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Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter
Data showed that Japan's economy grew by an annualised 2.1% in the first quarter. This was a good sign before the Middle East conflict caused a shock to the energy market. The rise in Japan's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeded the median market expectation of a 1.7% increase and came after a 0.8% increase?in October-December. The economy grew by 0.5% on a quarterly basis compared to the median market expectation of a 0.4% increase. Analysts predict that growth will slow down in the next quarters due to the 'fallout' from the Middle East conflict which has led to a 'unprecedented disruption of global energy supplies. The government's data revealed that private consumption, which makes up more than half the GDP of Japan, increased by 0.3%, as opposed to market expectations for a 0.2% increase. Exports less imports added 0.3 percentage points to the growth. Analysts polled had predicted a contribution of?a 0.2 percent. The data showed that capital expenditures grew by 0.3% between January and March, compared to market expectations of a 0.2% increase. Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz as a response to U.S. and Israeli attacks that began on 28 February. Oil prices have soared, fueling fears of supply disruptions. Japan is particularly vulnerable to energy shocks due to its heavy reliance on Middle East oil imports. The rising fuel prices are driving up inflation and impacting corporate profits as well as the broader economy. The Bank of Japan has sent out a series of hawkish messages that have led the markets to assume a high probability of an interest rate hike in June.
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San Diego mosque shooting leaves five dead, including two suspects
Police said that two teenage gunmen opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, California on Monday, killing three men, including a security guard. The police found the suspects dead from apparent self-inflicted wounds. According to San Diego Police chief Scott Wahl, all of the children attending the day school - which is part of the mosque complex in San Diego County - are safe and accounted for. The shooting erupted just before noon PDT (or 1900 GMT) on Wednesday. Wahl confirmed that the FBI had been called in to help with the investigation of the incident. Law enforcement officers from across the country were called to the Islamic Center. They found the bodies of three men who had been shot outside the building. One of them was a security guard, whom Wahl credits with helping prevent more bloodshed. The chief of police said that a short time later, two male teenagers aged 17 and 19 were found dead in a car in the middle of a street. They had apparently shot themselves, he explained. Investigators are still trying to piece together what triggered the shooting, and how violence spread. A landscaper was also shot at in an apparent separate shooting, but police have not said whether or not a connection has been ruled out. The landscaper wasn't injured, Wahl reported. Reporting by Mike Blake, San Diego; Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman and Andrew Hay, Los Angeles; Editing and proofreading by Rosalba and Chizu O'Brien.
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Tech shares mainly eased while oil prices rose to a two-week high
The major stock indexes were mostly down as technology shares declined?on Sunday, while Brent crude oil prices rose to a 2-week high as investors assessed if there would be any progress in the near future to end the Iran War. Overnight trading, U.S. Treasury longer-term yields had risen to their highest levels in more than a year. Investors are worried that the war in Iran, which began late February, could cause a lasting inflationary crisis. They fear that rising energy costs will lead to higher consumer prices and a rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that he paused an attack on Iran on Monday to allow negotiations on a peace deal to end this war. This was after Iran sent Washington a new proposal for peace. Investors digested recent?developments'. U.S. crude oil added $3.24, settling at $108.66 per barrel. Brent crude rose $2.84, to $112.10, its highest closing since May 4. PROFIT-TAKING in TECH SHARES Market watchers believe investors are taking profits on tech shares that have been performing well recently. They are also awaiting the quarterly results of Nvidia, which will be released on Wednesday. The S&P 500's technology sector declined by 1%. A semiconductor index fell 2.5%. Energy was the sector that gained the most and it was up by 1.8%. "The semiconductors in particular got beaten up just a bit, but they've enjoyed a massive, huge run," Bruce Zaro said, managing director of Granite Wealth Management, Plymouth, Massachusetts. He said that the recent increase in interest rates is a source of concern for investors. "There's this assumption that higher interest rates are bad news for technology stocks," he added. This is something I'd debate in many different ways. Strategists also noted that Trump’s?first trip to Beijing since 2017 concluded on Friday without any major breakthroughs in trade or tangible assistance from Beijing for ending the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 159.95 points or 0.32% to 49,686.12, while the S&P 500 dropped 5.45 points or 0.07% to 7,403.05, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 134.41 or 0.51% to 26,090.71. