United News of Bangladesh

Asian shares traded mixed on Monday while oil prices fell more than 1% after climbing to their highest levels in more than four years last week. US stock futures edged higher. Investors were preparing for major corporate earnings reports and central bank decisions expected to influence financial markets this week. Alphabet, Microsoft's parent competitor in the technology sector, and Amazon are among the major companies scheduled to report results, alongside Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and Microsoft. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 declined 0.8% to 62,189.65 as technology stocks faced renewed selling pressure. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest dropped 3.9%, while Tokyo Electron, a manufacturer of semiconductor and flat-panel production equipment, lost 3.7%. The Bank of Japan is scheduled to announce its key interest rate decision later this week. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.5% to 5,469.47, with Samsung Electronics down 1.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5% to 23,206.82, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,697.52. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also recovered from early losses, advancing 0.2% to 8,809.90. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.4% to $110.12 a barrel, while US benchmark crude dropped 1.8% to $101.37. On Friday, Brent had surged 3.1% to $116.72, its highest closing level since June 2022. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% on Friday, recording its second consecutive weekly loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.2%. AI-related stocks showed mixed resilience, with Micron Technology gaining 2.5%, Intel rising 1.7%, Microsoft adding 0.7% and Advanced Micro Devices advancing 1.7%. Investors remain concerned about whether heavy spending on artificial intelligence can justify elevated stock valuations, particularly as borrowing costs remain high. “This week is less about broad conviction and more about proof,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management, highlighting pressure on major technology companies to demonstrate returns on their investments. Treasury yields edged higher as inflation concerns and government debt weighed on markets. Investors expect the Federal Reserve to maintain interest rates this week, although markets increasingly anticipate another hike in December. The US personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, is expected to show inflation at 3.7% in September, well above its 2% target. The US war with Iran has sharply reduced global oil supplies, pushing up energy costs and increasing prices for goods ranging from fuel to food and clothing. In currency trading, the dollar slipped to 156.94 yen from 156.99 yen, while the euro fell to $1.1216 from $1.1223.

World shares traded mixed on Friday following heavy losses in technology stocks on Wall Street, while oil prices climbed to their highest levels since May amid concerns over the war with Iran. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.8% to $114.02 a barrel, while US benchmark crude gained 1.1% to $100.60. In early European trading, Germany's DAX fell 0.4%, France's CAC 40 dropped 0.6% to 7,765.74 and Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.4% to 10,685.86. Asian markets showed a mixed performance, with some recovering from early losses. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to 62,693.16, while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.3% to close at 5,550.30. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.7% to 23,093.37, and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.9% to 3,690.48. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 remained nearly unchanged at 8,795.20. On Thursday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.2%, marking its worst session since July, while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.6%. Technology stock losses overshadowed gains across much of the broader US market, with most stocks advancing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up less than 0.1%. Investors have become increasingly concerned that the artificial intelligence boom could lose momentum as borrowing costs rise for companies building data centres and purchasing AI chips. Despite continued industry growth, fears that valuations have become excessive have fuelled market volatility. Meta Platforms fell 7% after reporting quarterly revenue above analysts' expectations but weaker-than-expected profits. The Facebook and Instagram owner also announced plans to create a new class of stock to raise funds for AI investments and other expenses. Tesla shares dropped 3.1% despite reporting stronger-than-expected summer profits, as revenue fell short of forecasts. Nvidia declined 4.4%, becoming the biggest contributor to the S&P 500's decline because of its enormous market value. CoreWeave, which borrows money to purchase Nvidia chips and rents computing capacity to customers, plunged 10.1% amid concerns about its debt. Rising oil prices have added to pressure on equities. Brent crude surged 4% on Thursday and has risen from below $97 a barrel at the beginning of October as uncertainty over the Iran war threatens the normalisation of global energy supplies. Meanwhile, concerns over mounting government debt and strained public finances continue to weigh on developed economies. Protests in France have increased pressure on the government to boost spending, potentially adding to its debt burden. In the United States, high inflation, signs of economic resilience and debt concerns have recently pushed Treasury yields to levels not seen in decades. However, yields fell sharply on Thursday as investors sought the relative safety of government bonds amid the technology sell-off. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 4.97% from 5.13% late Wednesday and more than 5.30% earlier this month. The decline came despite data suggesting continued strength in the US economy. A report showed that fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, indicating that layoffs may remain limited. In early Friday currency trading, the US dollar rose to 156.93 Japanese yen from 156.77 yen, while the euro slipped to $1.1203 from $1.1218.

