Business

Asian shares were mixed on Monday after stocks fell broadly on Friday as Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a down note.

U.S. futures were lower while oil prices were little changed.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6% to 2,418.80. But shares of Jeju Air Co. lost 8.8% after one of the company’s jets skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames Sunday in South Korea as its landing gear failed to deploy. 179 people died in the crash.

Political turmoil continued as South Korean law enforcement officials requested a court warrant on Monday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. They are investigating whether his martial law decree on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% to 39,914.21 as the dollar gained against the Japanese yen, trading at 157.83 yen, up from 157.75 yen. The Tokyo market will wrap up trading for 2024 with a yearend ceremony as Japan begins its New Year holidays, the biggest festival of the year.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.3% to 20,030.63 while the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.3% at 3,408.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.9% to 8,191.50.

On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1% to 5,970.84. Roughly 90% of stocks in the benchmark index lost ground, but it managed to hold onto a modest gain of 0.7% for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 42,992.21. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 1.5%, to 19,722.03.

The losses were made worse by sharp declines for the Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size.

A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 1.5% and Best Buy slipped 1.5%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season.

The S&P 500 gained nearly 3% over a 3-day stretch before breaking for the Christmas holiday. On Thursday, the index posted a small decline.

Despite Friday’s drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998.

The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing.

A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week.

The stream of upbeat economic data and easing inflation helped prompt a reversal in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy this year. Expectations for interest rate cuts also helped drive market gains. The central bank recently delivered its third cut to interest rates in 2024.

Even though inflation has come closer to the central bank’s target of 2%, it remains stubbornly above that mark and worries about it heating up again have tempered the forecast for more interest rate cuts.

Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market’s path ahead and shifting economic policies under incoming President Donald Trump. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade.

In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 1 cent to $70.61 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 1 cent to $73.78 per barrel.

The euro fell to $1.0427 from $1.0433.

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By Florence Tan and Emily Chow

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices edged up on Monday in thin holiday trade ahead of the year-end as traders awaited more Chinese and U.S. economic data later this week to assess growth in the world’s two largest oil consumers.

Brent crude futures rose 5 cents to $74.22 a barrel by 0430 GMT while the more active March contract was at $73.82 a barrel, up 3 cents.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3 cents to $70.63 a barrel.

Both contracts rose about 1.4% last week buoyed by a larger-than-expected drawdown from U.S. crude inventories in the week ended Dec. 20 as refiners ramped up activity and the holiday season boosted fuel demand. [EIA/S]

Oil prices were also supported by optimism for Chinese economic growth next year that could lift demand from the top crude oil importing nation.

To revive growth, Chinese authorities have agreed to issue a record 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) in special treasury bonds in 2025, Reuters reported last week.

“Global oil consumption reached an all-time high in 2024 despite China underperforming expectations, and oil stockpiles are heading into next year at relatively low levels,” said Ryan Fitzmaurice, senior commodity strategist at Marex.

“Going forward, China economic data is expected to improve as the recent stimulus measures take hold in 2025. Also, lower rates in the U.S. and elsewhere should be supportive of oil consumption.”

China has also issued at least 152.49 million metric tons of crude oil import quotas to independent refiners in a second batch for 2025 so far, trade sources said on Monday.

Separately, the World Bank has raised its forecast for China’s economic growth in 2024 and 2025, but warned that subdued household and business confidence, along with headwinds in the property sector, would remain a drag next year.

Investors are eyeing China’s PMI factory surveys due on Tuesday and the U.S. ISM survey for December to be released on Friday.

In Europe, hopes for a new deal to transit Russian gas through Ukraine are fading after Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that there was no time left this year to sign a new deal.

The loss of piped Russian gas should see Europe import more liquefied natural gas (LNG), analysts said.

(Reporting by Florence Tan and Emily Chow; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Shri Navaratnam)

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TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s factory activity shrank at a slower pace in December as declines in production and new orders eased, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, edging closer to stabilisation after recent falls.

The final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 49.6 in December, indicating the softest contraction in three months. The index was slightly higher than 49.5 in the flash reading and 49.0 in November but stayed below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction for the sixth straight month.

