- China Plan to Cut Key Rates Lifts Asian Stocks: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks rose as China’s central bank lowered key rates in the latest attempt to shore up
the economy and financial markets. Equity benchmarks in Japan jumped more than 1% while those in South
Korea climbed. Futures for the FTSE China A50 Index jumped as much as 2%. The yield on China’s 10-year
government bond declined to 2%. - S&P 500 rises to fresh record close Monday as traders aim to extend Fed cut relief rally
The S&P 500 climbed to a fresh closing high on Monday as traders looked to build on last week’s gains
following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut. The broad market index added 0.28% to end at 5,718.57,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 61.29 points, or 0.15%, to close at 42,124.65. Both indexes
closed at records. The Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.14% to 17,974.27. The moves come after a winning
week on Wall Street that centered around the Fed’s decision to lower interest rates by 50 basis points, its
first cut in four years. Despite some choppiness following the initial announcement, stocks rallied in the days
following. - Oil prices rise on concerns of wider Middle East conflict, U.S. storm
Oil prices rose on Tuesday on concerns the intensifying conflict between Israel and Hezbollah may impact
supply in the key Middle East producing region and a tropical storm may impact output in the U.S., the
world’s biggest crude producer, later this week. Brent crude futures for November were up 21 cents, or 0.3%,
at $74.11 a barrel at 0030 GMT. U.S. crude futures for November were up 24 cents, or 0.3%, at $70.61.
Both contracts closed lower on Monday as demand worries took precedence in investors’ minds after
disappointing euro zone business activity and on lingering concerns about Chinese fuel consumption. - Gold holds ground on dovish Fed-speak, Mideast concerns
Gold prices steadied on Tuesday after surging to a record high in the previous session, following broadly
dovish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials and escalating tensions in the Middle East. Spot gold
was steady near $2,627.43 per ounce as of 0227 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $2,635.29 on Monday.
U.S. gold futures were also nearly unchanged at $2,652.50. - Fed Officials Leave Door Open to Another Large Interest-Rate Cut
(Bloomberg) — A handful of Federal Reserve officials on Monday left open the door to additional large
interest-rate cuts, noting that current rates still weigh heavily on the US economy. Over the next 12 months,
we have a long way to come down to get the interest rate to something like neutral to try to hold the
conditions where they are, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said in a moderated Q&A event. - Yen Faces Headwinds That Damp Any Advantage From Fed’s Big Cut
(Bloomberg) — The yen is facing a multitude of negatives that seem to be outweighing any advantage it’s
gained from the bumper Federal Reserve interest-rate cut. Japan’s currency stayed under pressure Tuesday
morning in Tokyo, after the worst week in almost five months. - Reeves Signals UK Investment Move With Pledge for Ambition
(Bloomberg) — Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves hinted at plans that could unlock billions of
pounds of investment in the climate transition and other government priorities as she promised to deliver a
UK budget showing real ambition. This budget will be a budget for economic growth; it will be a budget for
investment, Reeves said Monday. - Trump Vows to Hit John Deere With Tariffs If Jobs Move to Mexico
(Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump threatened to hit US farm machinery maker Deere & Co. with
steep tariffs if the company moves production to Mexico during an event on American farmers and trade. I’m
just notifying John Deere right now, if you do that, we’re putting a 200% tariff on everything that you want to
sell into the United States, Trump said Monday. - Scholz Condemns UniCredit’s Unfriendly Commerzbank Move
(Bloomberg) — Tensions between Germany and UniCredit SpA burst into the open Monday as the
government said it opposes a takeover of Commerzbank AG while the Italian lender moved to raise its stake.