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 0.77 points or 0.07% to 1,098.23. The STOXX 600 Index rose by 0.54%. A rise in yields will increase borrowing costs, and a discount on future earnings for the company. This can affect stock values. In overnight trading, the yield on the benchmark Treasury 10-year note rose to?4.659%. This is its highest level since 2025. The yield has since reversed the gains, and last stood at 4,591%. Japan's 10-year bond yield had reached a high not seen since 1996, as the government planned to issue new debt to "fund" a planned additional budget to cushion the blow of the Iran War on the economy. Germany's 10-year yield has risen to a level that was not seen in 15 years. AI, RETAIL PROFITS RELATED TO A RECENT RALLY IN 'TEST STOCKS" Nvidia's earnings report due Wednesday will test the artificial intelligence market, as expectations are high. Nvidia's shares closed the day down 1.3%. The shares are up sharply from a low in March, and the Philadelphia SE semiconductors index is also surging amid demand for chip as tech companies invest massively to build AI-related infrastructure. The U.S. Jury ruled on Monday against Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI. They found that the AI company was not liable for allegedly having diverted from its original mission of benefiting?humanity. This week, Walmart and a host of other retailers will release their results, providing insight into the consumer's reaction to high energy prices. The dollar fell against the majority of major currencies, as U.S. Treasury rates were down from recent highs. The dollar index fell by 0.33%, to 99.03. Spot gold increased by 0.61%, to $4565.54 per ounce.
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Total volumes drop to a two-year low after record oil withdrawal from US emergency reserves
The U.S. Department of Energy reported on Monday that a'record 9.9 millions barrels of oil were shipped from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the United States last week. This pushed the total volume of the U.S. Government's emergency stockpile to 374 million barils, the lowest level since July 2024. The Trump administration wants to?release 172 million barrels of oil from the reserve, as?part a global deal to calm down the oil markets after prices?spiked due to the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran which began almost three months ago. In April, the?Energy Department offered approximately?92.5 millions barrels of?sweet crudes and sour from four different storage caverns located along the Texas coast and Louisiana coast. Last week, 53.33 millions barrels were awarded, which is the highest amount this year. Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency said that the commercial oil stocks were rapidly depleting, and only a few weeks worth remained due to the 'Iran War' and the effective closure of Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, around a 5th of global oil supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily. The IEA's latest monthly report on the oil market said that global oil inventories dropped at a record pace, dropping by 246?million?barrels. (Reporting and editing by Deepa Babyington, Arathy S. Somasekhar and Georgina McCartney in Houston)
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Venezuelan oil officials to attend Houston energy conference
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists is holding an oil exploration conference outside Houston on Tuesday. Paula Henao and Jovanny Martnez, E&P vice president of PDVSA's state oil company, will be speaking. The speeches will be the first time that senior oil officials of the South American nation have visited the U.S. since President Nicolas Maduro was overthrown by American forces in January. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has since then promoted an ambitious plan to restore Venezuela's oil industry with $100 billion of new investments. Meanwhile, authorities in Venezuela have rewritten?rules in order to facilitate this effort. Henao, the interim president Delcy Rodriguez's predecessor in this position, was appointed oil minister by her in March. She arrived in Houston Sunday evening, said event organizers. According to a reliable source, she is expected to hold private meetings with a few oil companies. She has been telling investors and service providers that want to increase production in recent weeks that Venezuela needs pumps and frequency converters for drilling, producing and processing crude and gas, as well as pipelines, valves and chemicals. "Venezuela is incredibly important in strengthening energy security throughout the Western Hemisphere," said?U.S. At the conference on Monday in The Woodlands (Texas), Assistant Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit spoke about a recent trip to Venezuela's Orinoco?oil-belt region. He said: "I think we have segregated countries in the Western Hemisphere based on the type of energy that they produce. The U.S. Shale, Canadian Heavy Oil, offshore Brazil's, Venezuela's Heavy Oil." "But if you zoom out, and look at the Western Hemisphere as a whole, we have the resources, people, infrastructure, and refining capability to make it strong in the Americas. We are strong with our allies. On the sidelines of this event, Haustveit was pictured greeting Felix Plasencia, the diplomatic representative for Venezuela in the U.S. On Tuesday, Repsol and Maurel & Prom will be among the speakers. Reporting by Marianna Pararaga, Houston; additional reporting by Deisy buitrago, Caracas. Writing by Nathan Crooks and editing by Rod Nickel.
