The Overnight News Roundup - July 17
Your Daily Edge: Overnight Headlines for Traders, Analysts, and Market Observers
PiQ and Zack Eiseman provide you with a consolidated roundup of the overnight news that matters most to markets.
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TRADE:
Trump said the US is very close to a trade deal with India, while an agreement could possibly be reached with Europe as well, but it is too soon to say whether a deal can be agreed with Canada. (RTRS)
Some Trump administration officials are holding up efforts to finalize a landmark agreement that would open the door to the UAE buying billions of dollars in Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI chips, due to national-security concerns, in part because some officials have expressed concerns that China could get access to the technology, according to WSJ sources. (WSJ)
Trump said that he thinks China will soon sentence people to death for fentanyl manufacturing and distribution, as he offered fresh optimism about the prospects of a deal with Beijing on illicit drugs. (RTRS)
Japan's government said its top trade negotiator, Akazawa, held a 45-minute phone call with US Commerce Secretary Lutnick on US tariffs on Thursday. "The two sides re-confirmed each other's position on U.S. tariff measures and engaged in deep conversation," the government said in a statement, adding that Tokyo will continue dialogue with Washington on the issue. (RTRS)
Japan’s exports fell for a second straight month in June, fueling fears that U.S. tariffs will halt the nation’s economic recovery and complicate the central bank’s policy plans. (WSJ)
UK officials are optimistic that the Trump administration will soon agree to modify the domestic-production requirements that are holding up a trade agreement to lower US tariffs on British steel. (BBG)
The EU has stalled its probe into Elon Musk’s X amid US trade talks. (FT)
Swiss exports to the US rebounded in June, evidence that trade between the two countries remains robust despite the pressure of ongoing tariff negotiations. (BBG)
A record share of American firms froze investments in China as trade ties worsened earlier this year, a recent survey suggests. (BBG)
MACRO:
Trump said he would love for Fed Chair Powell to resign but that it would disrupt the markets if the president were to remove him. (Real America's Voice)
Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, expressed confidence that a congressional panel will look into allegations surrounding Federal Reserve building renovations. (BBG)
Fed's Williams said that monetary policy is in the right place to allow central bankers to monitor the economy before taking their next steps, while warning that the impact of trade tariffs is only just starting to hit the economy, expecting a 1 percentage point increase to inflation over the second half of the year. (RTRS)
Republican conservatives dropped a two-day blockade of industry-backed crypto bills, opening the way for House votes on a series of measures backed by President Donald Trump. (BBG)
UK annual wage growth, excluding bonuses, was slightly higher than expected at 5.0% in the three months to May, official figures showed on Thursday while a sharp drop in employee numbers was much less drastic than first reported. (RTRS)
AUD is underperforming after data showed Australian employment rose only marginally in June as the jobless rate jumped to the highest since late 2021, a surprisingly weak report that adds to the case for a cut in interest rates next month. (RTRS)
Japan is closely monitoring interest rate trends and their impact on people's lives as long-term rates affect the economy and public finances, a government spokesperson said on Thursday. An official said the government was "concerned" about foreign exchange market movements. (RTRS)
More than two-thirds of Japanese firms believe the government should compile an extra budget later this year to mitigate the impact of Trump's new tariffs and rising prices, a Reuters survey showed. (RTRS)
The jobless rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in China, excluding college students, dropped to a 12-month low of 14.5% in June, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday. (RTRS)
The value of Chinese companies’ new investment and construction contracts in countries that are part of President Xi Jinping’s global Belt and Road Initiative has hit a record high this year, a new study has found. (FT)
Germany has rejected the European Commission’s €2 trillion ($2.3 trillion) budget proposal, hours after it was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. (BBG)
RBC chief warns UK wealth tax would compound non-dom exodus. (FT)
Malaysia will likely miss its fiscal deficit target this year, as spending is seen exceeding projections and revenue may fall, according to BMI, a Fitch Solutions company. (BBG)
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EQUITIES:
TSMC posted a 60% jump in second-quarter profit to record levels that handily beat market forecasts, in addition to raising its guidance above expectations, noting demand for AI is getting stronger and stronger. (RTRS)
United Airlines reset its profit guidance for the year, citing improved travel appetite after economic turmoil and flight disruptions depressed flight bookings this spring. (WSJ)
OpenAI rival Anthropic is in the early stages of planning another investment round that could value the company at more than $100 billion, according to Bloomberg sources. (BBG)
New details in the probe of last month’s Air India crash are shifting the focus to the senior pilot in the cockpit. A black-box recording of dialogue between the flight’s two pilots indicates it was the captain who turned off switches that controlled fuel flowing to the plane’s two engines, according to WSJ sources. (WSJ)
Tesla Inc. hasn’t done enough to protect against drivers misusing its Autopilot system, a safety expert testified at a trial over a 2019 fatal collision. (BBG)
Alcoa reported a higher second-quarter profit, topping analyst expectations, and said it mitigated U.S. aluminum tariff costs by redirecting Canadian aluminum to customers outside of the U.S. (WSJ)
Kinder Morgan executives expect international markets to provide another jolt for natural gas, whose strong demand in the U.S. has continued to boost results. (WSJ)
Trump said that Coca-Cola had agreed to use cane sugar in its beverages in the U.S. after his discussions with the company. (Truth Social)
Sarepta Therapeutics is restructuring, laying off 36% of its workforce and making changes to its executive team. (WSJ)
Publicis raised its full-year forecast for organic growth after a string of major account wins helped the French advertising group ride out tariff concerns to beat analysts’ expectations for the second quarter. (WSJ)
Novartis AG raised its profit outlook after reporting better-than-expected results for the latest quarter, helped by cancer medicines. (BBG)
ABB second-quarter profit rose on an improved performance with a record-high order intake. (WSJ)
Swatch Group AG reported another six months of falling sales and profit, hit hard by sluggish demand for luxury timepieces in China. (BBG)
Volvo reported a slightly better-than-expected second-quarter operating profit, as service revenues helped it offset lower truck sales and weakness in North America. (RTRS)
Alimentation Couche-Tard pulled its $47 billion bid to buy Seven & i Holdings, citing a lack of constructive engagement by the Japanese retailer. (RTRS)
SK Hynix Inc. shares declined Thursday after Goldman Sachs downgraded the Korean chipmaker for the first time in over three years, on expectations it may suffer as competitors make advances. (BBG)
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That's all for today's digest. Happy trading, and keep it tight!
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