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Stocks reach record highs on tech boost as Fed and earnings are in focus
The global shares rose to a record intraday on Tuesday, helped by signs that trade tensions have cooled between the U.S. The U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its policy on Wednesday, kicking off a week of announcements by central banks around the world, including those in Japan, Canada, and Europe. According to CME's FedWatch Tool, the Fed is widely expected at this meeting to reduce interest rates. Markets are pricing in a 99.9% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut. The markets have been boosted by expectations of a lower interest rate path from the central banks, as well as recent signs of an easing of trade tensions between China and the U.S. This has sent stocks higher, and kept the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury anchored near multi-month lows. The ongoing U.S. shutdown has also led to an absence of economic data that investors can parse. Investors have turned to other sources for information on the state of the economy due to the lack of official data. The ADP National Employment Report released its first weekly estimate on Tuesday. It showed that private payrolls in the United States increased by 14,250 jobs per week over the last four weeks. Subadra Rajappa is the head of U.S. Rates Strategy at Societe Generale, New York. She said: "Volatility was extraordinarily low, which in some ways, surprised me, but it appears to be very stable and you are seeing a continued rally in risky asset classes." "It's been difficult to read the economy, particularly for the Fed meeting. You have lower yields, a more favourable financial environment, a drop in inflation, and a somewhat stable job market." At their meetings, the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan will likely keep rates largely unchanged. DOW LEADS GAIN AMONG MAJOR INDEXES Wall Street closed with another record. This was boosted by a 2% gain in Microsoft following a deal it made that allowed OpenAI to restructure as a public benefit company while giving the megacap a 27% share in ChatGPT. Also providing a boost was a 5% jump in Nvidia after CEO Jensen Huang said the artificial-intelligence chip leader will build seven new supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy, and the company has $500 billion in bookings for its AI chips. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 161.78 points or 0.34% to 47,706.37. The S&P 500 gained 15.73 points or 0.23% to 6,890.89, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 190.04 or 0.80% to 23,827.49. Peter Cardillo is the chief market economist of Spartan Capital Securities, a New York-based brokerage. He added that "enthusiasm" about Trump's Asian visit has also been expressed. Stocks have been rising as U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meet to discuss a framework to halt the tougher U.S. trade tariffs and China’s export restrictions on rare earths. This could ease market concerns about escalating a trade war. This week, Microsoft, Alphabet Apple, Amazon, and Meta Platforms will report their earnings. Investors will be watching closely to see if the results justify high valuations. More than four out of five S&P companies beat expectations LSEG data shows that 86.7% of the 180 S&P companies who have announced earnings up to Tuesday morning have surpassed analyst expectations. MSCI's global stock index rose 21.18 points or 0.12% to 1,013.68. It had previously reached a record high of 1,015.73, while the pan-European STOXX 600 closed down 0.22%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 2.1 basis points, to 3.976%. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket currencies) fell 0.07% at 98.70. Meanwhile, the euro rose 0.11% to $1.1656. The dollar fell 0.52% against the Japanese yen to 152.07, after comments from a Japanese Minister and U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent helped ease some concerns over a more expansive fiscal policy and monetary policies in Japan. The value of the pound fell by 0.45%, to $1.3275. U.S. crude oil settled at $60.15 a barrel, down 1.89%, while Brent settled at $64.40 a barrel, down 1.86%. Investors weighed the impact of U.S. sanction on Russia's largest oil companies, along with a possible OPEC+ production plan.
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Utility Edison exceeds profits estimates with higher electricity rates
Edison International announced a higher-than-expected third-quarter profit on Tuesday as it benefited from increased rates for its service. Utilities can raise electricity rates by using general rate cases (GRC). Regulation utilities initiate the proceedings to request a rate hike based on their total costs of providing services and claim a revenue shortage. The U.S. power companies are looking to increase their customers' electricity bills in order to meet the rising demand for AI-focused datacenters, domestic manufacturing, and extreme weather conditions like wildfires. Southern California Edison (a subsidiary of Edison International) posted an increase in adjusted third-quarter profit, due primarily to the higher revenue generated by the 2025 General Rate Case Final Decision. Edison said that the Eaton Fire was confirmed by the Wildfire Fund Administrator as a "covered fire", making it eligible to receive financial assistance through the state-backed funds. The wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles are expected to be one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. History. This has put the electric utilities in the area under increasing scrutiny. Southern California Edison reached an agreement with several intervenors in September to recover approximately $2 billion from the $5.6 billion losses attributed to 2017-2018 wildfires, mudslides and other natural disasters. Edison expects its full-year adjusted profit in 2025 to be between $5.95 to $6.20 a share. This is a significant change from the previous view, which was $5.94 to $5.34 a share. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the Rosemead-based utility reported an adjusted profit per share of $2.34 for the quarter that ended on September 30. This compares with analysts' estimates of $2.18. Sumit Saha, Bengaluru. Shilpa Majumdar, editing.