Asian shares and US stock futures declined on Thursday following a rally on Wall Street, where stronger-than-expected earnings from SpaceX, Capital One Financial and other major companies lifted stocks. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.6% to 63,595.58, led by heavy selling of major technology stocks. SoftBank Group dropped 5.6%, while Tokyo Electron declined 5.9% and Advantest lost 5%. South Korea's Kospi index slipped 2.6% to 5,586.89, as major memory chipmakers came under pressure. Samsung Electronics fell 3.9%, while SK Hynix dropped 4.7%. Technology stocks linked to artificial intelligence (AI) have faced selling pressure amid concerns that rising borrowing costs could slow investment in data centre construction. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 2.7% to 23,003.17, while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.9% to 3,679.86. Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.8%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3% to 8,803.20. On Wednesday, US stocks advanced after several major companies reported better-than-expected earnings. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1%. SpaceX shares jumped 7.8% after the company reported stronger-than-expected summer profits. Its chief executive, Elon Musk, also said the company had taken a step towards considering a possible merger with Tesla, his electric vehicle maker. Tesla shares gained 3.4%. Capital One Financial rose 2.5%, while Winnebago Industries surged 10.7% after reporting earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations. Investors are closely watching corporate earnings to determine whether companies can sustain their growth despite persistent inflation, high interest rates and other economic challenges. Netflix shares, however, fell 5.3% despite the streaming company's stronger-than-expected profit, as investors expressed concerns about a possible slowdown in its growth. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note climbed to 5.12%, recovering from an earlier decline. Oil prices also rose on Thursday amid uncertainty over the war involving Iran and its impact on global energy supplies. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 1.6% to $110.55 a barrel, while US benchmark crude increased 1.3% to $98.45 a barrel. Brent crude prices have fluctuated between $97 and $112 in recent days as markets assess when the conflict will allow global energy supplies to return to normal. In currency trading, the US dollar fell to 157.69 Japanese yen from 158.14 yen late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.1248 from $1.1233.

China's economy grew 4.5% in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, supported by strong exports, bringing the country closer to its annual growth target even as domestic demand remained weak and trading partners stepped up pressure to address trade imbalances. The latest official growth figure, released on Monday, marked an acceleration from the 4.3% expansion recorded in the April-June quarter, which was the slowest in more than three years. Chinese leaders have set an economic growth target of 4.5%-5% for the full year, down from 5% growth last year. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for China's economic growth in 2026 to 4.5%, matching the lower end of Beijing's target. Strong exports support growth amid domestic weakness The headline growth figure is becoming "an increasingly poor indicator of how the broader economy is performing," said Max Zenglein, Asia Pacific senior economist at The Conference Board. He said the figure masks "widening disparities across industries, regions, and households". Beijing faces difficult policy choices, and addressing domestic economic imbalances could prove more challenging than managing external pressures, he added. China's domestic demand has weakened amid a prolonged downturn in the property market, which has eroded household wealth and encouraged people to save more. However, strong exports remain one of the economy's few bright spots. China is on course to exceed last year's record global trade surplus of $1.2 trillion after exports rose 36% in September. The country had already recorded a trade surplus of $938 billion in the January-September period. High US tariffs have affected some bilateral trade between Washington and Beijing, prompting China to seek alternative markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe. High-tech products, including semiconductors, as well as automobiles, particularly hybrid and electric vehicles, have been among the key drivers of export growth this year. As China seeks greater self-sufficiency to protect itself from Western export controls and trade uncertainty, it has expanded domestic manufacturing capacity across industries such as solar energy and electric vehicles, with substantial government subsidies supporting production. However, production capacity has grown rapidly amid weak domestic consumption, prompting manufacturers to sell more goods overseas at competitive prices. An export-dependent, technology-driven growth model has generated limited job creation and broad income gains, while the risk of artificial intelligence-driven job displacement continues to increase, said Ecaterina Bigos, senior market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management. EU steps up pressure over trade imbalance with China