1. South Korea’s Kospi hits record high after central bank holds rate steady; broader Asia markets fall
South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.37% to hit a record high Thursday after the country’s central bank expectedly kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5%. Meanwhile, the small-cap Kosdaq was flat. The Korean won weakened 0.21% against the greenback to 1,434.80, its lowest level since May. Broader Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s declines on concerns about U.S.-China trade relations. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index retreated 1.52% in early trade, while the Topix declined 0.71%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.17%, while the mainland’s CSI 300 fell 0.8%.
2. Dow closes down 300 points on trade fears, latest earnings
U.S. equities fell on Wednesday as new developments out of Washington exacerbated concerns among investors about U.S.-China trade relations. Disappointing corporate earnings from companies including Texas Instruments and Netflix also weighed on the major averages. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 334.33 points, or 0.71%, at 46,590.41. The S&P 500 fell 0.53% to finish at 6,699.40, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.93% to settle at 22,740.40. At session lows, the Dow was down more than 400 points, or about 1%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq decreased 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively. Stocks remained under pressure after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the White House is weighing curbs on exports to China made with U.S. software.
3. Gold extends pullback from record high for a third day
Gold declined for a third day, edging back in the direction of $4,000 an ounce on concerns a prolonged rally has become overheated. Spot gold slipped to around $4,090 an ounce in early Asian trading on Thursday, reinforcing a technical reset, while investors also weighed the prospects for a US-China trade deal to relieve some of the geopolitical tensions that have bolstered demand for haven assets. The metal has dropped nearly 6% in the last two sessions from a record high. Gold is still up about 55% this year, with prices also supported in recent weeks by bets the Federal Reserve will make at least one quarter-point cut by the end of the year. Technical indicators have shown that the rally was likely overstretched, with this week’s pullback taking some heat out of the market.
4. Oil rises 2.5% after US sanctions Russia’s Rosneft, Lukoil
Oil prices jumped around 2.5% on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, as supply concerns resurfaced after the United States imposed sanctions on major Russian oil suppliers Rosneft and Lukoil over the Ukraine war. Brent crude futures were up by $1.56, or 2.49%, at $64.15 per barrel by 0303 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $1.53, or 2.62%, at $60.03. The U.S. said it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in its war in Ukraine. For months into his second term, President Donald Trump has resisted pressure from U.S. lawmakers to impose energy sanctions, hoping that Russia would agree to end the fighting.
5. Government shutdown becomes 2nd longest in U.S. history
The U.S. government shutdown on Wednesday entered its 22nd day, becoming the second-longest federal funding lapse ever, with no end in sight. The milestone means that the two longest shutdowns have both occurred while President Donald Trump was in office. The longest shutdown began in December 2018, in Trump’s first term, and dragged on for nearly five weeks. That shutdown stemmed from a dispute about funding Trump’s contentious immigration policy. The current shutdown resulted from Senate Democrats refusing to vote for a short-term government funding bill sponsored by Republicans, because it lacks additional spending on health care and other provisions. Republicans have accused Democrats of holding the government hostage and have refused to negotiate on health care issues until after the shutdown is over.
6. India’s Russian Oil Bounty Dries Up as Sanctions Toughen
Flows of Russian oil to major Indian refiners — a boon for both countries’ economies over the past three years — are expected to fall to near zero after the US imposed sanctions on crude giants Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC. Senior executives at the processors said the latest restrictions announced by Washington overnight, blacklisting Russia’s largest producers, would make it all but impossible for flows to continue. They asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. So far this year, India has taken just over 36% of its imports from Russia, a major irritant for President Donald Trump and hurdle in trade negotiations after punitive tariffs came into effect in August. India is the largest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, but the sanctions have also sent shockwaves deep into the heart of China’s oil industry.
