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Oil prices surged on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of “sanctioned” oil tankers heading to and leaving Venezuela.Both Brent and WTI contracts jumped more than two percent before paring gains.”The big news is the oil-price rally after President Donald Trump announced an oil blockade on Venezuela,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.”The news lifted shares in energy stocks in Europe — the likes of BP and Shell helping the UK’s FTSE 100 to outperform,” he added.Shares in both companies rose more than one percent.The gains for crude pared some of the 2.7 percent in losses suffered Tuesday after the US president said a deal to end the war in Ukraine was closer than ever.Such a development could ease sanctions on Russian oil, adding to oversupply concerns already weighing on the market.But Razaqzada noted there are reports that the Trump administration is preparing further sanctions on Russia’s oil sector in the event Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects a Ukraine peace deal.Stock indices opened higher on Wall Street, but turned lower as the morning wore on.”Investors are getting a little worried that maybe we are headed for at least economic softness, weakness, and hopefully not a recession,” said CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall.IG analyst Chris Beauchamp noted that tech shares were struggling once again, with AI chipmaker Nvidia and Google parent company Alphabet both lower.”Concerns about AI have reared their head again, weighing on sentiment just as the Santa rally was meant to get underway,” he said.In Europe, London’s stock market rallied as the pound faltered on expectations of cuts to Bank of England interest rates, after data showed UK inflation falling faster than forecast.Britain’s annual inflation rate slowed to 3.2 percent in November, cementing expectations that the Bank of England will cut its main interest rate on Thursday and again on more than one occasion in 2026.Analysts had expected inflation to have cooled only slightly to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent in October.Eurozone inflation remained at 2.1 percent in November, hovering just above the target set by the European Central Bank, slightly revised official data showed Wednesday.The ECB is expected to hold interest rates steady Thursday for its fourth straight meeting with inflation in check, although debate is heating up about the path forward.Both the Paris and Frankfurt stock markets ended lower. Asian markets were mixed.Investors continued to study Tuesday’s release of US non-farm payrolls reports, which showed that unemployment in the world’s biggest economy had jumped to a four-year high of 4.6 percent in November.Analysts said the data did little to change expectations that the Federal Reserve would likely keep key US interest rates unchanged in January.Investors are now looking to consumer price inflation data due to be released on Friday.In corporate news, the share price of Chinese chipmaker MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai soared more than 550 percent on its home-city debut Wednesday.Shares in Netflix climbed 1.1 percent after Warner Bros. Discovery rejected a hostile takeover bid by Paramount in favour of being acquired by the streaming giant.Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery shed 1.3 percent and shares in Paramount tumbled almost five percent.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 48,003.15 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.8 percent at 6,749.47New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 22,844.55London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 9,774.32 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,086.05 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 23,960.59 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 49,512.28 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 25,468.78 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,870.28 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1750 from $1.1747 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3392 from $1.3422Dollar/yen: UP at 155.56 yen from 154.80Euro/pound: UP at 87.75 pence from 87.52Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.8 percent at $59.95 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.8 percent at $56.10 per barrelburs-rl/db

Equities mostly rose Wednesday even as US jobs data did little to boost expectations for another interest rate cut next month, while oil rallied after President Donald Trump ordered the blockade of “sanctioned” Venezuelan tankers.With Federal Reserve officials indicating they were unlikely to lower borrowing costs for a fourth successive meeting, sentiment on trading floors has been subdued of late, compounded by worries over tech valuations and AI spending.Focus had been on the delayed release of key non-farm payrolls reports, which showed Tuesday that the unemployment rate had jumped to a four-year high of 4.6 percent in November, reinforcing views that the US labour market was slowing.However, a forecast-beating 105,000 drop in jobs in October was blamed on the extended government shutdown — with many expected to return — while November’s rise of 64,000 was more than estimated.Analysts said the figures did little to move the dial on rate-cut bets, with Bloomberg saying markets had priced in about a 20 percent chance of such a move next month.”The bleed higher in the unemployment rate plays to the (Fed policy board’s) concern about the labour market, which has supported the adjustment over the past three meetings,” wrote National Australia Bank senior economist Taylor Nugent.”But it is unlikely to be enough to push them to further near-term easing,” he added. “It would take another jump (in unemployment) next month to shift things much on a January cut.”Wall Street investors largely shrugged at the data, with many concerned that the tech-led rally over the past two years may have gone too far and that the vast sums invested in AI might not see returns as soon as hoped.Asian markets, having dropped at the start of the week, struggled early on Wednesday, but some managed to dig out gains.Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta rose, but Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai and Wellington fell.London rose as data showed UK inflation slowed at a faster pace than expected in November, while Paris and Frankfurt also edged up.Oil prices jumped more than one percent after Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he was “ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela”.The announcement sharply escalates his campaign against the country — while issuing new demands for Venezuelan crude — after months of building military forces in the Caribbean with the stated goal of combating drug trafficking in Latin America.Caracas views the operation as a pressure campaign to oust leftist strongman Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington and many nations view as an illegitimate president.The gains pared some of the 2.7 percent in losses suffered Tuesday after the US president said a deal to end the war in Ukraine was closer than ever.An end to the war could ease sanctions on Russian oil, adding to oversupply concerns already weighing on the market.On currency markets, the yen strengthened further against the dollar following the US jobs data and days before the Bank of Japan is expected to hike interest rates to a 30-year high on Friday.And the Indian rupee surged one percent following the central bank’s intervention to provide support a day after the unit hit a new record low against the dollar.The rupee has been hammered this year — making it Asia’s worst forex performer — on worries about the delay in striking a trade deal with the United States as well as a current account deficit and foreign outflows. It strengthened to 89.9662 to the greenback, from more than 91 earlier in the day.In corporate news, Chinese chipmaker MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai soared more than 550 percent on its home city debut Wednesday, having raised $585.8 million in an initial public offering.The jump comes after semiconductor company Moore Threads also rocketed more than 500 percent on its first day earlier in the month, having taken $1.1 billion in its IPO.Shares in Hong Kong’s biggest licensed cryptocurrency exchange, HashKey, retreated around two percent on their first day of trading, following an IPO that brought in $205 million.- Key figures at around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 49,512.28 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 25,468.78 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,870.28 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 9,759.85 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.50 yen from 154.80 on TuesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1712 from $1.1747 Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3324 from $1.3422Euro/pound: UP at 87.92 pence from 87.52West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.6 percent at $56.13 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.5 percent at $59.81 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 48,114.26 (close)

Asian equities fluctuated on Wednesday as mixed US jobs data did little to boost expectations for another interest rate cut next month, while oil rallied after Donald Trump ordered the blockade of “sanctioned” Venezuelan tankers.With Federal Reserve officials indicating they were unlikely to lower borrowing costs for a fourth successive meeting, sentiment on trading floors has been subdued of late, compounded by worries over tech valuations and AI spending.Focus had been on the delayed release of key non-farm payrolls reports, which showed Tuesday that the unemployment rate had jumped to a four-year high of 4.6 percent in November, reinforcing views that the labour market was slowing.However, a forecast-beating 105,000 drop in jobs in October was blamed on the extended government shutdown — with many expected to return — while November’s rise of 64,000 was more than estimated.Analysts said the figures did little to move the dial on rate-cut bets, with Bloomberg saying markets had priced in about a 20 percent chance of such a move next month.”The bleed higher in the unemployment rate plays to the (Fed policy board’s) concern about the labour market, which has supported the adjustment over the past three meetings,” wrote National Australia Bank senior economist Taylor Nugent. “But it is unlikely to be enough to push them to further near-term easing,” he added. “It would take another jump (in unemployment) next month to shift things much on a January cut.”Wall Street investors largely shrugged at the data, with many concerned that the tech-led rally over the past two years may have gone too far and that the vast sums invested in AI might not see returns as soon as hoped.Asian markets, having dropped at the start of the week, struggled to make big inroads higher.Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta rose, but Hong Kong and Shanghai were flat, while Sydney, Singapore and Wellington fell.Oil prices jumped more than one percent after Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he was “ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela”.The announcement sharply escalates his campaign against the country — while issuing new demands for the country’s crude — after months of building military forces in the Caribbean with the stated goal of combating drug trafficking in Latin America.Caracas views the operation as a pressure campaign to oust leftist strongman Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington and many nations view as an illegitimate president.The gains pared some of the 2.7 percent in losses suffered Tuesday after the US president said a deal to end the war in Ukraine was closer than ever.An end to the war could ease sanctions on Russian oil, adding to oversupply concerns already weighing on the market.On currency markets, the yen strengthened further against the dollar following the US jobs data and days before the Bank of Japan is expected to hike interest rates to a 30-year high on Friday.In corporate news, Chinese chipmaker MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai soared more than 550 percent on its home city debut Wednesday, having raised $585.8 million in an initial public offering. The jump comes after semiconductor company Moore Threads also rocketed more than 500 percent on its first day earlier in the month, having taken $1.1 billion in its IPO.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 49,553.71 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 25,239.12Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,825.79Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.52 yen from 154.80 on TuesdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1751 from $1.1747 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3424 from $1.3422Euro/pound: UP at 87.54 pence from 87.52West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $55.91 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $59.53 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 48,114.26 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 9,684.79 (close) 

Stock markets mostly fell Tuesday as the US jobless rate hit its highest level since 2021, while oil prices slumped on renewed hopes for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.The US Labor Department reported that unemployment climbed to 4.6 percent in November, its highest level in four years.The report, delayed by a lengthy government shutdown, also indicated that the US economy lost 105,000 jobs in October.Hiring picked up again in November to 64,000, but this was still a slower pace than before.”Today’s US data releases were overall weaker than expected, although not as bad as some had feared either,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.He noted that market expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in March increased to 60 percent after the jobs report, up from around 50 percent.While poor data boosting the chance of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve can often prop up stocks, Wall Street’s main indices pushed lower on signs of a weaker economy.Separate data showed US retail sales held stable in October, while analysts had been looking for a small gain, and September’s rise was revised down to 0.1 percent.But eToro analyst Bret Kenwell pointed out that part of the report that is used for calculating gross domestic product hit its highest level since the summer.”Today’s update underscores two themes that have been in place: A resilient consumer and a cooling labor market,” he said.Meanwhile, the Brent international oil benchmark dropped below $60 per barrel for the first time since May, while the main US crude contract, the WTI, briefly fell below $55 per barrel for the first time since 2021.A deal to end the war in Ukraine could ease sanctions on Russian oil, adding to oversupply concerns already weighing on the market.US President Donald Trump said Monday that a deal to end the war was closer than ever, after Washington said it offered Kyiv NATO-like security guarantees and voiced confidence Moscow would accept.Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, also pointed out that prices on Middle Eastern oil for immediate trade are lower than those for futures contracts. “When this happens, expectations are that future prices will fall back towards spot price levels, which can aggravate price declines,” she said.European defense stocks slid Tuesday following the update on the talks, analysts said. “A peace deal between Russia and Ukraine looks to be back on the agenda but there have already been multiple false dawns this year,” noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.Weak UK jobs data strengthened expectations that the Bank of England will trim borrowing costs on Thursday. The European Central Bank is set to hold interest rates steady this week.The yen held gains against the dollar ahead of an expected rate hike by the Bank of Japan on Friday.Among individual companies, Pfizer fell 3.4 percent after it projected a dip in full-year adjusted profits per share on roughly flat revenues. The big drugmaker is ramping up investments in new products to offset declines in Covid-19 revenues.- Key figures at around 2115 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 48,114.26 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,800.26 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite:  UP 0.2 percent at 23.111.46 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 9,684.79 (close) Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,106.16 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 24,076.87 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 49,383.29 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 25,235.41 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,824.81 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1747 from $1.1753 on MondayDollar/yen: DOWN at 154.80 yen from 155.23Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3422 from $1.3376Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.52 pence from 87.86Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.7 percent at $58.92 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.7 percent at $55.27 per barrelburs-jmb/des