Many of China's trading partners are increasingly concerned that a surge in lower-cost Chinese manufactured goods threatens their domestic industries and economies. "It is untenable and unsustainable for the world's second largest economy to rely on foreign demand to prop up its own growth," said Eswar Prasad, a professor of economics and trade policy at Cornell University. Through its persistent and substantial trade surpluses, China "has become a drag on world growth rather than an engine that pulls the rest of the world along," he said. The European Union is among the trading partners seeking to reduce its trade imbalance with China. The 27-member bloc runs a trade deficit with China of more than $1.1 billion a day. Chinese exports to the EU increased 16% in the first nine months of the year. EU countries are considering further restrictions on Chinese products after the bloc reached an agreement with Beijing this month aimed at roughly halving the number of Chinese hybrid vehicle imports over the next few years. China wants to maintain access to foreign markets and can work with other countries to resolve trade disputes, said Gary Ng, a senior economist for Asia Pacific at French bank Natixis. He said the agreement with the EU on hybrid cars could allow China to continue increasing sales of Chinese-made products in European markets over the longer term while avoiding a broad increase in tariffs. However, trade imbalances are unlikely to be resolved quickly, said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at Dutch bank ING. Policymakers have also argued that an undervalued yuan against the US dollar and the euro has contributed to China's growing trade surplus, although the country's central bank has rejected the claims. "We are likely to see continued resistance, rising protectionism, and persistent pressure from economies globally to protect their industries, and jobs, notably in high value sectors," Bigos said. Beijing has maintained that China does not seek a large trade surplus. On Friday, Chinese central bank Governor Pan Gongsheng said countries running trade deficits and those recording surpluses should work together. He also said China, as a responsible country, remained committed to expanding domestic demand.

Asian stocks mostly rose on Friday, recovering from a technology-driven sell-off a day earlier, while Indonesian shares plunged after global index provider MSCI warned it could downgrade the country’s market status. MSCI said Indonesia’s continued classification as an “emerging market” would “no longer be appropriate,” raising concerns about potential capital outflows. US stock futures edged higher after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said artificial intelligence could deliver substantial benefits to the US and global economies. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi surged 3.6% after dropping 7.6% on Thursday. Samsung Electronics gained 4.2%, while SK Hynix rose 3.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.9% to 65,658.59 after losing 4.9% the previous day. SoftBank Group advanced 1.7%, Tokyo Electron rose 2.8% and Kioxia Holdings gained 3.2%. Technology shares across Asia recovered as losses in US artificial intelligence stocks eased. Speaking at the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, Warsh described AI as one of the most consequential changes to the US and global economies during his lifetime, saying the technology could generate significant economic benefits. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.6%, although shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) fell 0.4% despite the company reporting record quarterly profits on Thursday and saying demand for AI remained strong. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite index plunged more than 10%, reaching its lowest level in years following MSCI’s warning. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.2% to 24,353.69, while Shanghai’s Composite index gained 1% to 3,742.66. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.1% to 8,812.90, and India’s Sensex edged up 0.2%. On Wall Street on Thursday, the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1%. AI and chip stocks showed mixed performances. AI cloud provider CoreWeave, which fell as much as 9.5% early in the session, recovered to finish 5.9% higher. Nvidia ended 1.8% lower after falling as much as 3.8% earlier. Broadcom lost 0.6%, while Advanced Micro Devices declined 1.5%. Oil prices steadied but remained elevated as global supplies faced pressure amid the absence of a deal between the US and Iran to end their war. The International Energy Agency said on Thursday that its members had agreed to release the remaining roughly 100 million barrels covered by their March pledge in a timely manner. The total release is expected to exceed the initially planned 400 million barrels. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.4% to $105.46 a barrel, still well above the roughly $72 level recorded in late February before the war began. ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a commentary on Friday that uncertainty over the Middle East and concerns about oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz had left the market pricing in a substantial risk premium. The US dollar slipped to 157.83 Japanese yen from 158 yen, while the euro rose to $1.1228 from $1.1220.

