boom, become springboard to Asian markets
By Rocky Swift and Kentaro Okasaka TOKYO (Reuters) -The company behind a new nature adventure park on Japan's southern island of Okinawa is hoping the country's huge tourism boom will get it off to a raring start, and that with time propel the startup further into Asia and other markets. Junglia, a 60-hectare site built on an old golf course and featuring more than 20 attractions from a hot air balloon ride and buggy riding to treetop walking and a "Dinosaur Safari", is set to open on July 25. Costing some 70 billion yen ($634 million), the park is the brainchild of Tsuyoshi Morioka, chief executive of entertainment firm Katana. Morioka, a theme park veteran, is credited with turning around flagging attendance at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka, western Japan, by bringing in Harry Potter-themed attractions. Japan is experiencing an unprecedented boom in tourism, fuelled by a weaker yen, with overseas visitors climbing 47% to a record 36.9 million last year. Their spending shot up 53% to 8.1 trillion yen ($55.6 billion), making tourism - which counts as an export in GDP data - the country's second biggest export sector after cars. The Japanese also love a good theme park with Tokyo's Disney resorts having enduring success and USJ, despite some early financial woes, proving popular. That said, many parks have also failed. Yu Shioji, the chairman of the Amusement Park Society of Japan, believes Junglia will have "almost no chance" of long-term success given that there are other nature adventure parks in Japan and its relatively high cost - 6,930 yen ($48) per day pass for locals and 8,800 yen ($60) for international visitors. While acknowledging long odds for long-term profitability for any amusement park, Morioka - who considers himself a maths nerd - said that by his calculations, Junglia has more than a 70% chance of success. He expects several thousand visitors a day to Junglia and says it can be profitable even if it only garners half the number of visitors of the nearby Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, which has around 3 million per year. Morioka added that demand for theme parks and higher value-added tourism services in Japan is here to stay, given that many Asian countries are growing wealthier. "The weak yen is a tailwind, but the number of people who want to visit Japan will increase structurally regardless of the currency effect," he said. The Japanese government has said it wants to boost the number of overseas visitors to 60 million per year by 2030. If Junglia is successful, Morioka says developing smaller attractions that cost less than 100 billion yen, unlike mega theme parks like Disney's and USJ, could be easily replicated in other Asian markets like Taiwan and Indonesia. Listing Katana would be an option to fund future growth, he said, adding that he saw a lot of potential for theme parks built around Japanese anime if he can convince content creators to license their intellectual property. "I think it would be good if there was a third option in cities around the globe after Disney and Universal," said Morioka. "I want to develop niches where they can't go and create a third force in attractions in the world that originates from Japan." ($1 = 144.84 yen)
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dollar trades sideways before tax vote, Aussie holds gain before RBA
By Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) -The dollar traded sideways on Tuesday after having glided lower for a week, hemmed in by the Fed's caution over the economy and as U.S. lawmakers came closer to passing a bill expected to widen the nation's fiscal deficit. The greenback sold off broadly on Monday following last week's surprise downgrade of the U.S. sovereign rating by Moody's on deficit concerns. Now attention turns to a critical vote in Washington over U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tax cuts. The Australian dollar held most of its gains ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision later Tuesday, when it is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told CNBC on Monday the central bank may only be able to cut interest rates by a quarter point over the rest of the year given concerns about rising inflation stoked by higher import taxes. Trump is expected to join the congressional debate over his tax bill on Tuesday. The vote comes after Moody's stripped the U.S. government of its top-tier credit rating, citing concerns over the nation's growing $36.2 trillion debt pile. "The Moody's U.S. sovereign downgrade was symbolic, and highlights what everyone already knew - that U.S. deficits and interest expenses are only going one way, and that Treasury coupon issuance will increase in 2026," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. Trump's bill would add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the debt, according to nonpartisan analysts. Trade-related uncertainties, ballooning fiscal debt and weakened confidence about enduring U.S. exceptionalism have weighed on U.S. assets. The U.S. dollar index has tumbled as much as 10.6% from its January highs, one of the sharpest retreats for a three-month period. The greenback edged up 0.1% to 144.99 yen, after touching 144.66 on Monday that was the weakest since May 8. The dollar index rose 0.1% after sliding 0.6% in the previous session. The Australian dollar was little changed $0.6449, preserving most of Monday's 0.8% surge. Sterling traded at $1.3354, down 0.1%. The euro stood at $1.1234, down 0.1%. Sterling traded at $1.3359, down 0.03% so far on the day. 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