China will impose anti-dumping duties on European Union pork imports for five years, but at lower rates than temporary levies in place since September, Beijing announced Tuesday.The two economic powerhouses have been locked in a trade spat fuelled by what many European countries view as an unbalanced economic relationship with China.The levies come after a probe launched by China last year concluded that European pork imports “were being dumped, and the domestic industry suffered substantial damages” as a result, the commerce ministry said in a statement Tuesday.The duties will range from 4.9 percent to 19.8 percent — down from temporary levies of 15.6 to 62.4 percent — and will be applied from December 17, it said.”At present, the domestic industry is facing difficulties, and there are strong calls for protection,” a commerce ministry spokesperson said.They added that the investigation’s conclusions were “objective, fair, and impartial”.The agriculture minister of Spain — Europe’s top producer of pork and its derivatives — said Spanish exporters faced an average duty of 9.8 percent, below an overall average of 19 percent.The measures were therefore “acceptable” for Spain and the result “minimised”, Luis Planas told reporters in Madrid.China, the world’s leading consumer of pork, imported 4.3 billion yuan ($600 million) in pork products from Spain alone last year, according to official Chinese customs data.France, meanwhile, exported 115,000 tonnes of pork to China in 2024, according to industry association Inaporc.The French pork industry welcomed Beijing’s decision, with Inaporc describing it as “a relief” for domestic producers.French companies were previously subjected to a provisional duty rate up to 62.4 percent for some products and an average 20 percent for others, Inaporc said.According to the new measures, Groupe Bigard, a major French pork producer, will be charged 9.8 percent, while Danish Crown will be hit with an 18.6 percent levy.- ‘Bargaining chip’ -The current trade spat erupted last summer when the EU moved towards imposing hefty tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, arguing that Beijing’s subsidies were unfairly undercutting European competitors.Beijing denied that claim and announced what were widely seen as retaliatory probes into imported European pork, brandy and dairy products.Giuseppe Aloisio, general director of the Spanish meat industry association Anice, told AFP the measure was “unfair” and “punishes an exemplary industry for no reason”.It was “unacceptable that our sector is used as a bargaining chip in a trade dispute — that of electric vehicles — that has absolutely nothing to do with us,” said Aloisio.European producers criticised the imposition of temporary duties on pork in September, denying the dumping allegations.They argued that Chinese consumers pay more than Europeans for products that the latter often ignore, such as pigs’ trotters or ears.The EU ran a trade deficit of more than $350 billion with China in 2024.French President Emmanuel Macron said this month that Europe would consider adopting strong measures against China, including tariffs, if the trade imbalance was not addressed.Alongside trade frictions, China and the EU are at odds on issues such as Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.The EU has urged China to exert pressure on Moscow to end the war, but Beijing has shown no sign of acceding.

Stock markets fell Tuesday as the US jobless rate hit its highest level since 2021, while oil prices slumped on renewed hopes for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.The US Labor Department reported that unemployment climbed to 4.6 percent in November, its highest level in four years.The report, delayed by a lengthy government shutdown, also indicated that the US economy lost 105,000 jobs in October.Hiring picked up again in November to 64,000, but this was still a slower pace than before.”Today’s US data releases were overall weaker than expected, although not as bad as some had feared either,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.”The market was pricing in just shy of 50 percent chance of a March cut before the jobs report, but in the immediate aftermath of the report that was up to around 60 percent.While poor data boosting the chance of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve can often prop up stocks, Wall Street’s main indices pushed lower on signs of a weaker economy.Separate data showed US retail sales held stable in October, while analysts had been looking for a small gain, and September’s rise was revised down to 0.1 percent.But eToro analyst Bret Kenwell pointed out that part of the report that is used for calculating gross domestic product hit its highest level since the summer.”Today’s update underscores two themes that have been in place: A resilient consumer and a cooling labor market,” he said.Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent dropped below $60 per barrel for the first time since May, while the main US crude contract WTI briefly fell below $55 per barrel for the first time since 2021.A deal to end the war in Ukraine could ease sanctions on Russian oil, adding to oversupply concerns already weighing on the market.US President Donald Trump said Monday that a deal to end the war was closer than ever, after Washington said it offered Kyiv NATO-like security guarantees and voiced confidence Moscow would accept.Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, also pointed out that prices on Middle Eastern oil for immediate trade are lower than those for futures contracts. “When this happens, expectations are that future prices will fall back towards spot price levels, which can aggravate price declines,” she said.European defence stocks slid Tuesday following the update on the talks, analysts said. “A peace deal between Russia and Ukraine looks to be back on the agenda but there have already been multiple false dawns this year,” noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.Weak UK jobs data strengthened expectations that the Bank of England will trim borrowing costs on Thursday. The European Central Bank is set to hold interest rates steady this week.The yen held gains against the dollar ahead of an expected rate hike by the Bank of Japan on Friday, and the euro rose against the dollar.Worries over the tech sector were also weighing on sentiment, with recent warnings about an AI-fuelled bubble compounded by disappointing earnings last week from Oracle and Broadcom.”Investors appear to be increasingly concerned about high tech valuations,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.”Doubts have crept in over the probability, and time taken, to see a return on AI investment,” he added.