Asian stocks fell sharply on Thursday, led by steep losses in South Korea and Japan, as a sell-off in technology shares intensified following a decline on Wall Street over higher-than-expected US inflation. US stock futures also moved lower. South Korea's benchmark Kospi index plunged 8% to 5,527.12. It has fallen more than 16% over the past month and remains well below the record high of 9,000 it crossed in June amid optimism surrounding the global artificial intelligence boom. Samsung Electronics shares dropped 9.7%, while SK Hynix, a South Korean memory chipmaker, plunged 11.1%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index tumbled 5% to 64,334.68. SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, fell 9.6%. Shares of chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron declined 7.5%, while memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings lost 11.2%. Taiwan's Taiex index, another beneficiary of the AI boom, dropped 3.4%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the island's leading chipmaker, fell 1.8% ahead of its earnings report. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.3% to 24,009.28, while the Shanghai Composite index fell 2% to 3,692.65. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.2% to 8,710.20. The losses followed a decline on Wall Street on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.9% as AI-related shares came under pressure. Nvidia shares lost 3.2%, Broadcom fell 3.1% and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) declined 5.7%. The US reported on Wednesday that its consumer price index rose 3.7% year-on-year in September, up from 3.4% in August and above economists' expectations. Stock markets have also been pressured by rising bond yields and volatility in the bond market. Yields on longer-term US Treasury bonds have climbed amid inflation concerns fuelled by the global energy shock linked to the Iran war and the continued increase in US government debt. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury eased to 5.10% after briefly rising above 5.32% on Wednesday. Earlier this month, it reached 5.35%, its highest level since 2002. Oil prices also declined as uncertainty over global supplies and continuing tensions in the Middle East weighed on the market. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.5% to $104.47 per barrel. However, the price remains significantly higher than the approximately $72 per barrel recorded before the Iran war began in late February. US benchmark crude dropped 1% to $94.17 per barrel.

The U.S. and other wealthy nations need to urgently tackle mounting global debt levels that are weighing most heavily on low-income countries and straining the global financial system, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other U.S. leaders recognize that the federal deficit and national debt are too high. But economic growth alone would not be enough to address the country’s more than $40 trillion in national debt, she said. Meanwhile, rising bond yields, reflecting higher premiums demanded by investors for taking on greater risk, have been disrupting financial markets. “We believe that growth, of course, helps, but it cannot deliver fast enough the necessary adjustments,” Georgieva said at the autumn meeting of the IMF and World Bank in Bangkok. “There is no magic,” she said, adding that other measures would be needed. “You have to go in a direction of tightening, bringing it down, bringing the deficit down.” ‘Fiscal consolidation’ faces challenges Rising debt levels and global inflation, partly resulting from high energy costs due to the Iran war, have pushed interest rates to multidecade highs, adding to the burdens of the world’s poorest nations. Efforts to bring debt under control with what Georgieva and other experts call “fiscal consolidation” have suffered setbacks from heavy spending during the COVID-19 pandemic and since. “Fiscal risks are rising, and a proper reaction is largely absent in many countries,” said Rodrigo Valdes, director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department. “And in major advanced economies, the effect of fiscal indiscipline does not stop at the border. It travels to the rest of the world.” “Among the world’s poorest countries, interest payments have reached historic highs relative to revenue, and declining amounts of aid are creating gaps that some countries have been unable to finance,” the IMF's latest Fiscal Monitor said. That is forcing countries to make hard choices between supporting their most vulnerable people and meeting their debt repayment obligations. “The Global South is paying the price for rising interest rates in wealthier countries,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said at an event on the sidelines of the IMF meetings. “We need a new deal on debt, a deal that supports countries to repay over longer time horizons and, crucially, refinancing with better rates to give developing countries precious fiscal space,” he said. Nations need help with job creation and investment The median developing country pays three times as much in interest as developed countries, said Alexander De Croo, former Belgian prime minister and administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). On average, nearly 10% of government spending goes toward debt repayments. High fuel and fertilizer prices, the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon and rising borrowing costs have left many low-income countries with little room to recover. “I mean, we don’t see really a light at the end of the tunnel,” De Croo told The Associated Press. Creating jobs is another top priority, particularly as the growing use of artificial intelligence threatens to make many traditional occupations obsolete. More than 1.2 billion young people are expected to enter the global workforce over the next decade or so, while forecasts suggest only 400 million net new jobs will be created. The UNDP this week announced its “Jobs for Prosperity” initiative to bring together governments, development banks — such as the World Bank — and private businesses to encourage investment in sectors such as tourism, healthcare and food processing. The initiative and related efforts will help countries attract investment by strengthening governance and policies and developing pipelines of “investible projects,” De Croo said. “These are things that are feasible. It’s been proven that you can do it in many places of the world,” he added. Separately, the IMF, Bank of Thailand and World Bank Group announced a “Bangkok Blueprint” on Wednesday to combat cybercrime, financial fraud and online scams. The announcement came a day after cyberattacks caused refrigeration systems to overheat at hundreds of stores in France.

