1. Japan stocks hit record high after ruling party picks pro-stimulus Sanae Takaichi
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped over 4% to hit a record high Monday after the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected staunch conservative Sanae Takaichi as its new leader Saturday, positioning her to become the country’s first female prime minister. Similarly, the Topix rose as much as 3% to hit an all-time high. The Japanese yen weakened 1.45% to trade at 149.59 against the dollar. Japan’s 30-year bond yield rose over 10 basis points to 3.263%, while the yield on the 20-year debt added over six basis points to 2.674%.
The benchmark 10-year bond yield is little changed at around 1.659%. Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.19%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.22%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.66%.
2. S&P 500 posts winning week, but Friday rally fizzles
The S&P 500 retreated from a record on Friday but held on to solid weekly gains despite a U.S. government shutdown dragging on for a third day. The broad market index closed little changed, ticking up just 0.01% at 6,715.79, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.28% to settle at 22,780.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, trading higher by 238.56 points, or 0.51%, to finish at 46,758.28. The Russell 2000 also popped 0.72% to close at 2,476.18. All four benchmarks had hit all-time highs earlier in the session. The three leading indexes saw a positive weekly finish. The broad market S&P 500 rose around 1.1% on the week, along with the 30-stock Dow, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.3%. The small-cap Russell has jumped nearly 2% in the period.
3. Gold rallies to record high over $3,900/oz amid yen slump, US rate cut bets
Gold prices soared to a record high in early Asian trade on Monday amid a sharp weakening in the yen and as bets on lower U.S. interest rates remained squarely in play. Bullion was supported by persistent concerns over a U.S. government shutdown, which remained in place as lawmakers marked little progress towards a spending bill. U.S. President Donald Trump’s deploying of the California National Guard to Portland, Oregon, also sparked some uncertainty, especially after the two states sued against the move. Spot gold jumped as much as 1% to a record high of $3,926.63 an ounce, while gold futures for December rose 1.1% to a peak of $3,951.32/oz.
4. Oil prices rebound sharply on smaller-than-feared OPEC+ output hike
Oil prices climbed sharply in Asian trading on Monday, rebounding from heavy losses last week, after OPEC+ agreed to a smaller-than-expected production increase for November that eased some market fears of a global supply glut. As of 21:06 ET (01:06 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in December jumped 1.4% to $65.45 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 1.5% to $61.78 per barrel. Both benchmarks had slumped more than 8% last week, their steepest weekly drop in nearly three months, as traders braced for the possibility of a large OPEC+ hike. At its meeting on Sunday, the producer alliance said it would raise output by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, matching the increment approved for October.
5. Netanyahu hopes to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza ‘in the coming days’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza “in the coming days,” as Israel and Hamas prepare for indirect talks in Egypt on Monday on a new U.S. plan to end the war. In a brief statement late Saturday, Netanyahu said he has sent a delegation to Egypt “to finalize technical details,” adding that “our goal is to contain these negotiations to a time frame of a few days.” But Netanyahu signalled there would not be a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, something Hamas has long demanded. He said Israel’s military will continue to hold territories it controls in Gaza, and that Hamas will be disarmed in the plan’s second phase, diplomatically “or through a military path by us.” The prime minister spoke after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of the U.S. plan.
6. Trump’s $100,000 fee for H-1B worker visas challenged in lawsuit
A coalition of unions, employers and religious groups filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s bid to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers. The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco is the first to challenge Trump’s proclamation issued last month announcing the fee. The United Auto Workers union, American Association of University Professors and other plaintiffs say Trump’s power to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals does not allow him to override the law that created the H-1B visa program. The program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty fields, and technology companies in particular rely heavily on workers who receive H-1B visas. Employers who sponsor H-1B workers currently typically pay between $2,000 and $5,000 in fees, depending on the size of the company and other factors.