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 48,157.75 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,777.75New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 22,970.18London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 9,684.79 (close) Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,106.16 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 24,076.87 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 49,383.29 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 25,235.41 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,824.81 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1772 from $1.1750 on MondayDollar/yen: DOWN at 154.81 yen from 155.25Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3425 from $1.3372Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.69 pence from 87.87Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.6 percent at $59.00 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.7 percent at $55.28 per barrelburs-rl/

Stock markets mostly fell Tuesday as investors prepared for key US jobs and inflation data, while oil prices slumped on renewed hopes for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.A deal to end the war could ease sanctions on Russian oil, adding to oversupply concerns already weighing on the market.International oil benchmark Brent dropped below $60 per barrel for the first time since May, while the main US crude contract WTI also declined.US President Donald Trump said Monday that a deal to end the Ukraine war was closer than ever, after Washington said it offered Kyiv NATO-like security guarantees and voiced confidence Moscow would accept.”I think we’re closer now than we have been ever,” Trump told reporters, after he spoke to Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and a host of European leaders.European defence stocks slid Tuesday following the update on the talks, analysts said. “A peace deal between Russia and the Ukraine looks to be back on the agenda but there have already been multiple false dawns this year,” noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.London and Frankfurt stock markets both slid, while Paris ticked up, after Asian markets closed lower.Weak UK jobs data strengthened expectations that the Bank of England will trim borrowing costs on Thursday. The European Central Bank is set to hold interest rates steady this week.Investors’ attention turns to the release later in the day of US November jobs data and the delayed reading for October, which will be followed on Thursday by consumer price index figures.”From a market perspective, the most important question is whether the report opens the door for more rate cuts in the early part of next year,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.He added that a softer labour market could support bets for further Federal Reserve rate cuts. Worries over the tech sector were also weighing on sentiment, with recent warnings about an AI-fuelled bubble compounded by disappointing earnings last week from Oracle and Broadcom.Speculation that vast sums invested in artificial intelligence will take some time to make returns, if at all, has also acted as a drag.Seoul lost more than two percent, while Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai were all down more than one percent. The yen held gains against the dollar ahead of an expected rate hike by the Bank of Japan on Friday.- Key figures at around 1050 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 9,720.34 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,131.27 Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,169.16Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 49,383.29 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 25,235.41 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,824.81 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 48,416.56 points (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1760 from $1.1750 on MondayDollar/yen: DOWN at 154.89 yen from 155.25Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3422 from $1.3372Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.61 pence from 87.87Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.6 percent at $59.62 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.7 percent at $55.85 per barrel

Asian markets extended losses with Wall Street on Tuesday as investors prepared for key US jobs and inflation data, while sentiment remains subdued by worries over a possible tech bubble.After a healthy tech-led run this year, traders appeared to be seeing it out on a tepid note amid questions over the huge sums pumped into artificial intelligence and indications the Federal Reserve will pause cutting interest rates.All eyes are on the release later in the day of US November jobs data and the delayed reading for October, which will be followed on Thursday by consumer price index figures.The readings will be pored over for some idea about the Fed’s plans for borrowing costs as officials debate whether or not to continue lowering them in January.Comments from decision-makers show the policy board split, with recent reductions coming on the back of worries about the weakening labour market but concern now turning to stubbornly high inflation.Governor Stephen