Asian shares mostly declined on Wednesday as investors traded cautiously, although continued demand for computer chips and artificial intelligence (AI) technology provided some support to global markets. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell less than 0.1% to close at 67,744.29. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.6% to 8,727.90, while South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.4% to 6,008.81 after recent volatile trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped less than 0.1% to 24,342.52, while the Shanghai Composite fell nearly 0.9% to 3,767.23. On Wall Street, major US stock indexes ended Tuesday with little change, remaining close to their record levels. Investors assessed the latest corporate earnings reports, with several companies reporting better-than-expected profits, although gains in some stocks were offset by losses in others. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%, moving slightly further away from its record high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 180.45 points, or 0.3%, to 51,670.10, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 41.52 points, or 0.2%, to 27,204.38. The S&P 500 lost 1.79 points to finish at 7,805.45. Goldman Sachs shares initially surged more than 4% after the bank reported third-quarter profits that significantly exceeded analysts’ expectations. However, the gains quickly disappeared, and the stock fluctuated between positive and negative territory before closing down 0.2%. Investors are closely watching corporate earnings as analysts expect profits at companies in the S&P 500 to grow nearly 30% in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, according to FactSet. Companies may need to meet these high expectations to justify the strong gains in their share prices, despite concerns over persistent inflation, rising pressure from the bond market and conflicts in the Middle East. Investors have also raised concerns that share prices of chipmakers may have risen too far amid enthusiasm over AI technology. China’s memory chipmaker CXMT, which is making progress that could increase competition for major industry players, initially gained in Asian trading on Wednesday before giving up its gains. Shares of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics also rose early in the session before losing momentum, while SK Hynix shares declined. In the bond market, US Treasury yields eased after oil prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 5.21% from 5.24% late Friday. The US bond market was closed on Monday for a public holiday. Yields declined after Brent crude prices fell 0.9% to $105.69 a barrel. Oil prices have fluctuated amid uncertainty over when conflicts in the Middle East will allow global energy supplies to return to normal. In energy trading on Wednesday, benchmark US crude rose 0.21% to $94.34 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 0.15% to $105.85 a barrel. In currency trading, the US dollar edged down to 158.25 Japanese yen from 158.32 yen. The euro rose to $1.1212 from $1.1203.  

Asian stock markets showed mixed trends on Monday, while oil prices fell about $1.50 a barrel after US President Donald Trump’s plan to buy diesel from Russia drew criticism from lawmakers. US stock futures rose more than 0.3% after Wall Street ended a record-setting week with gains. Investors are now looking ahead to US inflation and retail sales data, along with quarterly earnings reports from major banks. In Asian trading, South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.1% to 6,416.17, while markets in Tokyo remained closed for a holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2% to 24,253.70, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 3,809.08. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.9% to 8,790.70. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.2%, while India’s Sensex rose 0.1%. On Friday, the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6%. Oil prices have fluctuated amid uncertainty over when the war with Iran will allow the global energy market to return to normal. Trump announced on social media Friday that he had reached a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call to purchase Russian diesel, aiming to bring down rising fuel prices ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections. Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US and global markets, followed by another 500,000 tonnes in November and 1 million tonnes “immediately thereafter”. Russia would deliver a further 3 million tonnes “within a short period of time”, he added. The plan conflicts with US efforts to limit Russia’s oil and gas revenues, which help fund its war against Ukraine. The announcement came weeks after Congress passed legislation directing Trump to impose substantial tariffs on major importers of Russian oil or natural gas. The law includes an exception for countries importing less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports that have taken significant steps to reduce those imports. A bipartisan group of six US senators on Sunday urged the administration to “immediately reverse course” on the plan. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.4% to $103.31 a barrel early Monday, while US benchmark crude dropped 1.7% to $90.31. Inflation and corporate earnings in focus Stock prices have continued to rise on expectations of strong corporate earnings, even as Americans face growing pressure from high inflation. A preliminary report from the University of Michigan released Friday showed that US consumers expect inflation to reach 4.7% over the next year, up from 4.6% a month earlier and 3.4% in February, before the war with Iran began. Consumer sentiment has fallen sharply among lower-income Americans and those with smaller stock investments, who are less able to cope with rising living costs. Companies face pressure to deliver strong profit growth after their share prices approached record highs despite pressure from elevated bond yields. Major banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, are scheduled to report their latest quarterly earnings on Tuesday. In currency trading early Monday, the US dollar rose slightly to 158.27 Japanese yen from 158.23 yen, while the euro climbed to $1.1211 from $1.1191.

