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Economic Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Deploy Short Strangle in Nifty to gain from Theta decay
The Indian equity market wrapped up a volatile July series with heightened activity on the final trading day, driven by global cues, including tariff-related announcements and the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate broader market witnessed momentum breakdowns and bouts of selling pressure during the month.'As we enter the August series, we maintain a neutral to positive stance on the broader markets. We await a strong momentum
Business Recorder
12 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Clouds gather over Indian rupee on tariff worries, persistent outflows
MUMBAI: The Indian rupee is expected to open slightly weaker on Friday, with traders expecting the currency to hold a depreciation bias in the near term amid worries over the impact of steep U.S. tariffs on Indian exports and persistent portfolio outflows. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated the rupee will open in the 87.65-87.70 range versus the U.S. dollar, compared with 87.5950 in the previous session. The rupee declined about 2% in July, with U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of a 25% levy on Indian goods, alongside an unspecified penalty, pushing it closer to its all-time low of 87.95. Economists estimate that the 25% tariff announced could shave off the South Asian nation's growth in 2025-26 by up to 40 basis points, but analysts and investors also reckon that India may be able to achieve a lower rate via negotiations. 'India remains a strategic partner for the U.S. and stands to benefit from opening up its large market. We, therefore, believe there is a path forward and expect India will eventually secure a relatively favourable deal,' analysts at BMI said in a note. A tariff on pharmaceutical exports from India, if implemented, would have a more serious impact on India's growth, the note added. Uncertainty on trade is also expected to be a near-term drag on foreign investors' outlook on Indian equities. Overseas investors net pulled out over $600 million from local stocks on Thursday, per provisional exchange data. The 25% tariff may mark the beginning of protracted negotiation, but 'India needs some positive news to grab foreign investors' interest as they have continued to dump Indian equities and North Asia, with its value, income and reform tilt is faring much more strongly,' said Sat Dhura, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors. 'It will take more than a trade announcement to reverse that,' Dhura said. Meanwhile, Asian currencies were down between 0.1% and 0.5% on the day, while slimmed hopes of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in September helped the dollar cling to the 100 handle, its highest in about two months.
Japan Today
17 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Yen weakens to 150 vs. dollar on receding early BOJ rate hike hope
The yen briefly weakened to the 150 range against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, its lowest level since early April, on receding speculation over an early interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan. The Japanese currency was already facing selling pressure after the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan decided to keep their benchmark interest rates steady in their latest policy meetings, in a sign that the U.S.-Japan interest rate differential will remain wide. But the yen further lost ground after there was no indication of an early rate hike from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda during his post-meeting press conference Thursday that market participants were closely watching for clues on how the recent tariff deal between Japan and the United States will affect its monetary policy. The BOJ left its short-term interest rate unchanged for the fourth consecutive meeting at around 0.5 percent amid the remaining economic uncertainty over U.S. tariff policies, while raising its inflation projection to 2.7 percent for the current fiscal year from April from its earlier forecast of 2.2 percent. The last time the yen weakened to 150 was when U.S. President Donald Trump announced the introduction of his so-called reciprocal tariffs in early April. At 8:40 a.m. in New York on Thursday, the dollar fetched 150.03-13 yen compared with 149.47-57 yen at 5 p.m. Wednesday. In Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday, the dollar was traded at 149.38-40 yen. © KYODO
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Safe-haven gold gains on tariff uncertainty ahead of August 1 deadline
By Sarah Qureshi and Noel John (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Thursday as traders turned to the safe haven asset amid ongoing tariff uncertainty ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline to end negotiations. Spot gold was up 0.7% at $3,296.46 per ounce, as of 12:47 p.m. ET (1647 GMT), after rising as much as $3,314.65 earlier today. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.2% to $3,294. "We've seen an uptick in trade uncertainty as we approach this August 1st deadline for tariffs... just a little bit of a revival of the safe haven bid," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. Trump said he had agreed to extend an existing trade deal with Mexico for 90 days and continue talks over that period with the aim of signing a new deal. This followed a day after he made a blitz of tariff announcements on Wednesday, including on imports from Brazil and South Korea, ahead of the deadline for higher U.S. tariff rates. U.S. inflation increased in June as tariffs on imports started raising the cost of some goods. The PCE index rose 0.3% last month after an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in May. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady in 4.25%-4.50% range, and Chair Jerome Powell's comments after the decision dampened hopes for a September rate cut. Gold thrives in a low-interest rate environment as it is a non-yielding asset. Investors now await the U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday for more clues on the Fed's rate path. Spot silver dropped 1.3% to $36.66 per ounce, its lowest since July 7. Platinum fell to its lowest level since June 24, easing 1.4% to $1,295.06, and palladium lost 0.9% to $1,194.63, reaching an over two-week low. "It would not be surprising if strong selling pressure in silver futures is partly due to sympathy selling amid the big copper market meltdown," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals, said. [MET/L]
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Gulf markets muted as earnings disappoint, Fed signals caution on rates
July 31 (Reuters) - Major Gulf equities were mostly flat to lower early on Thursday, pressured by lacklustre corporate earnings and a more cautious U.S. Federal Reserve stance on monetary easing, after it held interest rates steady and offered little indication of when borrowing costs might be lowered. The prospect of U.S. rates staying higher for longer clouded investor sentiment across Gulf markets, where monetary policy tends to track the Fed due to currency pegs. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab eased 0.4%, dragged down by broad-based sectoral declines as a string of underwhelming earnings weighed on sentiment. Shares of Yamama Cement ( opens new tab fell more than 1% after its second-quarter earnings missed expectations, while Nayifat Finance ( opens new tab dropped 2.4% following a nearly 60% year-on-year plunge in Q2 profit. National Gas and Industrialization Co ( opens new tab and Saudi Telecom ( opens new tab each shed 1.6% as their shares began trading ex-dividend. Meanwhile, flash estimates from the General Authority for Statistics showed Saudi Arabia's real GDP rose 3.9% in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, supported by growth in the non-oil sector as the kingdom continues efforts to diversify its economy. Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab slid 0.5%, pulling back from a near two-decade peak in the previous session, led by a 3% fall in Mashreqbank ( opens new tab after posting a 17% year-on-year decline in second-quarter earnings. Tecom Group ( opens new tab was down 1.5% ahead of the release of its quarterly earnings later in the day. The Abu Dhabi index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab was little changed and Qatar's benchmark (.QSI), opens new tab also held steady as investors refrained from placing bigger bets ahead of key earnings announcements. Qatari telecoms firm Ooredoo ( opens new tab outperformed, gaining 1.6% after reporting positive second-quarter results and holding its full-year guidance steady.
