MARKET SNAPSHOT
U.S stocks rose on modest retail sales and ahead of the Federal Reserve's Wednesday policy decision. Treasury yields were mixed and the dollar weakened. Crude oil finished higher on geopolitical tensions involving military strikes on Yemen. Gold settled at another record high, aided by a faltering greenback.
MARKET WRAPS
EQUITIES
Stocks continued their rally, with Wall Street welcoming a rise in retail sales and breathing easier after political uncertainty sent major indexes into correction territory last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 0.9%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%.
"It's been quiet on the tariff front, and quiet out of Washington," Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, said. "That's given traders a little bit of a pause. We don't have to watch the tape every second for retaliatory tariffs or surprise tariffs. It's been nice to get back to a slow, boring day."
Commerce Department data indicated retail sales edged up by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in February from January. Economists had forecast a gain of 0.6%. But excluding sales at automobile and auto-parts dealers, sales rose in line with expectations, satisfying some investors who were preparing for worse.
Earlier Monday, Chinese shares ended mixed amid diverging cues. China's first economic activity print for 2025 beat expectations, making a strong start to Beijing's 5% gross domestic product growth goal for the year.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.2% higher, the Shenzhen Composite Index edged up 0.1%, and the ChiNext Price Index fell 0.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.8% higher amid positive sentiment.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.9% higher as fears about the U.S. economic outlook have subsided. Heavy industry and real-estate stocks led the gains. Investors are focused on developments ahead of the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting, starting Tuesday.
Stocks in Australia rose as the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%, marking the second consecutive day of increases. The blue-chip S&P/ASX 20, which includes the country's major banks and iron-ore miners, gained 0.9%.
New Zealand's NZX-50 index closed 0.8% lower amid signs the country's recovery from recession will probably be uneven. The decline came as survey findings showed activity in the country's services sector contracted in February. Utilities were among the major decliners.
COMMODITIES
Oil futures finished higher, finding support after the U.S. over the weekend launched U.S. strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, raising the risk of disruptions to oil flow in the region.
Optimism over the prospect of additional stimulus from China also helped boost oil, analysts said, but the prospect of progress on talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war helped to limit upside for prices.
West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery rose 0.6% to $67.58 a barrel, making it six out of the past eight trading sessions that crude oil has finished higher. Brent crude settled up 0.7% at $71.07 a barrel.
Front-month March gold settled up 0.2% to $3000.00 -- a record high and the fifth-consecutive session gain.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Retail Sales Edge Up in February but Miss Expectations
Retail sales rose modestly last month, offering reassurances that while consumer spending has slowed this year, it hasn't buckled.
Sales edged up a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in February from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Monday. That was less than the 0.6% gain expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Sales figures for the prior month were revised lower. They fell 1.2% in January.
Alphabet Back in Deal Talks for Cybersecurity Startup Wiz
Google parent Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for around $30 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
A deal could come together soon, granted the talks don't hit any last-minute snags, the people said.
Alphabet had been close to a roughly $23 billion deal for Wiz last summer, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
PepsiCo to Acquire Prebiotic Soda Brand Poppi for $1.95 Billion
PepsiCo agreed to acquire prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $1.95 billion, adding a drink with claims that it is good for the gut as sales of traditional sugary drinks go flat.
The deal comes as the soda industry is facing fresh scrutiny from the Make America Healthy Again movement, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has called the product "poison."
PepsiCo said Monday that the transaction includes $300 million of anticipated cash tax benefits, bringing the net purchase price to around $1.65 billion. The deal also includes an additional potential earnout consideration depending on whether certain performance milestones are achieved in a designated period.
Klarna Replaces Affirm as Buy-Now-Pay-Later Provider at Walmart
STOCKHOLM-Klarna said it will become the exclusive buy-now-pay-later provider at Walmart in the U.S., replacing rival Affirm as the Swedish fintech company nears a potential initial public offering.
Stockholm-based Klarna said Monday that it will work with Walmart-backed consumer finance app OnePay to offer customers installment loans on purchases at the retailer. It will give Walmart's U.S. customers and members flexible payment options for online and in-store purchases.
OnePay has been offering financial services and allowing customers to link their bank cards and quickly check out online or make contactless payments while also offering cash back on purchases. It is already integrated inside of Walmart's physical and digital channels and with the Klarna partnership will now add installment loans to its portfolio of banking, credit and payments products.
Nippon Steel, U.S. Steel Lawsuit Gets Extension to Continue Government Negotiations
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel received an extension for their lawsuit over their proposed merger, allowing negotiations with the U.S. government to go on longer.
The Department of Justice on Friday filed a motion to extend by 21 days the briefing deadlines in a lawsuit the two steel companies filed after the government attempted to block their proposed merger. The oral argument in the litigation was also pushed back to May 12 from April 24, according to a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The extension is intended to allow the government to complete ongoing discussions with the companies about the merger with the goal of avoiding the need for resolution on the merits of litigation, the filing said.
Expected Major Events for Tuesday
04:30/JPN: Jan Tertiary Industry Index
04:30/JPN: Jan Revised Industrial Production
08:30/HK: Feb Unemployment
08:30/HK: Feb Underemployment
14:30/AUS: Jan Australia Conference Board Leading Index
20:00/NZ: 1Q Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index
21:45/NZ: 4Q International Investment Position
21:45/NZ: 4Q Balance of Payments
23:50/JPN: Jan Orders Received for Machinery
23:50/JPN: Feb Provisional Trade Statistics for the Month
00:00/AUS: Feb Vacancy Report
00:00/AUS: Jan Westpac-Melbourne Institute Indexes of Economic Activity
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Write to us at singaporeeditors@dowjones.com
We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 17, 2025 17:18 ET (21:18 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
