US-RUSSIA: Putin Envoy-Want Dialogue w/US Despite 'Unfriendly Steps'
Oct-24 15:56
Reuters reporting comments from Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and President Vladimir Putin's special envoy on Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, who is in the US for talks amid a major escalation in tensions after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft. Dmitriev confirms he is in the US for a trip planned some time ago.
- Dmitriev: "Russia-US dialogue is vital for the world and must continue with the full understanding of Russia's positions and respect for its national interests." Says dialogue continues despite "unfriendly steps" from the US, with various forces, "mainly the UK and the Europeans", are trying to "derail" direct talks. Dmitriev does not say who he plans to meet.
- Axios reported earlier that Dmitriev is set to meet with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. May cause some concern for Ukraine and its allies. Previous meetings between Witkoff and Russian officials, including on a number of occasions Putin, have sometimes been followed by a tempering of US support for Kyiv and a softening of language on Russia's actions.
Want to read more?
Find more articles and bullets on these widgets:
Historical bullets
US STOCKS: Late Morning Equities Roundup: Early Support Evaporates/Profit Taking
Sep-24 15:51
- After making modest gains early Wednesday, stocks are trading weaker - extending lows ahead midday as profit taking gathered momentum ahead of Thursday's heavy economic data and continued Fed speaker schedule.
- Currently, the DJIA trades down 61.39 points (-0.13%) at 46236.27, S&P E-Minis down 16 points (-0.24%) at 6699.5, Nasdaq down 64.4 points (-0.3%) at 22513.08.
- A mix of Communication Services, Mining and Technology sector shares underperformed in the first half: after down-revising their third-quarter projections, Freeport-McMoRan fell -10.36%; Axon Enterprise -4.62%, Synopsys -4.30%, KKR & Co -4.26%, IDEXX Laboratories -3.90%, Electronic Arts -3.68%, Take-Two Interactive -3.59% and Adobe -3.32%.
- On the positive side, Energy and Consumer Discretionary sector shares led gainers in the first half, oil and gas stocks buoyed the former as crude prices climbed higher (WTI +1.19 at 64.60): Diamondback Energy +3.74%, APA Corp +3.31%, Phillips 66 +3.15%, Devon Energy +2.96% and ConocoPhillips +2.71%.
- Discretionary sector shares supported by Tesla +3.14%, Ross Stores +2.88%, Lennar Corp+2.37% and General Motors +1.76%.
US DATA: August Building Permits Upped Slightly, Still Weak
Sep-24 15:45
August building permits were revised up in the final reading to 1,330k (1,312k prelim).
- That's still a drop from 1,362k in July for a cycle low (weakest since 2019, ex-pandemic 2020).
- Single-family home permits were basically unrevised at 858k (856k prelim), with multi-units now estimated at 472k (456k prelim).
- This could on the margins lead to a small uptick in residential investment estimates, including the Atlanta Fed GDPNow reading due out Friday - it currently estimates -6.3% Q/Q SAAR residential investment, which had been downgraded from -4.6% after the preliminary housing data (starts could yet be revised in the September report due out October 17).
- But overall, there are no clear signs of a nascent pickup in residential investment activity.
FED: US TSY 1Y-10M FRN AUCTION: HIGH MARGIN 0.200%; ALLOTMENT 44.42%
Sep-24 15:32
- US TSY 1Y-10M FRN AUCTION: HIGH MARGIN 0.200%; ALLOTMENT 44.42%
- US TSY 1Y-10M FRN AUCTION: DEALERS TAKE 28.87% OF COMPETITIVES
- US TSY 1Y-10M FRN AUCTION: DIRECTS TAKE 0.89% OF COMPETITIVES
- US TSY 1Y-10M FRN AUCTION: INDIRECTS TAKE 70.23% OF COMPETITIVES
- US TSY 1Y-10M FRN AUCTION: BID/CVR 3.15