“The headline reading moved closer to neutrality amid softer reductions in both production and new order intakes,” said Usamah Bhatti at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiled the survey.

The subindex of production shrank for a fourth straight month in December but the contraction was also slower than last month. Manufacturers noted that subdued new orders were the main factor behind the decline in output.

New orders contracted for the 19th straight month on subdued demand in both domestic and key overseas markets. Some firms in the survey suggested the semiconductor market was behind the weakness in new orders.

Employment expanded in December, reversing its fall in November, to reach its highest level since April. Firms in the survey said they hired more workers due to labour shortages as well as in preparation for future demand.

Input prices grew at the strongest pace since August, with firms citing higher costs of raw materials and labour. The weak yen also boosted inflation. To cope with rising prices, firms raised their output prices at the fastest rate in five months.

Manufacturers stayed confident about their outlook as they expect business to expand thanks to the launch and mass production of new products.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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By Jihoon Lee and Youn Ah Moon

SEOUL (Reuters) -Shares of South Korean budget carrier Jeju Air hit their lowest on record on Monday, after the deadliest air crash in the country killed 179 people.

Jeju Air shares traded down 8.5% as of 0312 GMT, after falling as much as 15.7% earlier in the session to 6,920 won, the lowest since they were listed in 2015. The share slide on Monday wiped out as much as 95.7 billion won ($65.2 million) in market capitalisation.

Shares of AK Holdings, the holding company of Jeju Air, fell as much as 12% and hit their lowest in 16 years.

The crash on Sunday at Muan International Airport was the first fatal flight for Jeju Air, a low-cost airline founded in 2005 and the country’s third-largest carrier by passenger numbers.

South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the country’s entire airline operation system once the recovery work on the Jeju Air crash is finished.

Among other budget carriers, Air Busan rose more than 15%. Jin Air and T’way Air fell after rising as much as 5.4% and 7.3%, respectively.

South Korea’s two major airlines, Korean Air Lines dropped 1.3% and Asiana Airlines fell 0.8%.

“It will take time to assess the cause of the accident, but consumer sentiment will inevitably be hurt, as credibility is important for budget carriers whose seats and services are not much different from each other,” said Yang Seung-yoon, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities.

“In terms of overall travel demand, there might be some cancellations in the short term, but it is unlikely to weaken structurally.”

Travel agencies shut down their ads and promotional events, with tour package cancellations doubling and bookings halving for one operator, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Many victims of the plane crash, the worst in the country’s history, appeared to be returning from vacation for the holiday season, officials said.

Travel agency stocks also weakened, with Hanatour Service down as much as 7% and Very Good Tour down as much as 11%.

($1 = 1,467.9500 won)

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee and Youn Ah Moon; Editing by Kim Coghill and Jacqueline Wong)

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The Japanese yen traded around five-month lows on Monday against a dollar underpinned by rising U.S. yields as thin year-end liquidity kept most currencies in tight ranges.

The yen was changing hands at 157.82 with only the risk of Japanese intervention preventing another test of the 160 level last seen in July.

The dollar index measure against major rivals was flat at 107.99.

The euro stood at $1.0429, not far from recent troughs and in a holding pattern in holiday trading. The currency is heading for a calendar-year drop of roughly 5.5% on the dollar.

Rising U.S. Treasury yields have been a tailwind for the dollar, with the benchmark 10-year note hitting a more than seven-month high last week. The yield hovered close to that mark on Monday, at 4.625%.

“Despite paid forecasters almost universally calling for a weaker U.S. dollar in 2024, the greenback looks set to close the year higher against all major currencies with the buck reigning supreme,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Australian online broker Pepperstone.

For the month, the dollar index is up 2.3%, bringing year-to-date gains to 6.6%.

It has gained in each of the last three months, helped by expectations President-elect Donald Trump’s policies of looser regulation, tax cuts, tariff hikes and tighter immigration will be both pro-growth and inflationary and keep U.S. yields elevated.

The dollar has gained 10 yen since Dec. 3, with much of the decline in the Japanese currency coming after the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 18 message of caution around future rate cuts.