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Oil prices rise, but tech stocks are mostly down.
The major stock indexes were mostly?assisted as technology shares fell Monday, and oil prices rose following continued concerns over supply disruption due to the Iran 'war. After climbing to the highest level for over a year in overnight trading, U.S. Treasury longer-dated yields are nearly flat. Investors are worried that the war in Iran, which began late February, could bring about a lasting inflationary crisis. On Monday, President Donald Trump announced on social media that he would delay a planned attack on Iran for Tuesday while negotiations continue. He also said that the United States is ready to attack again if a deal cannot be reached. U.S. crude oil rose $3.24, to settle at $108,66 per barrel. Brent crude gained $2.84 and settled at $112.10. Investors also pay attention to the recent gains in the tech sector and are waiting for Nvidia's results this week. The S&P 500 saw a decline of 1% in technology, and a 2.5% drop in semiconductors. The energy sector was the last to gain 1.8% and led all sectors. Trump's recent visit to China left a lot of "open questions" about the future and protection of Taiwan, said Oliver Pursche of Wealthspire Advisors, based in Westport, Connecticut. He said that the'saleoff' in the sector is partly due to Taiwan's 'importance' on the chip market. Investors are also taking profits, he added. Trump's first trip to Beijing since 2017 ended on Friday without any major trade breakthroughs or tangible assistance from Beijing in ending the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 159.95 points or 0.32% to 49,686.12, while the S&P 500 dropped 5.45 points or 0.07% to 7,403.05, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 134.41 or 0.51% to 26,090.71. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 0.24 points or 0.02% to 1,098.76. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 0.54%. A rise in yields will increase borrowing costs, and a discount on future earnings for the company. This can affect stock values. In overnight trading, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury Note jumped to 4,659%. This was its highest level since 2025. Since then, it has retraced some of its gains. It was last at 4.591%. Japan's 10-year bond yield had reached a level?not seen in 15 years. The government was planning to issue new debt to fund an extra budget planned to cushion the economic blow of the Iran War. Germany's 10-year bonds yield has risen to a level that was not seen for 15 years. AI, RETAIL EARNINGS TO TEST STOCK'S RECENT RALLY Earnings from Nvidia, the world's largest company, are due on Wednesday. Expectations for this company are high. Nvidia's shares have risen sharply from a low in March, and the Philadelphia SE semiconductor index is also up amid the demand for chips due to tech companies spending massively on AI-related infrastructure. This week, Walmart and a number of other retailers will release their results, providing an insight into the 'consumers' reaction to high energy prices. The dollar fell against'most major currencies, as U.S. Treasury rates were down from recent highs. The dollar index fell by 0.33%, to 99.03. Spot gold increased 0.31%, to $4.552.19 per ounce.
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Russian nuclear chief: the situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant has reached a 'point without return'
According to the Rosatom head, the situation surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has reached a "point of no return" because of the increased attacks by Ukrainian forces in the area. The Russian-installed managers at the nuclear facility, Europe's biggest with six reactors said Ukrainian forces attacked the facility for a third day in a row. Alexei Likhachev of Rosatom was quoted by Russian media as saying: "We're getting closer and closer towards the point of no return. And all of Europe needs to now exert efforts to de-escalate" the situation surrounding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. "This is playing around with fire, and it's dangerous in the first instance for Eastern European countries." Likhachev stated that around 2,600 metric tonnes of nuclear fuel was at the plant. The plant does not generate electricity but it must continue to operate in order to keep the nuclear fuel cool. In a post to?Telegram the management of the plant said that the drone attack did not cause any injuries or damage at the plant. The plant?continued operating normally. In a statement, it was stated that permanent monitors from the U.N. Nuclear watchdog - 'International Atomic Energy Agency' - had seen damage caused by an incident which occurred on Sunday. In the weeks following 'the Kremlin invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,' Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Both sides have'regularly' accused each other of military activities that could compromise nuclear safety. (Reporting and Writing by Lucy Papachristou, Editing by Alex Richardson Rod Nickel Ron Popeski
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Trump says that he has paused his attack on Iran while negotiations continue
