1. South Korea’s Kospi hits record high as Asia stocks gain on Trump-Xi meeting next week
South Korea’s Kospi rose 2% to hit a record high on Friday, amid regional gains after the White House said that U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping were set to hold talks next week. U.S. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will leave for Malaysia late Friday and then travel to Japan and South Korea, meeting X i next Thursday after speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit. South Korea’s small-cap Kosdaq was 0.92% higher. The country’s finance ministry said Friday it was ready to step in to stabilize foreign exchange market if needed, amid persistent volatility in the won-dollar trade. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.78%, while the Topix added 0.39%. Japan’s core inflation rate accelerated to 2.9% in September, the first increase since May and in line with expectations from economists.
2. S&P 500 closes higher, recouping Wednesday’s losses
The S&P 500 rose on Thursday, boosted by tech stocks, as investors stepped in to buy after a batch of strong earnings results. The broad market index climbed 0.58% to close at 6,738.44, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 144.20 points, or 0.31%, to finish at 46,734.61. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.89% to settle at 22,941.80, seeing support from the gains in names like Nvidia, Broadcom and Amazon. A nearly 3% jump in shares of fellow artificial intelligence player Oracle also helped send the market higher. The S&P 500′s move higher marks a full recovery and more from its meaningful losses seen in the previous session, when the index fell roughly 0.5%. The Dow lost about 334 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq declined 0.9% as investors rotated out of riskier assets.
3. Gold set to snap nine-week winning streak as US inflation test looms
Gold prices eased on Friday and were on track for their first weekly drop in 10, weighed down a stronger dollar and as market participants squared positions ahead of a key U.S. inflation report due later in the day. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,118.68 per ounce, as of 0315 GMT. The metal dropped more than 5% early in the week, marking its largest intraday loss in five years. The decline coincided with significant withdrawals from gold-backed ETFs, which saw their largest single-day drop in holdings by tonnage in five months. Still, gold remains up about 55% year-to-date, supported by ongoing trade tensions, with focus on trade talks next week between President Trump and Xi. Geopolitical risks also persisted after the US imposed new sanctions on Russia in an attempt to pressure Moscow for a Ukraine ceasefire.
4. Oil prices dip after surge, remain on track for weekly gain amid supply fears
OOil prices dipped in early trade on Friday, trimming part of the previous day’s surge but remaining on track for a weekly gain, as fresh U.S. sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies over the war in Ukraine fueled supply concerns. Brent crude futures fell 36 cents, or 0.55%, to $65.63 at 0333 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 33 cents, or 0.58%, at $61.43. Both benchmarks jumped more than 5% on Thursday and were set for about a 7% weekly gain, the biggest since mid-June.
5. Trump terminates all U.S. trade negotiations with Canada over Reagan tariffs TV ad
President Donald Trump said Thursday night that he was terminating all trade negotiations with Canada because the Ontario provincial government aired an ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs. Trump’s announcement accused Canada of trying to influence a pending U.S. Supreme Court case that could doom many of his tariffs, including ones on Canada. His statement came after The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said that the ad misrepresents a presidential radio address Reagan delivered in April 1987, and that his remarks were edited without permission. The foundation did not say what was misleading.
6. China to bolster consumption, tech development as U.S. tensions simmer
China’s top leaders on Thursday stressed their resolve to boost domestic consumption over the next five years, on top of widely expected plans to bolster homegrown tech. That’s according to a state media readout of the closely watched “Fourth Plenum” meeting for setting five-year development targets. China on Thursday also confirmed that Vice Premier He Lifeng, who participated in the plenary meeting, will visit Malaysia from Friday to Monday for U.S. trade talks — as anticipation grows over a possible meeting between the U.S. and Chinese presidents at the end of the month. Despite broad calls to bolster China’s international influence and “safeguard the multilateral trading system,” the readout did not mention major countries by name as the meeting focuses largely on domestic development.