That view has weighed heavily on the yen, which hit its weakest level since July 17 last week at 158.09 per dollar and has shed 10.6% so far this year.

It came off those lows on Friday after a summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan’s December policy meeting showed some policymakers gaining confidence in an imminent rate increase, while the Japanese central bank also cut its monthly bond purchases.

Still, Japanese yields remain notably low, and recent comments have sown doubts about the BOJ’s commitment to lift rates. The BOJ held interest rates steady at 0.25% at this month’s meeting, and governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank was scrutinising more data on next year’s wage momentum and clarity on the incoming U.S. administration’s economic policies.

A Reuters poll taken earlier this month showed the BOJ could raise rates to 0.50% by end-March, and interest rates markets are pricing in only a 42% chance of a rate rise in January.

Traders are on watch for any potential intervention by Japanese officials to shore up the currency if it continues to weaken, as they have done multiple times this year.

Japan Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Friday reiterated concerns over a sliding yen, repeating his warning to take action against excessive currency moves.

Pepperstone’s Weston said dollar buyers continued to dominate trading in the dollar-yen pair.

“It rarely sits well buying into any market pushing new run highs, but in my view, any upside break of 158.00 is good for chasing – although yen shorts do run the increasing risk of credible MOF yen jawboning and possible intervention,” Weston wrote in a note to clients.

Barring the yen, currency moves in major markets were tepid last week. The yen fell 0.9%, the euro shed 0.2% and sterling rose 0.1% while the dollar index climbed 0.2%.

The next interest rate cut by the European Central Bank could be longer in coming after a recent uptick in inflation, ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin too was sluggish around $93,052, and is down about 4% on the month after retreating from a record high of $108,379.28 hit on Dec. 17. It has surged about 115% so far this year.

(Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes)

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By Surbhi Misra and David Shepardson

(Reuters) -The Chinese-linked Salt Typhoon cyberespionage operation targeted AT&T and Verizon’s systems, but the wireless carriers’ U.S. networks are now secure as they work with law enforcement and government officials, the companies said on Saturday in their first acknowledgment of the attacks.

“We detect no activity by nation-state actors in our networks at this time. Based on our current investigation of this attack, the People’s Republic of China targeted a small number of individuals of foreign intelligence interest,” an AT&T spokesperson said.

While only a few cases of compromised information were identified, AT&T was monitoring and remediating its networks to protect customers data, and continues to work with authorities to assess and mitigate the threat, the spokesperson said.

“We have not detected threat actor activity in Verizon’s network for some time, and after considerable work addressing this incident, we can report that Verizon has contained the activities associated with this particular incident,” Verizon’s Chief Legal Officer said in a statement.

An independent and highly respected cyber security firm has confirmed the containment, Verizon said.

On Friday, U.S. officials added a ninth unnamed telecom company to the list of entities compromised by the Salt Typhoon hackers and said the Chinese involved gained access to networks and essentially had broad and full access, giving them the capability to “geolocate millions of individuals, to record phone calls at will.”

The U.S. Department of Defense and the Federal Communications Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the company statements. China’s foreign ministry could not immediately be contacted for comment.

Chinese officials have previously described the allegations as disinformation and said Beijing “firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms.”

Officials previously alleged hackers targeted Verizon AT&T, Lumen and other telecom companies, and stole telephone audio intercepts along with a large swath of call record data.

In response to that cyberattack, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Dec. 18 urged senior government and political figures to move mobile communications to end-to-end encrypted apps.

Targets of Salt Typhoon reportedly included officials connected to Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns.

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat from New Mexico, called Salt Typhoon the “largest telecommunications hack in our nation’s history” during a Dec. 11 hearing, while Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said the U.S. “must plug any vulnerabilities in communications networks.”

There is growing concern about the size and scope of the reported Chinese hacking into U.S. telecommunications networks and questions about when companies and the government will be able to assure Americans about the issue.

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Disha Mishra in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is not planning job cuts and its business is healthy, CEO Thomas Schinecker was quoted as saying by a Swiss newspaper on Sunday.