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Celestica and Cameco are among the big winners on the TSX
Canada's main index of stocks closed higher on Monday, as investors awaited the central bank's pivotal decisions. The rally in technology and materials shares was particularly strong. Toronto's S&P/TSX Composite Index closed at 30,419.68, up 143.92 or 0.48%. The technology sector grew 1.6%. This was boosted by Celestica's 7.3% gain after it raised its revenue forecast for 2025, and by Dye & Durham's 8% increase, which announced late on Monday that the sale of Credas, its unit, is expected to be completed by January in order to reduce debt. Cameco was the biggest winner, jumping 22.9% following the announcement that Westinghouse Electric will partner with Brookfield Asset Management to build new nuclear reactors worth at least $80 billion in the United States. Materials sector grew by 0.8% led by Hudbay Minerals and Discovery Silver. Oil prices fell nearly 2%, causing a 1.1% drop in energy shares. Investors continue to weigh the impact of U.S. sanction on Russia's largest oil companies against possible OPEC+ output increases. Investors around the world are hopeful that U.S. president Donald Trump will reach a long-awaited deal with China on his Asia tour. Trump signed a contract with Japan for the mining and processing of rare earths and critical minerals. Angelo Kourkafas is a senior global investor strategist at Edward Jones. He said that there was some optimism globally, but not necessarily in Canada. Trade relations with Canada deteriorated, however, last week, when Trump announced a 10% additional tariff on Canadian imports. He cited what he referred to as a misleading advertisement related to tariffs. Investors are also expected to pay attention to central bank decisions on Wednesday. Both the Bank of Canada as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve are widely expected implement a quarter point interest rate reduction. Kourkafas stated that the focus of the meeting would be the trade front, and its impact on the health of the Canadian labor market.
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Wall Street indexes set records as Nvidia soars and megacap earnings are ahead
Investors were confident about corporate earnings as they awaited the key results of megacaps due this week. The three major U.S. indexes also posted record highs on Tuesday. Jensen Huang said that Nvidia will build seven supercomputers to be used by the U.S. Department of Energy. He also said that the company had $500 billion worth of bookings on its AI chips. Nvidia announced details about a new partnership with Nokia, a Finnish telecom equipment manufacturer. The two companies will target the AI communication market. Microsoft shares rose after a deal was reached that allowed OpenAI to become a public benefit company while Microsoft received a 27% stake in ChatGPT. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon are all expected to release their quarterly results this week. Investors want to know more about the AI expenditure of these companies. Peter Cardillo is the chief market economist of Spartan Capital Securities, New York. He said that "momentum and earnings" are driving the market higher. He said, "Earnings are good." "We're still waiting for big tech stocks." Trump lavished praises on Japan's first woman leader, Sanae Takayichi, on Tuesday in Tokyo. The two nations signed an agreement to boost supplies of rare earths and critical minerals, in order to counter China's dominance over some electronic components. The preliminary data shows that the S&P 500 rose 15.79 points or 0.24% to 6,890.95 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 190.04 or 0.80% to 23,827.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 162.06 points or 0.34% to 47,706.65. United Parcel Service's shares climbed after the company forecast revenue for the fourth quarter that was above expectations. FedEx, the rival company, also rose. Earnings up by Quarter According to LSEG, the third-quarter earnings of S&P 500 firms are expected to have increased by 10.5% compared to the previous period. This is an increase from earlier estimates. Federal Reserve will likely announce a rate cut this week. Investors are eager to learn more about the outlook for interest rates, given that the U.S. Government has been closed for almost a month. This has delayed important economic data, forcing traders to rely solely on corporate and private announcements. A preliminary estimate from the ADP National Employment Report revealed that the U.S. added 14,250 jobs on average in the four-week period ending October 11, according to the report.
