GLOBAL NEWS
India’s rupee and bonds plunged following Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel’s unexpected resignation after market hours on Monday shocked investors.Concerns about likely mixed results from crucial state elections later on Tuesday also kept traders wary.The rupee came off earlier lows at 72.1350 to the dollar after opening at 72.46, but was sharply lower from its close of 71.35 on Monday.The 10-year benchmark bond yield rose to 7.64 percent from 7.59 percent at the previous close.
Eminent economist and columnist Surjit Bhalla Tuesday said he has resigned as part-time member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on December 1. "I resigned as part-time member of PMEAC on December 1," Bhalla said in a tweet.
China and the United States discussed the road map for the next stage of their trade talks on Tuesday, during a telephone call between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.Lighthizer said on Sunday that unless U.S.-China trade talks wrap up successfully by March 1, new tariffs will be imposed, clarifying there is a “hard deadline” after a week of seeming confusion among Trump and his advisers.Earlier this month in Argentina, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a truce that delayed the planned Jan. 1 U.S. hike of tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
Mexico will invest more than $30 billion in its poor southern states over the next five years, the foreign minister said on Monday, boosting the region economically as part of efforts to curb migration.Under pressure from the United States, Mexico is grappling to halt the northward flow of migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Central America.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that any discussion with the United States over foreign exchange would take place between his ministry and the U.S. Treasury Department, indicating Japan’s desire to keep currency and trade talks separate.The United Auto Workers union also called on the U.S. government to impose strict import quotas on Japanese vehicles and parts at a hearing on U.S. negotiating objectives for trade talks expected to start early next year.Any provisions against yen weakness or limits on the number of car exports to the United States would pose a serious threat to Japan’s auto industry and potentially threaten its economic outlook.
The pound languished near 20-month lows against the dollar on Tuesday after British Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a crucial vote on her Brexit deal, rasing the risk of a chaotic exit from the European Union.May on Monday postponed a parliamentary vote, which was due to take place on Tuesday, on her Brexit deal to seek more concessions. The move stoked more uncertainty as Britain now faces Brexit without a deal, a last-minute agreement or another EU referendum.Sterling crawled up 0.1 percent to $1.2574 after slumping 1.3 percent the previous day, when the currency brushed $1.2507, its lowest since April 2017.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló signed into law on Monday legislation to provide nearly $2 billion in tax relief over five years amid concerns by the U.S. commonwealth’s federally created fiscal oversight board about how the island will fund the tax break.
The S&P 500 is not yet in a bear market, but nearly half of its components are.Hurt by worries about global growth, the S&P 500. SPX on Monday fell as much as 1.89 percent before reversing course and ending the session with a 0.17 percent gain, trimming its loss so far in December to 4.44 percent.The S&P 500 index has been in a correction since October, defined by many investors as a drop of 10 percent or more from a high. It has not crossed the 20 percent threshold, widely viewed as the definition of a bear market.
Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, supported by hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve could pause its rate hike cycle sooner than expected and as the dollar slipped after the previous session’s rally,Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,246.62 per ounce, as of 0430 GMT. It touched its highest in nearly five months at $1,250.55 in the prior session.U.S. gold futures were 0.2 percent higher at $1,251.4 per ounce.
Oil prices edged up on Tuesday after Libya’s National Oil Company declared force majeure on exports from the El Sharara oilfield, which was seized at the weekend by a local militia group.International Brent crude oil futures were at $60.19 per barrel at 0336 GMT, up 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.16 per barrel, up 16 cents, or 0.3 percent.