Roche’s share price has fallen far below peaks it scaled in April 2022 and the CEO was questioned about the company’s staffing plans in the context of recent setbacks in its development of drugs to treat cancer, among other illnesses.

“The number of workers is constant to slightly increasing,” Schinecker told the NZZ am Sonntag in an interview when asked if the company was planning layoffs.

“I can say with certainty that we have a very healthy business. And we don’t have a growth problem either,” he said, while noting that Roche’s budget for research and development was stable and not growing.

Asked when Roche’s planned anti-obesity drug would hit the market, Schinecker said it could be around 2029 or sooner.

Addressing the outlook more broadly for next year, particularly in light of the German economy’s recent struggles, the Roche CEO said Europe still faced challenges.

“There’s some economic growth in the United States, but things are more difficult in China at the moment,” he said. “And in Europe it will take some time before we get out of this.”

(Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by David Holmes)

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Charles F. Dolan, who founded some of the most prominent U.S. media companies including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., has died at age 98, according to a news report.

A statement issued Saturday by his family said Dolan died of natural causes, Newsday reported late Saturday.

“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved father and patriarch, Charles Dolan, the visionary founder of HBO and Cablevision,” the statement said.

Dolan’s legacy in cable broadcasting includes the 1972 launch of Home Box Office, later known as HBO, and founding Cablevision in 1973 and the American Movie Classics television station in 1984. He also launched News 12 in New York City, the first 24-hour cable channel for local news in the U.S., Newsday reported.

A statement from MSG Entertainment, MSG Sports, and Sphere Entertainment recalled Dolan’s “vision.”

“Mr. Dolan’s vision built the foundation for the companies we are today, and as a member of our Boards he continued to help shape our future. The impact he made on the media, sports, and entertainment industries, including as the founder of Cablevision and HBO, is immeasurable,” the statement said. “We do not expect this to directly or indirectly change ownership by the Dolan family.”

The Cleveland native, who dropped out of John Carroll University in suburban Cleveland, completed the sale of Cablevision to Altice, a European telecommunications and cable company, for $17.7 billion in June 2016.

Dolan, whose primary home was in Cove Neck Village on Long Island in New York, also held controlling stakes in companies that owned Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, Newsday reported.

James L. Dolan, one of his sons, was the Cablevision CEO from 1995 until the 2016 sale to Altice. He now is the executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. The company owns the Knicks and Rangers franchises, among other properties, according to the MSG Sports website.

Newsday, which Cablevision purchased in 2008, also came under the control of Altice with the sale. Patrick Dolan, another son of Charles Dolan, led a group that repurchased 75% of Newsday Media Group in July 2016. Patrick Dolan then purchased the remaining 25% stake in 2018.

At the time of his death, Charles Dolan and his family had a net worth of $5.4 billion, Forbes reported.

Dolan was a founder and chairman emeritus of The Lustgarten Foundation in Uniondale, New York, which conducts pancreatic cancer research.

He is survived by six children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His wife, Helen Ann Dolan, died in 2023, Newsday reported.

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ROME (AP) — Italy’s parliament on Saturday approved the government’s 2025 budget, worth a total of 30 billion euros ($31 billion) — more than half of that in tax cuts and social security benefits for low-income citizens.

The measures, pushed by the far-right cabinet headed by Premier Giorgia Meloni, won final approval in the Upper House by 108 votes to 63.

The country’s center-left opposition had harshly criticized the economic package, saying it didn’t meet the premier’s pledges to slash taxes for most Italians and boost employment.

Meloni has staunchly defended the budget, stressing its “wide balance” and its aim to support low and medium-income earners and families with children, while adding resources for the country’s struggling health system.

“We used the limited resources available to strengthen the main measures approved during the past years, making them structural and widening them to include a larger audience,” the premier said after the budget’s final approval.

The package includes a 1,000-euro bonus for the parents of newborns, with wealthier families excluded, as part of efforts to reverse Italy’s declining birth rate.

Banks, which have enjoyed high profits in recent years thanks to falling interest rates, will be asked to contribute 3.5 billion euros to the budget, which will to go the national health system.