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Mondelez defeats greenwashing lawsuit over 'climate neutral' Clif Bar claim
A federal judge dismissed an attempted class action lawsuit that accused Mondelez International, of misleading consumers into paying more for Clif bars labeled as "climate-neutral certified." U.S. district judge Manish Shah found that the labels of Clif Kid Zbar products and Zbar Protein that showed a certification by Change Climate Project (a nonprofit that assists companies in reducing emissions) were not wrong. Shah dismissed the case with prejudice, which means it cannot be brought back. Cynthia Salguero, a plaintiff from Chicago, accused Mondelez, a Chicago-based company, of "greenwashing," or exaggerating a product's environmental impact, by labeling Zbars "climate neutral." She stated that the Zbars manufacturing process emits 54,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which is the equivalent of 12,596 gasoline powered cars. This causes a higher concentration in greenhouse gases, and contributes to climate change. The judge ruled that Mondelez had not advertised that Zbars are climate neutral. Only that they have been certified as such. Shah wrote, "This is an important distinction." Mondelez's inclusion of a true statement .... on its packaging is not deceptive. Salguero’s complaint misstated the promise Mondelez made to potential customers. Salguero's lawyers and Mondelez did not respond immediately to comments. Salguero is a resident from Anaheim in California. He had requested unspecified damages due to Mondelez's alleged false statements and violation of California consumer protection laws. Salguero V. Mondelez International Inc., U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois No. 25-02139. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, New York; editing by Lisa Shumaker
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Wall Street indexes rise amid optimism about earnings; Nvidia gains
Investors were optimistic about corporate earnings as they awaited the key results of companies such as Apple, which are due this week. Nvidia shares were up last by 4.1%. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced that the company would build seven supercomputers to be used by the U.S. Department of Energy. He also said the company had $500 billion of bookings on its AI chips. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, had said earlier that he would be meeting Huang. Microsoft shares gained 2.4% following a deal in which the company agreed to allow OpenAI's restructure as a public benefit corporation, while also giving Microsoft a 27% stake in ChatGPT. Apple shares were almost flat on the day after the company's market cap surpassed $4 trillion for the first. The company will report its quarterly results on the following Thursday. Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon are also scheduled to release their quarterly results this week. Investors want to know how much money companies are spending on artificial intelligence. Peter Cardillo is the chief market economist of Spartan Capital Securities, New York. He said that "momentum and earnings" are driving the market higher. He said, "Earnings are good." "Of Course, We're Waiting for the Big Tech Stocks." Trump lavished praises on Japan's first woman leader, Sanae Takayichi, on Tuesday in Tokyo. The two nations signed an agreement to boost supplies of rare earths and critical minerals, in order to counter China's dominance over some electronic components. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 346.20, or 0.7%, to reach 47,890.00. The S&P 500 rose 29.56, or 0.4%, to 6,904.72, while the Nasdaq Composite grew 225.51, or 1.5%, at 23,862.96. United Parcel Service's shares rose 7.8% after it forecasted fourth-quarter revenues above expectations. FedEx, the rival company, added 1.5%. Earnings up by Quarter According to LSEG, the third-quarter earnings of S&P 500 firms are expected to have increased by 10.5% compared to the previous period. This is up from an 8.8% increase earlier in the month. The U.S. Government has been closed for almost a month. This delays important economic data, forcing traders to rely solely on corporate and private announcements. A preliminary estimate from the ADP National Employment Report revealed that the U.S. added 14,250 jobs on average in the four-week period ending October 11, according to the report. Investors have also examined layoff reports by companies such as Amazon, Paramount and UPS. Federal Reserve will likely announce a rate cut this week. Investors are eager to learn more about the outlook for interest rates. On the NYSE, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1.13 to 1. On the NYSE, there were 504 new lows and 89 brand new highs. On the Nasdaq 2,086 shares rose, while 2,535 declined. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1.22-to-1.
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US appeals Court revives $2.5 Billion opioid lawsuit in West Virginia
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reinstated a lawsuit for $2.5 billion against drug distributors who were accused of contributing towards an opioid crisis in West Virginia. This decision overturned a 2022 trial victory by the biggest drug suppliers in the U.S. The 4th U.S. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a lower court erred in concluding that Cencora Corp, McKesson Corp, and Cardinal Health had not created a "public inconvenience" by supplying a large number of addictive pills to the pharmacies of Cabell County and Huntington. The 4th Circuit has reopened this case and said that the lower court must re-evaluate if the drug companies are responsible for paying for addiction prevention and treatment efforts in Cabell County and the City of Huntington, due to their alleged failures to stop large orders from pharmacies. Cencora Cardinal Health, and McKesson have not responded to comments immediately. Huntington Mayor Patrick Farrell stated that the city is looking forward to this new opportunity to hold drug companies accountable for "the devastating damage that they have done to our city and to far too many families." Distributors had agreed to pay as much as $21 billion in order to settle thousands of lawsuits filed against them by local and state governments across the country. Communities in West Virginia, which was hard hit by the opioid crisis, chose not to join the national settlement and instead sought a larger recovery. In 2022, U.S. district judge David Faber ruled in favor the three drug companies, concluding that West Virginia's law on "public nuisances" did not create any liability for companies who sold prescription drugs and that the companies had met their obligation to report suspicious orders of drug to U.S. regulatory agencies. The 4th Circuit reversed those findings. The appeals court determined that the three drug manufacturers shipped opioids in quantities exceeding the thresholds set by distributors for "suspicious orders" without reporting sales to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. According to the 4th Circuit, Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen) supplied 775 potentially suspect orders over a period of five years from a single Cabell County pharmacy, but only reported 16 orders to the DEA.