Miran — an appointee of Donald Trump — warned that rates are still too high, while New York Fed boss John Williams said they were at about the right place and Boston president Susan Collins called the decision a “close call”.”After essentially missing the October jobs report due to a lack of survey data, the Fed will closely scrutinise the November figures when setting out the path of monetary policy through early 2026,” Matt Weller, head of market research at City Index, said.”That said, traders are currently pricing in only a one-in-four chance of another rate cut in January, meaning that the market reaction to the release may be more limited unless it shows a large deterioration in the labour market.”With the chances of a cut appearing limited for now — with some putting them at about 25 percent for next month — equity traders were turned sellers for now.Seoul lost more than two percent, while Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were all more than one percent lower. Sydney, Singapore, Manila, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta also fell. London, Frankfurt and Paris opened lower.Worries over the tech sector were also weighing on sentiment, with recent warnings about an AI-fuelled bubble compounded by weak disappointing earnings last week from Oracle and Broadcom.Speculation that the hundreds of billions of AI investments will take some time to make returns, if at all, has also acted as a drag.”Jitters over the AI theme have resurfaced in recent sessions, not helped by Broadcom’s failure to provide concrete guidance for the quarter ahead, nor by reports that Oracle’s data centre construction may be delayed,” wrote Pepperstone’s Michael Brown.”Concern also lingers over the increase in debt-financed capex, especially from the likes of Oracle, though those concerns seem more likely to linger in the background into next year, as opposed to sparking significant fear in the now.”The downbeat mood on equity markets has filtered into the crypto sphere, with bitcoin briefly falling to as low as $85,171, while gold — a go-to asset in times of uncertainty — hovered around $4,300 and close to a new record high.The yen held gains against the dollar ahead of an expected rate hike by the Bank of Japan on Friday.- Key figures at around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 49,383.29 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 25,235.41 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,824.81 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,737.79Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1751 from $1.1750 on MondayDollar/yen: DOWN at 154.90 yen from 155.25Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3375 from $1.3372Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.85 pence from 87.87West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $56.50 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $60.26 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 48,416.56 points (close)

The Bank of Japan is expected to hike interest rates Friday for the first time since January, pushing them to their highest level in 30 years and potentially exacerbating turmoil in debt markets.Yields on Japanese government bonds have risen in recent weeks on worries about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s budget discipline, while the yen has weakened.Higher BoJ interest rates make Japanese bonds more attractive than other assets, pushing down their prices but sending yields — which move inversely — higher.Japan’s economy contracted 0.6 percent in the third quarter, but BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda said last weekthat the impact of US tariffs was less than feared.”So far, US corporates have swallowed the burden of tariffs without fully passing (them) through to consumer prices,” Ueda told the Financial Times.At the same time, inflation has been above the BoJ’s target of two percent for some time, with core consumer prices rising 3.0 percent in October.”The urgency stems from policymakers’ recognition that the window for hiking will close once external headwinds intensify,” said BMI (Fitch Solutions) in a note.- Record-high yields -The majority of economists polled by Bloombergexpect the BoJ to raise its main rate from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent, which would be the highest since 1995.The BoJ only began raising rates from below zero in March 2024. The US Federal Reserve is now going in the other direction and cutting rates.The BoJ’s move should help keep inflation in check, which would be welcome news to Takaichi, Japan’s first woman prime minister.She hopes to avoid the fate of her predecessor Shigeru Ishiba, who suffered a string of election debacles in part because of anger over rising prices.The lower house last week approved an extra budget worth 18.3 trillion yen ($118 billion) to finance a major stimulus package to help households.But more than 60 percent of the planned spending will come from government borrowing, rekindling market anxiety about Japan’s fiscal health.The country already has the biggest ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) among major economies, with the International Monetary Fund projecting it to hit 232.7 percent this year.Yields on 30-year bond yields reached a record high in early December, and 10-year yields last week hittheir highest level in 19 years.As well as pushing up bond yields, worries about Takaichi’s “responsible proactive fiscal policy” have added to pressure on the yen, which in turn fuels inflation since Japan is so reliant on imports.”These factors will offset the effects of the economic stimulus measures and undermine the medium- to long-term stability of the economy and financial markets,” said Takahide Kiuchi at the Nomura Research Institute.”This is the contradiction and weakness of the Takaichi administration’s proactive fiscal policy,” he said.