7. Senate funding measures fail again as deadlock continues
The Senate on Friday once again did not pass duelling funding bills that would have kept the three-day-old government shutdown from stretching into next week. The latest attempts to pass both Republicans’ “clean” resolution, which would resume funding at current levels through late November, and Democrats’ version, which includes additional health-care funding and other measures, was expected not to succeed. The same competing resolutions previously failed multiple times in the Senate, including on the eve of the shutdown and after it began Wednesday morning. The shutdown is now all but guaranteed to drag on until at least Monday. The funding lapse is expected to lead to the furlough of an estimated 750,000 federal employees and trigger the temporary closure of a slew of government programs and offices.
8. U.S. Supreme Court lets Trump strip temporary status from Venezuelan migrants
The U.S. Supreme Court again cleared the way on Friday for Donald Trump’s administration to revoke a temporary legal protection for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the United States, backing a key priority of the Republican president as he pursues a policy of mass deportations. The justices granted the administration’s request to put on hold a judge’s ruling that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked the authority to end the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, granted to the migrants under Trump’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden while litigation proceeds. Trump has made cracking down on immigration — legal and illegal — a central plank of his second term as president, and has moved to strip certain migrants of temporary legal protections, expanding the pool of possible deportees.
9. Stellantis plans $10 billion US investment to revitalize Jeep and Dodge
Stellantis NV is preparing to invest approximately $10 billion in the United States as the automaker works to revitalize its American operations, with a focus on its profitable Jeep and Ram brands, Bloomberg reported on Sunday. The investment plan includes about $5 billion in new funding on top of a similar amount already committed earlier this year, the report said, citing sources. An announcement could come in the coming weeks. The multi-year investment would target plants in states including Illinois and Michigan, potentially funding re-openings, hiring initiatives, and new vehicle models, the report added. Stellantis is particularly focused on restoring Jeep’s former market position and is exploring new investments in the Dodge brand.
10. U.S. tech giants hit pause on India data centre deals under weight of trade uncertainty
U.S. technology companies are delaying their decisions to lease large data centres in India, jittery from the recent souring of trade ties between New Delhi and Washington. New deals for data centres have been on hold for more than two months now, while hyperscalers may revisit their plans in the next three to six months, said a property consultant, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to business sensitivities. Trade relations between the two countries have soured in the last two months. In August, the U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on goods from India, before raising the levies to 50%, citing India’s purchase of Russian oil. That was followed by a new $100,000 “one-time” visa fee on fresh H-1B visa applications, effective Sept. 21, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump — a move expected to hit Indian workers hardest. India’s data centre capacity is expected to nearly triple in the next five years from 1.2 gigawatts to more than 3.5 gigawatts by 2030, according to multiple industry estimates, despite the tensions with Washington.
11. 3M explores sale of industrial assets in strategic review
3M Co. is exploring the potential sale of billions of dollars’ worth of assets from its industrial operations as part of a strategy to divest low-growth businesses, according to a report from Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter. The conglomerate has engaged Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help review possible divestments, said the sources, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The company’s safety and industrials unit, which generated approximately $11 billion in revenue last year, includes various business lines such as aftermarket automotive products, personal safety equipment, and industrial adhesives and tapes.
12. OpenAI’s Altman seeks funds for infrastructure expansion on Asia, Middle East tour
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has embarked on a global fundraising initiative spanning East Asia and the Middle East, seeking financing and manufacturing partners to meet the company’s demand for its computing capacity, sources reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the meetings. Altman has held discussions since late September in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan with major suppliers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Foxconn, Samsung, and SK Hynix to boost AI chip production and secure top-priority orders for OpenAI, the report said. Altman was pushing these companies to increase production capacity and give priority to OpenAI’s orders, the source added.
13. Trump administration eyes stake in company developing Greenland rare earths mine
Trump administration officials have discussed taking a stake in Critical Metals Corp, four people familiar with the discussions told Reuters, which would give Washington a direct interest in the largest rare earths project in Greenland, the Arctic territory that President Donald Trump once suggested buying. If finalized, the deal would mark the latest political twist for the Tanbreez rare earths deposit, which former President Joe Biden successfully lobbied to have sold to New York-based Critical Metals for far less than a Chinese firm was offering. Washington has recently taken stakes in Lithium Americas and MP Materials, underscoring Trump’s desire for the U.S. to benefit from growing production of minerals used across the global economy.