Unfriendly attacks, hostile takeovers are not a good thing for banks, which is why the German government
has taken a clear position here and made it very clear that we do not consider this to be an appropriate
course of action, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in New York on Monday. - China Unleashes Stimulus Blitz in Push to Hit Annual Growth Goal
(Bloomberg) — China’s central bank unleashed a blitz of policy support for the economy, as policymakers
make their broadest push so far to hit this year’s annual growth target of about 5%. People’s Bank of China
governor Pan Gongsheng announced a series of stimulus measures at a rare briefing Tuesday in Beijing. - Israel Airstrikes on Lebanon Kill Hundreds in Major Escalation
(Bloomberg) — Israel launched airstrikes on targets across southern Lebanon, killing nearly 500 people in one
of the deadliest days of fighting in nearly two decades and fanning fears of all-out war. Some 1,650 people
were wounded in the strikes and about 100 women and children were among the dead, the Lebanese health
ministry said. - Intel Gets Multibillion-Dollar Apollo Offer as Qualcomm Circles
(Bloomberg) — Apollo Global Management Inc. has offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Intel
Corp., people familiar with the matter said, providing the chipmaker with a vote of confidence in its
turnaround strategy and an alternative to a potential takeover by larger rival Qualcomm Inc. - Apple’s Late-Day Plunge Stirs Speculation Over Who Was Selling
(Bloomberg) — Friday was supposed to be a good day for the shares of Apple Inc., with the iPhone maker set
to be a big winner from the quarterly adjustment of major stock indexes. And for most of the session, that’s
how it played out, until about 10 minutes before the closing bell. By the time it rang, Apple had sunk more
than 2% from its intraday high. - LVMH shares drop as much as 1.3% while shares in Kering decline as much as 2.5% after both stocks
were downgraded to neutral at Bank of America amid worries over a prolonged slowdown in the luxurygoods sector
Hugo Boss slides 4.3% after BofA downgrades to underperform. BofA analyst Ashley Wallace says the
slowdown is likely to continue into the second half of the year and into 2025, putting pressure on margins
and leading to limited Ebit growth. Cuts luxury EPS by 17%; sees no catalyst for a re-rating. Separately, Stifel
analyst Rogerio Fujimori cuts PT on LVMH (buy) to €720 from €800, saying that weakening data points from
China since July suggest that his forecast cuts immediately following first-half results were not enough. - Intel shares rise as much as 4.2% Monday after Apollo Global Management was said to have offered to
make a multibillion-dollar investment in the company. Separately, analysts say a possible Qualcomm deal
would face regulatory and other hurdles. Qualcomm approached the chip maker to discuss a potential
acquisition, according to people with knowledge of the matter
Mobileye, a company in which Intel holds a majority share, also rose 4.2%. Its shares surged last week after
Intel said it won’t sell its stake in the firm. Stifel analyst Ruben Roy (hold): Like similar mega-deals in the
semiconductor space in the past, a Qualcomm-Intel deal would be unlikely to garner regulatory approval; Any
deal would come with a lengthy review process, potential disruptions and other uncertainties that will in turn
aid rivals like AMD. - Snowflake Inc. is seeking to raise $2 billion from the sale of convertible bonds
The cloud computing company is offering two issues of $1 billion each in a private placement, according to a
statement Monday. Snowflake is marketing its convertible senior notes due 2027 and 2029 respectively with
a coupon of 0% to 0.5% each, according to people familiar with the matter. Snowflake is seeking a conversion
premium of 32.5% to 37.5%, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. A
representative for Snowflake didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Snowflake offers
software that helps customers find, organize and use huge amounts of information from a variety of sources.
Under Chief Executive Officer Sridhar Ramaswamy, Snowflake has launched products focused on generative
AI and other new ways to analyze large sets of data. - Boeing Co.
Boeing Co. shares rose 1.96%. The planemaker offered its largest union a bigger pay bump as it tries to
overcome a debilitating strike that has shut down its aircraft manufacturing across the Pacific Northwest.
Boeing offered striking Seattle factory workers a 30% wage increase over four years, up from the 25%
increase turned down this month by 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists And
Aerospace Workers. - BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas shares fell 3.66%. BNP Paribas SA agreed to buy HSBC Holdings Plc private banking operations in
Germany, as the French lender seeks a bigger slice of the nation’s growing market for wealth management.
Adding the unit will take assets under management in BNP Paribas’ local wealth management business to
more than €40 billion ($44.6 billion), according to a statement on Monday. - TSMC and Samsung in talks with UAE to build chip megafactories, WSJ reports
Global chip giants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics have been in talks with
the United Arab Emirates to explore building megafactories in the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal
reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the interactions and strategies involved. Top executives at TSMC
have visited the Gulf state recently to discuss plans of building factory complexes that are comparable to
some of the company’s largest and most sophisticated facilities in Taiwan, the report said. South Korea-based
Samsung Electronics has also been considering investing in building chip manufacturing facilities in the
country in the coming years. Senior leaders in the South Korean company have recently visited the country to
explore the idea, the report said. The Gulf state has been ramping up efforts and investments in developing
its domestic tech industry as it works to build its position as a global hub for advanced technology and
artificial intelligence. However, the discussions with UAE officials are still in the early stages, the report said.
A tug-of-war between the U.S. and China has played out in the region as tech deals speed up and Washington
grows increasingly wary over Beijing’s influence in the Gulf state. TSMC and Samsung have held discussions
with U.S. officials who are worried about potential shipments of advanced AI chips coming from UAE-based
plants to China. The U.S. will likely continue to pressure the UAE not to work with China, as there would be
advanced AI-related chips being produced in these plants, Alex Capri, a senior lecturer at National University
of Singapore’s business school, told CNBC.
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