Qantas Forecasts Record Annual Profits
Airline giant Qantas Airways forecasted a record of annual profit targets and hiked its share buyback program by up to nearly $68 million. The Australian-based company expects to generate pre-tax profits of A$2.48 billion for the fiscal year of 2023, which is slightly higher than the Refinitiv estimate of A$2.40 billion amid higher travel demand and moderation in fuel prices.
MACROECONOMIC DATA ANALYSIS
The central bank of South Korea is expected to keep interest rates unchanged for the third instance as the Asian nation is looking to assess the impact of previous hikes on inflation and economic growth, according to a poll by Reuters surveying economists which were divided over the possibility of rate cuts by the end of 2023.
The highly-awaited meeting between president Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy to bring forward an agreement regarding raising the U.S. debt ceiling has ended with a deadlock. The parties could not reach an agreement regarding how to raise the debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion debt with only 10 days remaining before a potential default which could hammer down the U.S. economy.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar strengthened on Tuesday for the second day in a row, going through the week on a positive stance on expectations that U.S. interest rates will remain higher for longer. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against other major currencies, jumped 0.32% higher to 103.400.
GOLD
Gold prices were smashed on Tuesday amid a stronger dollar greenback which typically weighs down on the bullion, amid investors and traders expecting that U.S. interest rates will remain relatively high for the time being. Gold futures fell 0.75% to $1,962 per ounce.
OIL
Oil prices rocketed on Tuesday as a tighter market is expected by investors and traders during a seasonal rise in fuel demand paired with supply cuts from OPEC+ producers. Brent futures soared 1.18% to $76.88 a barrel, while WTI futures rocketed 1.24% to $72.98 per barrel.
INDICES
USA: S&P500 +0.02%, Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.42%, Nasdaq Composite +0.34%
Europe: FTSE 100 +0.31%, DAX -0.32% CAC 40 -1.00%
Asia: Nikkei 225 -0.42%, Hang Seng -1.25%, CSI 300 -1.41%, Nifty 50 +0.18%
Newest
Daimler and Toyota announced on Tuesday that they had entered a non-binding agreement to combine the businesses of their truck units in Japan. Under the partnership’s memorandum of understanding (MOU), the businesses of Daimler-owned Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp and Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors would be combined under a holding company, as said in a statement.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Friday that the corporation is not planning on leaving Europe and areas of the European Union, contrasting a threat made earlier in the week to exit the region if it becomes difficult to comply with stringent artificial intelligence laws. The European Union is drafting a first set of global rules to govern artificial intelligence and Altman believes that the current draft is “over-regulating”.