Crouched between mountains of discarded plastic, Lanh strips the labels off bottles of Coke, Evian and local Vietnamese tea drinks so they can be melted into tiny pellets for reuse.More waste arrives daily, piling up like technicolour snowdrifts along the roads and rivers of Xa Cau, one of hundreds of “craft” recycling villages encircling Vietnam’s capital Hanoi where waste is sorted, shredded and melted.The villages present a paradox: they enable reuse of some of the 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste Vietnam produces each year, and allow employees to earn much-needed wages.But recycling is done with few regulations, pollutes the environment and threatens the health of those involved, both workers and experts told AFP.”This job is extremely dirty. The environmental pollution is really severe,” said Lanh, 64, who asked to be identified only by her first name for fear of losing her job.It is a conundrum facing many fast-growing economies, where plastic use and disposal has outpaced the government’s ability to collect, sort and recycle.Even in wealthy countries, recycling rates are often abysmal because plastic products can be expensive to repurpose and sorting rates are low.But the rudimentary methods used in Vietnam’s craft villages produce dangerous emissions and expose workers to toxic chemicals, experts say.”Air pollution control is zero in such facilities,” said Hoang Thanh Vinh, an analyst at the United Nations Development Programme focused on waste recycling.Untreated wastewater is often dumped directly into waterways, he added.The true scale of the problem is hard to judge, with few comprehensive studies.In one village, Minh Khai, Vinh said a sediment analysis found “very high contamination of lead and the presence of dioxins”, as well as furan — all of which have been linked to cancer.And in 2008, the life expectancy for residents of the villages was found to be a full decade shorter than the national average, according to the environment ministry.Local authorities and the environment ministry did not reply to AFP’s requests for comment.Lanh believes the toxic waste in Xa Cau gave her husband blood cancer, but she still spends her days sorting rubbish to pay his medical bills.”This village is full of cancer cases, people just waiting to die,” she said.- Sickness and wealth -No data exists on cancer rates in the villages, but AFP spoke to more than half a dozen workers in Xa Cau and Minh Khai who reported colleagues or family members with cancer.Xuan Quach, coordinator of the Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance, said sustained exposure to the “toxic environment” made it inevitable that residents face “health risks that are of course higher”.Dat, 60, has been sorting plastic in Xa Cau for a decade and said the job “definitely affects your health”.  “There’s no shortage of cancer cases in this village.”But there is also no shortage of workers, keen for the economic lifeline recycling provides.In Xa Cau, plastic piles up around multi-storey homes, some with ornate facades noting the years they were built.”We get richer thanks to this business,” said 58-year-old Nguyen Thi Tuyen, who lives in a two-storey home.”Now all the houses are brick houses… In the past, we were just a farming village.” Most of the waste the villagers recycle is home-grown, researchers and residents say.But even though Vietnam only recycles about a third of its own plastic waste, it also imports thousands of tons annually from Europe, the United States and Asia.Imports soared after China stopped accepting plastic waste in 2018, though recently Vietnam has tightened regulations and announced plans to phase out imports too.For now, US and EU trade statistics show shipments to Vietnam from the two economies reached over 200,000 tonnes last year.In Minh Khai, the owner of a plant producing plastic pellets said domestic supply “is not enough”.”I have to import from overseas,” 23-year-old Dinh, who only gave one name, explained over the whir of heavy machinery. Most domestic waste doesn’t get sorted, so it cannot easily be reused. There have been efforts to improve the industry, including a ban on burning unrecyclable waste and building modern facilities.But burning continues and unusable waste is often dumped in empty lots, according to Vinh.He said the government should help recyclers move to industrial parks with better environmental safeguards, formalising a sector that handles a quarter of the country’s recycling.”The current way of recycling in recycling villages… is not good to the environment at all.”