China and the European Union have reached a broad preliminary trade agreement following two days of negotiations aimed at easing growing tensions over trade imbalances, the EU’s trade commissioner said on Friday. Although neither side disclosed full details of the proposed agreement, European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič said it includes reduced tariffs on certain European products entering China and measures to improve the stability of rare earth supply chains. According to Šefčovič, the arrangement could reduce Chinese electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle exports to the EU by as much as 50%. It could also lower tariffs on products from nearly every EU member state. However, the agreement must first receive approval from leaders of the bloc’s 27 countries. He said the arrangement would prevent millions of Chinese vehicles from being exported to the European market. The negotiations focused on addressing the factors contributing to China’s expanding trade surplus with the EU, which reached 360 billion euros (approximately $403 billion) last year. In a statement published online, China’s Commerce Ministry said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had expressed concern over the EU’s recent restrictive trade measures. Wang argued that China was not responsible for Europe’s economic challenges but should instead be viewed as a partner in addressing them. Sigrid de Vries, head of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, welcomed the apparent progress, saying the agreement could help prevent further uncertainty in the European market. She added that it could support an orderly transition to a new phase of Chinese participation in the European automotive sector, benefiting all parties over the long term. Šefčovič said he would present the agreement to EU leaders at a meeting in Brussels next week and seek their approval. He stressed that European leaders would need to be convinced that the arrangement was sufficiently effective before agreeing to further steps. He warned that Chinese competition could threaten entire European industrial sectors and thousands of jobs, adding that governments and the public expected a swift response. Šefčovič also said the two sides had reached an understanding on improving China’s export licensing procedures for rare earth elements and permanent magnets. Additionally, the agreement could improve access to the Chinese market for a range of European products through lower most-favoured-nation tariffs. These products include automotive components, olive oil and footwear, representing nearly 4 billion euros (around $4.5 billion) in current annual export value. The next meeting between the two sides is scheduled to take place by video in January, followed by an in-person meeting in March. Trade tensions continue to intensifyChina has been urging the EU to end restrictions on imports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment from China. These measures were introduced on national security grounds following pressure from Washington. Šefčovič previously described this week’s negotiations as the culmination of three months of intensive discussions. He had set an October deadline for achieving meaningful progress towards balancing trade relations. Earlier in the week, China’s Commerce Ministry called on the EU to avoid protectionist policies, warning that such measures could produce unintended consequences. Trade friction between the two economic powers has increased in recent months, with both sides imposing or considering restrictions on imports from the other. The EU has introduced measures to restrict imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles and EV batteries while also taking steps to protect its domestic steel industry. The bloc is further tightening rules on duty-free imports of small e-commerce parcels, a move largely affecting Chinese fast-fashion businesses. Last week, China launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of p-nitrotoluene from the EU, a chemical used in the production of dyes and pharmaceutical products. Chinese officials and businesses have also expressed concern over reports that some EU member states are considering additional measures to shield domestic industries from foreign competition. China's global trade surplus exceeds $1 trillionConcerns about the rapid growth of Chinese exports to Europe and other international markets have intensified. Some analysts have described the trend as a potential second wave of the so-called “China shock,” referring to the economic impact of a surge in Chinese manufactured goods. The concerns have grown as the United States, particularly since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, has increased tariffs and introduced other measures intended to reduce its substantial trade deficit with China. Despite mounting resistance from trading partners, China recorded a global trade surplus of $1.2 trillion in 2025. Forecasts suggest the surplus could exceed $1 trillion again this year. According to EU statistics, the bloc’s trade deficit with China widened to 103.3 billion euros (approximately $116 billion) in the second quarter. Imports from China reached 153.6 billion euros (about $172 billion), while European exports to the Chinese market totalled 50.3 billion euros (around $56 billion). Meanwhile, Germany blocked the proposed sale of a major logistics company operating in the Port of Hamburg to Chinese state-owned shipping giant Cosco on Wednesday, citing national security concerns. Germany’s economic ministry said the country welcomed foreign investment as Europe’s largest economy but warned that certain transactions could threaten national security. It argued that the proposed acquisition could increase economic dependence on China and weaken the resilience of supply chains in Germany and across the EU.