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said on Monday that he had paused a 'planned attack against Iran' to allow negotiations to take place?on a pact to end the U.S. -Israeli conflict after Iran sent a rewritten peace proposal to Washington. Trump stated that he has instructed the U.S. Military that "we WILL NOT be attacking Iran tomorrow. However, we have also instructed them to be ready to launch a full-scale assault on Iran at a moments notice in the event of an unacceptable Deal not being reached." Trump has expressed his hope for an agreement that would end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but it never materialized. He said in his post that the leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates, had asked him to delay the attack, because "a deal will be reached, which will be acceptable to all countries of the Middle East and beyond, including the United States of America." Trump's tweet came after Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, confirmed that Tehran's views were "conveyed" to the American side via Pakistan but did not provide any details. Pakistani sources confirmed that Islamabad has shared the latest proposal between Washington and Islamabad. Islamabad is the country which has "conveyed messages" between warring parties in the Middle East ever since it hosted the first round of peace talks. The source said that progress was difficult. The Pakistani source added: "We haven't much time." The proposal is described as being similar to the previous offer According to a senior Iranian official, the Iranian proposal was similar in many ways to Iran's prior offer that Trump rejected as "garbage" last week. The first priority would be to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively blocked as a major oil supply route. Sources said that contentious issues relating to Iran's nuclear program and uranium-enrichment will be deferred until later rounds of negotiations. In an apparent softening in Washington's position, the senior Iranian sources said that 'the United States has agreed to release a quart of Iran's frozen money - totaling tens and tens billions of dollars in foreign banks'. Iran wants to see all assets released. The Iranian source said that Washington has also shown greater flexibility by agreeing to allow Iran to continue peaceful nuclear activities under the supervision of IAEA. The U.S. did not confirm that it had agreed to anything during the talks. Iran's Tasnim News Agency quoted a separate unidentified source saying that the U.S. agreed to waive oil sanctions against Iran while negotiations are underway. Iranian officials have not commented on the Tasnim report. A U.S. official who refused to be identified said that it was false. After six weeks of conflict, a fragile 'ceasefire' has been reached following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran. However, drones were launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait by Iran and its allied forces. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry released a statement Monday condemning the drone attack that took place on Sunday. Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted three drones which entered Iraqi airspace.
Oil drops over 2% after Trump announces he will not attack Iran
Oil prices dropped more than 2% on early Asian trading on Tuesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would pause a planned strike on Iran to 'allow for negotiations in order to end the Middle East war.
Brent futures for delivery in July fell $3.01 or 2.7% to $109.09 per barrel at 00:01 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude for delivery in June fell $1.38 or 1.3% to $107.28. In the previous session, both benchmarks reached their highest levels since April 30 and May 5, respectively.
The June WTI contract expires Tuesday. Meanwhile, the most active contract for July fell by $2.06 or 2% to $102.32 per barrel.
Trump stated on Monday that there was a'very good chance' the United States and Iran could come to an agreement to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, after announcing a pause in the military action for talks.
While Trump's signals have eased immediate pressure, fundamental risks remain. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst at KCM Trade. He said that now, the?market will be watching to see if Trump's remarks represent a real shift towards de-escalation.
The oil price will be determined by how Iran reacts to recent developments and what is happening on the water as tankers move through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Middle East conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. This is a crucial waterway that transports about a fifth of world oil supplies, raising fears of supply disruptions.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Esmaeil baghaei confirmed to CNN on Monday that the U.S. had received the position of Tehran via Pakistan, but did not provide any further details.
An anonymous Pakistani official said that Islamabad relayed to the other side a new proposal but noted a slow progress.
The semi-official Iranian news agency?Tasnim reported that Washington agreed to waive sanctions against Tehran's oil imports during negotiations. However, a U.S. government official denied this claim.
Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, extended by 30 days a waiver of sanctions to allow countries that are "energy vulnerable" to continue purchasing Russian oil.
The Energy Department reported that a record 9.9 millions barrels of oil were withdrawn from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the U.S. last week. This brought the stockpiles to a low of?374million barrels - the lowest level since July 2024.
Fatih Birol, the head of International Energy Agency (IEA), said that commercial oil stocks were rapidly falling. Due to the conflict and disruptions to shipping, there was only a limited supply remaining.
(source: Reuters)