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Dollar slips ahead of Fed meeting and earnings are eyed
Investors awaited Federal Reserve policy decisions, and digested the corporate earnings, as global shares reached an intraday high. Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to kick-off a series of announcements by global central banks. This includes those from Japan, Canada and Europe. According to CME's FedWatch Tool, the Fed is widely expected at this meeting to reduce interest rates. Markets are pricing in a 95.8% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut. The recent signs that trade tensions between China and the U.S. were easing have helped to boost risk appetite. Stocks are higher, and the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury is still near its multi-month low. The ongoing U.S. shutdown has also led to an absence of economic data that investors can parse. Investors are looking at other sources of information to gauge the health of the economy, as government data is lacking. The ADP National Employment Report released its first weekly estimate on Tuesday. It showed that private payrolls in the United States increased by 14,250 jobs per week over the last four weeks. Subadrarajappa, the head of U.S. Rates Strategy at Societe Generale, New York, said: "Volatility is extraordinarily low, which in some ways, is surprising, given the uncertainty. But it appears to be very, stable and you are seeing the kind of continued rally in risks assets." "So, you've got a combination of lower yields, more favourable financial conditions, a drop in inflation, and a somewhat stable job market, which is a difficult read for the economy, especially at the Fed meeting." At their meetings, the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan will likely keep rates largely unchanged. Dow leads gains among major indices Wall Street saw a rise in U.S. stock prices, thanks in part to a 2.1% increase in Microsoft following a deal which allows OpenAI's restructure as a public benefit company while giving Microsoft a 27% stake of the ChatGPT maker. Sherwin-Williams also saw a 5.5% increase after it reported earnings for the quarter that exceeded expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 281.40 points or 0.59% to 47,826.92. The S&P 500 rose by 6.05 points or 0.09% to 6,881.21. And the Nasdaq Composite climbed 50.84 points or 0.22% to 23,688.29. Each of these reached intraday records. "It is impressive that we are still hitting all-time records," said Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at GuideStone. Jack Herr, GuideStone's primary investment analyst, said that tech and AI, as well as the Big Seven, have driven performance in recent months, but earnings are also good. The market has rallied recently as U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meet Thursday to discuss a framework which could pause the tougher U.S. duties and China's export restrictions on rare earths. This would ease concerns about a possible trade war. This week, Microsoft, Alphabet Apple, Amazon, and Meta Platforms will report their earnings. Investors will be watching closely to see if the results justify high valuations. More than four out of five S&P companies beat expectations LSEG data shows that 86.7% of the 180 S&P companies who have reported earnings to date have surpassed analyst expectations. MSCI's global stock index rose 2.18 points or 0.22% to a new record of 1,014.68. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed at a loss of 0.22%. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes dropped 1.6 basis points to 3,981%. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket of currencies) fell by 0.09%, while the euro rose 0.15%, reaching $1.1661. The dollar fell 0.46% against the Japanese yen to 152.16, after comments by a Japanese Minister and U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent helped ease some concerns over a more expansive fiscal policy and monetary policies in the country. The value of the pound fell by 0.45%, to $1.3275. U.S. crude oil fell by 2.07%, to $60.04 a barrel, while Brent dropped to $64.26 a barrel. Investors weighed the impact of U.S. sanction on Russia's largest oil companies, as well as a possible OPEC+ production plan.
Syria signs $7 Billion Power Deal with Qatar's UCC Holdings-led consortium
UCC Holding said that Syria had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a group of international companies, led by Qatari UCC Holding, to develop large power generation projects. The foreign investment is estimated at $7 billion.
The agreement calls for the construction of four combined-cycle power plants, with a capacity totaling 4,000 megawatts. It also includes a solar power plant of 1,000 MW in southern Syria.
The deal was signed in Damascus by the Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir in the presence both of the Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the U.S. Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack.
Construction will begin following the financial close and final agreements. The gas plant is expected to be completed in three years and the solar plant within two years.
The projects will provide more than 50% of Syria's electrical needs once they are completed.
Syria's electricity industry has suffered from 14 years of conflict, including severe damage to the grid and power plants, an aging infrastructure and persistent fuel shortages. The sector now generates only 1.6 Gigawatts (GW) of electricity compared to 9.5 GW in 2011.
The reconstruction of the power sector will cost approximately $11 billion. The new administration has decided to rely on the private sector for the financial burden. This is a departure from the economic policies that were led by the government during the Assad era.
Ramez Alkhayyat, CEO of UCC Holding, said that the projects would be financed by regional and international banks in addition to the capital investment from partners.
The CEO of UCC Holding said that they are expected to create 250,000 indirect and 50,000 direct jobs during the execution.
Doha, which is one of the most ardent opponents of Bashar Al-Assad in the region and a supporter of the rebels turned rulers that replaced him, has now positioned itself to play an important role in Syria's rebuilding, alongside Turkey.
(source: Reuters)