7. Japan inflation edges higher for first time since May, matching forecasts as ‘core-core’ gauge eases
Japan’s core inflation rate accelerated to 2.9% in September, the first increase since May and in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters. This was higher than the 2.7% seen in August. The core inflation metric in Japan strips out the prices of fresh food but includes energy costs. Headline inflation in Japan also climbed to 2.9% from 2.7% the previous month, above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. In contrast, the so-called “core-core” inflation rate — which strips out both fresh food and energy costs and is closely monitored by the BOJ — eased to 3% from 3.3% in August. Rice inflation, which drew headlines earlier this year, eased sharply to 49.2%, down from 69.7% the previous month. In May, rice inflation hit 101.7%, the highest level in over 50 years.
8. China and India to face supply jolt as U.S. targets Russia’s oil giants
U.S. decision to sanction Russia’s two largest oil companies threatens to disrupt the energy lifeline linking Moscow to its biggest customers in Asia, but without causing an immediate supply shock, industry experts told CNBC. The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday levied sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, citing Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment” to ending the war in Ukraine. The sanctions aim to “degrade” Kremlin’s ability to finance its war, the department said, signalling more measures could follow. Indian state-run refiners are currently scrutinizing their Russian oil trade paperwork to confirm that none of their supplies originate directly from Rosneft or Lukoil, Reuters reported on Thursday, following the announcement of the sanctions, citing a source with direct knowledge of the situation. Refiners in China will also have to exercise caution, energy experts said.
9. First rare earths and chips, now quantum computers: Trump reportedly eyes new U.S. stakes
The Trump administration is in talks with several quantum-computing firms about giving the Commerce Department equity stakes in exchange for federal funding, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The Commerce Department later denied that active talks were happening, telling CNBC that it is “not currently negotiating equity stakes with quantum computing companies.” The Journal, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, said the companies include IonQ, Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum. Other firms, such as Quantum Computing Inc. and Atom Computing, are considering similar arrangements, it added. Shares of quantum stocks pulled back slightly after the Commerce statement, but still stayed higher Thursday. IonQ jumped 7%. D-Wave climbed 13%. Rigetti added nearly 10%. Quantum Computing was up 7%. Arqit Quantum added 11%.
10. Intel beats on sales in first earnings report since U.S. government became top shareholder
Intel recorded a per-share loss of 37 cents in the quarter to account for shares in escrow that will be released to the U.S. government as part of its $8.9 billion investment. The Trump administration negotiated the investment in August, purchasing 433.3 million shares at $20.47 per share. The chipmaker said it expects revenue in the fourth quarter of $13.3 billion at the midpoint, with adjusted earnings per share of 8 cents. Analysts expected $13.37 billion in revenue and earnings of 8 cents per share. Intel said its outlook excludes the impact from a recent sale of its Altera subsidiary. For the third quarter, Intel reported net income of $4.1 billion, or 90 cents per share, versus a net loss in the year-ago quarter of $16.6 billion. Intel said it received $5.7 billion from the U.S. government during the quarter.
11. Rivian to cut over 600 jobs as EV demand flags after tax credits expire
Rivian Automotive is laying off 4.5% of its workforce, or over 600 employees, an internal email showed on Thursday, as the electric-vehicle maker contends with weakening demand following the expiry of key U.S. tax credits. The expiration last month of a $7,500 U.S. federal tax credit for purchases and leases of new EVs has largely boosted prices and is expected to hit sales through the rest of the year for automakers such as Rivian already grappling with mounting cost pressures. “These are not changes that were made lightly,” Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe said in an email to staff. “With the changing operating backdrop, we had to rethink how we are scaling our go-to-market functions.” The layoffs are part of a consolidation of various operations into Rivian’s service, sales and marketing units, Scaringe said. He added the company also planned to hire a chief marketing officer.
12. US, Abu Dhabi governments to invest $1.8 billion with Orion into critical minerals
The U.S. and Abu Dhabi governments will invest $1.8 billion into mining and refining projects across the globe with private equity fund Orion Resource Partners to bolster Western access to lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals. The investment plan, announced on Thursday, comes as market leader China crimps access to critical minerals even as demand jumps globally across the economy, forcing manufacturers and others to jostle for fresh supply. The U.S. International Development Finance Corp (DFC), which is controlled by Washington, Orion, and the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, have contributed $1.8 billion – $600 million each – to the newly formed Orion Critical Mineral Consortium.