Italy is under pressure from the European Union to slash its deficit after huge spikes in 2022 and 2023, and has pledged to bring it below the EU’s 3% of GDP ceiling in 2026.

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NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re planning on ringing in the new year quietly at home, you’re not alone.

A majority of U.S adults intend to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

“As I’ve gotten older over the last few years, it’s like if I don’t make it to midnight, it’s not a big deal, you know?” says Carla Woods, 70, from Vinton, Iowa.

Nearly 2 in 10 will be celebrating at a friend or family member’s home, and just 5% plan to go out to celebrate at a bar, restaurant or organized event, the poll found.

But many U.S. adults will celebrate the new year in a different way — by making a resolution. More than half say they’ll make at least one resolution for 2025.

There’s some optimism about the year ahead, although more than half aren’t expecting a positive change. About 4 in 10 say 2025 will be a better year for them personally. About one-third don’t expect much of a difference between 2024 and 2025, and about one-quarter think 2025 will be a worse year than 2024.

Kourtney Kershaw, a 32-year-old bartender in Chicago, often fields questions from customers and friends about upcoming events for New Year’s Eve. She said this year is trending toward low-key.

“A majority of who I’ve spoken to in my age range, they want to go out, but they don’t know what they’re going to do because they haven’t found anything or things are just really expensive,” she said. “Party packages or an entry fee are like a turnoff, especially with the climate of the world and how much things cost.”

As expected, younger people are more interested in ringing in the new year at a bar or organized event — about 1 in 10 U.S. adults under 30 say they plan to do that. But about 3 in 10 older adults — 60 and above — say they won’t celebrate the beginning of 2025 at all.

Anthony Tremblay, 35, from Pittsburgh, doesn’t usually go out to toast the arrival of the new year, but this year he’s got something special cooked up: He and his wife will be traveling through Ireland.

“I don’t do anything too crazy for New Year’s, usually. So this is definitely a change,” he said. “I wanted to do something unique this year, so I did.”

Woods will be working New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. She answers calls on The Iowa Warmline, a confidential, noncrisis listening line for people struggling with mental health or substance use issues.

“Holidays are really hard for people, so I don’t mind working,” she said. “I’m passionate about it because I have mental health issues in the family and so being able to help people is rewarding to me.”

Every New Year’s also triggers the eternal debate about resolutions. A majority of U.S. adults say they intend to make a New Year’s resolution of some type, but millennials and Gen Z are especially likely to be on board — about two-thirds expect to do so, compared to about half of older adults. Women are also more likely than men to say they will set a goal for 2025.

Tremblay hopes to lose some weight and focus more on self-care — more sleep, meditation and breathing exercises. “It’s probably a good year to focus on mental health,” he said.

Many others agree. About 3 in 10 adults choose resolutions involving exercise or eating healthier. About one-quarter said they’ll make a resolution involving losing weight and a similar number said they’ll resolve to make changes about priorities of money or mental health.

Woods’ resolutions are to stay social and active. As a mental health counselor, she knows those are key to a happy 2025 and beyond: “Probably one of my biggest resolutions is trying to make sure I stay social, try to get out at least once a week — get out and either have coffee or do something with a friend. That’s not only for the physical but also for the mental health part.”

Kershaw, the bartender, says weight loss and better health are the top resolutions she hears people make. “Mental health is the new one, but I think it’s high up there as well as with regular health,” she said.

She prefers more goal-oriented resolutions and, this time, it’s to do more traveling and see more of the world: “I don’t know if that’s really a resolution, but that’s a goal that I’m setting.”

And how will she welcome the arrival of 2025? Usually, she takes the night off and stays home watching movies with plenty of snacks, but this year Kershaw has a different plan, maybe one of the most Chicago things you can do.

This die-hard sports fan will be at Wrigley Field on Tuesday watching the Chicago Blackhawks take on the St. Louis Blues. “Hockey’s my favorite sport. So I will be watching hockey and bringing in the new year,” she said.

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The AP-NORC poll of 1,251 adults was conducted Dec. 5-9, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

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Sanders reported from Washington.

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