7. Canada plans to shrink US reliance, cut spending in upcoming budget
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday said his government’s first budget will reduce economic and security reliance on the United States and cut wasteful spending. Carney, who was elected in April, stressed that his government’s maiden budget will be about both austerity and big investments as he seeks to protect the Canadian economy from what he has called a crisis brought on by a newly protectionist U.S. “The decades-long process of an ever-closer economic relationship between the Canadian and U.S. economies is over,” Carney said in a televised address to a group of university students. “Many of our former strengths — based on close ties to America — have become our vulnerabilities,” he said.
8. Bank of England rejects call to ease bank leverage rules
Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods on Wednesday rejected calls from the banking industry to further relax rules on bank leverage, despite growing pressure from the government to reduce regulatory burdens to boost the UK’s economic growth. The British government is seeking to soften some finance industry regulations to boost the country’s sluggish growth and compete more effectively with the U.S., where supervisors are taking steps to ease banks’ capital rules. Woods, speaking before UK ministers and industry leaders at an annual regulatory gathering in London’s financial center, said some measures being suggested could allow a sharp increase in bank leverage and weaken safeguards designed to prevent excessive risk-taking. The UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority, which oversees banks and which Woods heads as CEO, has proposed raising the threshold at which the leverage ratio applies.
9. Sterling slips as UK inflation holds steady, dollar lower versus yen
The pound fell on Wednesday after British inflation in September came in below forecasts, while the U.S. dollar fell slightly against the Japanese yen. The British pound was the weakest major currency on Wednesday after inflation unexpectedly held at 3.8%, undershooting expectations of economists and of the Bank of England. Sterling fell by as much as 0.5% against the dollar. It was last down 0.13% at 1.336. The yen has lost 2.5% this month as Takaichi jostled to become Japan’s prime minister, marking its biggest monthly decline against the dollar since July, as investors anticipated expansionary fiscal policy and a testy relationship with Japan’s central bank would weigh on the currency. Takaichi, an advocate for loose fiscal and monetary policy, said on Tuesday that it was up to the Bank of Japan to decide the specifics of monetary policy.
10. Meta lays off 600 from ‘bloated’ AI unit as Wang cements leadership
Meta will lay off roughly 600 employees within its artificial intelligence unit as the company looks to reduce layers and operate more nimbly, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday. The company announced the cuts in a memo from its chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, who was hired in June as part of Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI. Workers across Meta’s AI infrastructure units, Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research unit (FAIR) and other product-related positions will be impacted. Within Meta, the AI unit was considered to be bloated, with teams like FAIR and more product-oriented groups often vying for computing resources, the people said. When the company’s new hires joined the company to create Superintelligence Labs, it inherited the oversized Meta AI unit, they said.
11. WBD rejected three Paramount takeover offers, the last for just under $24 per share, sources say
Warner Bros. Discovery has rejected three Paramount Skydance takeover offers as it fields broad buyout interest, CNBC’s David Faber reported Wednesday, citing sources. Paramount’s last offer was for just under $24 per share and was comprised of 80% cash, according to Faber, who previously reported a bid could come in at between $22 and $24 per share. WBD said on Tuesday that it had received “unsolicited interest” from multiple parties and that it would expand its strategic review process to review all bids. At the same time, the company is moving ahead with previously announced plans to separate into two entities: a streaming and studios business and a global networks business. Shares of WBD gained almost 11% on Tuesday. They were up another 1% in morning trading Wednesday.
12. Tesla profit falls short despite record sales, hit by higher costs and fading credits
Tesla reported record third-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, driven by the highest quarterly sales of its electric vehicles as U.S. buyers rushed to lock in a key tax credit ahead of its expiry last month. However, Tesla’s profit failed to live up to analysts’ expectations, in part due to tariff and research costs, as well as a drop in income from regulatory credits that are expected to continue to fade away with recent legislation passed by the Trump administration. Tesla’s $1.45 trillion valuation largely reflects investor bets on CEO Elon Musk’s pivot to robotics and AI, but vehicle sales remain key to the financial stability of the company while those products are being developed. Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company were down 4% in extended trading.