By Brigid Riley

TOKYO (Reuters) -The yen struggled to hold its line against the dollar on Tuesday after making sharp gains the previous day sparked by suspected intervention by Japanese authorities.

The currency inched down 0.30% to 156.79 per dollar but was well off its 34-year low of 160.245 hit on Monday when traders say yen-buying intervention by Tokyo drove a eye-catching rebound of nearly six yen. It briefly popped above 157 earlier in Tuesday's session.

Japanese authorities haven't confirmed that they had stepped into the currency market in support of the yen, but markets remain on heightened intervention alert ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy review this week.

Official figures that would reveal whether intervention did in fact occur won't be available until late May.

While some market players had zeroed in on 160 yen per dollar as the possible trigger for intervention, analysts said Japanese authorities may not be targeting particular levels.

"Obviously, the still wide policy rate gulf between the Fed and BOJ could continue to keep USD/JPY buoyant. For that reason, we believe Japanese officials desire more flexibility in terms of what levels to intervene at," said Wei Liang Chang, a currency and credit strategist at DBS.

Despite the yen's biggest one-day gain this year on the dollar, the Japanese currency still sits lower than it was before the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) policy announcement last week. It has also suffered its largest monthly decline since January.

The BOJ's go-slow approach on interest rate increases, following its landmark decision to ditch negative rates in March, has traders betting that Japanese bond yields will remain low for an extended period. In contrast, U.S. rates are still relatively high and provide enough latitude for yen bears.

The Fed begins its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, where it's expected to hold rates at 5.25%-5.5%, with U.S. inflation proving to be sticky.

It's also expected to strike a hawkish message, meaning more yen selling is likely, said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY).

"The implication is the MOF will likely be forced to step in more than once to slow the rise in USD/JPY."

DIVERGENT ECONOMIC OUTLOOKS

While the timing of any possible rate hikes by the BOJ remains vague, traders continue to pare back bets of Fed rate cuts this year amid hotter-than-expected U.S. economic data and stubborn inflation numbers.

A rate cut in September was looking like a close call at just 44%, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool.

The dollar rose to 0.14% to 105.83 against a basket of currencies ahead of the Fed's meeting, after slipping 0.25% in the previous session.

However, other major central banks such as the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England may begin to cut rates in the near future.

Markets could glean more clues on the timing of ECB's rate-easing cycle from European inflation data this week due later on Tuesday.

The euro fell 0.17% to $1.0701. Sterling was last trading at $1.2541, down 0.16% on the day.

Elsewhere, a soft retail sales number out of Australia sent the Aussie sliding, last down 0.53% at $0.653, as markets further trimmed the risk of another rate hike by September.

The kiwi fell 0.50% to $0.595.

In China, manufacturing and services activity both expanded at a slower pace in April, official surveys showed, suggesting some loss of momentum for the world's second-biggest economy at the start of the second quarter.

The offshore Chinese yuan slipped 0.14% to $7.2523 per dollar.

The yuan has lost 2% against the dollar so far this year and is on course for its fourth straight monthly onshore loss.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin last rose 1.07% to $63,618.00.

By Summer Zhen

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Six spot bitcoin and ether exchange traded funds (ETFs) gained in their Hong Kong debut on Tuesday, with the three bitcoin ETFs climbing more than 3% in early trade, reflecting Asian investor enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies.

The debuts mark the first launch of spot cryptocurrency ETFs in Asia and come just three months after the U.S. launched its first ETFs to track spot bitcoin.

Spot bitcoin ETFs launched by China AMC, Harvest and Bosera had gained roughly 2.5% as of 2:21 GMT. The three ether ETFs managed by the asset managers also rose.

Bitcoin climbed about 1%.

Cryptocurrency is banned in mainland China, but Hong Kong has been promoting itself as a global digital asset hub, part of a drive to maintain its allure as a financial center.

Christina Choi, an executive director of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), hailed the product debut as a milestone in Hong Kong's ETF market, but also flagged risks.

"Virtual assets are quite speculative and very volatile ... so I remind you that such assets are not suitable for all investors," Choi told Tuesday's launch event.

The ETF launch also put Hong Kong in direct competition with the United States for crypto investors.

The U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have drawn roughly $12 billion in net inflows, contributing to a surge in bitcoin's price earlier this year. But U.S. regulators have not yet approved ETFs that track spot ether prices.

COMPETITION

Another difference is that Hong Kong's crypto ETFs adopt the so-called "in-kind" transaction mechanism that allows investors to buy and sell ETF shares using the relevant crypto tokens instead of cash.

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on Tuesday that authorities were ready to deal with foreign exchange matters "24 hours", while declining again to comment on whether the finance ministry had intervened to prop up the yen a day earlier.

"Whether it's London, New York or Wellington (hours), it doesn't make a difference," the vice finance minister for international affairs told reporters a day after the dollar tumbled to a low of 154.40 yen from as high as 160.245 in what traders cited as intervention.

Kanda reiterated that the government would continue taking appropriate action when needed and respond to foreign exchange moves in accordance with rules set under international frameworks such as the Group of Seven advanced countries and International Monetary Fund.

Japan's currency surged as much as five yen against the dollar on Monday after the currency hit fresh 34-year lows earlier in the day.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Japanese financial authorities had intervened in the market, citing people familiar with the matter.

Kanda on Monday declined to comment when asked by reporters whether authorities intervened in the currency market, but said the current developments in the currency market were "speculative, rapid and abnormal" and could not be overlooked.

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the United States will be required to have automatic emergency braking systems by September 2029, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Monday, saying that the rule will save at least 360 lives annually and prevent at least 24,000 injuries.

The new rule comes as traffic deaths have spiked following the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Congress directed the NHTSA in the 2021 infrastructure law to create a rule to establish minimum performance standards for automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems, which use sensors like cameras and radar to detect when a vehicle is close to crashing and then automatically applies brakes if the driver has not done so.

The rule requires that systems detect pedestrians in both daylight and at night. Some small-volume manufacturers will be allowed to comply by September 2030.

The NHTSA in 2023 had proposed requiring nearly all vehicles to comply three years after publication, but automakers are now being given five years.

The NHTSA is requiring all cars and trucks be able to stop and avoid striking vehicles in front of them up to 62 miles per hour. The rule requires the system to apply brakes automatically up to 90 mph when collision with a lead vehicle is imminent, and up to 45 mph when a pedestrian is detected.

U.S. traffic deaths fell by 3.6% in 2023, the second straight yearly decline, but they remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels.

The fatality rate in 2023 was higher than any pre-pandemic year since 2008. In 2022, the number of pedestrians killed rose 0.7% to 7,522, the most since 1981.

In 2016, 20 automakers voluntarily agreed to make automatic emergency braking standard on nearly all U.S. vehicles by 2022. In December 2023, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said all 20 automakers had equipped at least 95% of vehicles with AEB.

By Karl Badohal

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland is taking steps to increase the transparency of its public finances Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told reporters, amid rising debt servicing costs.

Measures will include a review of public finances, to be published by the ministry on Monday, reining in out-of-budget spending, and establishing an independent fiscal council to assess government policy, he said.

"I will be encouraging the government to move towards maximum transparency," he told reporters on Friday in comments cleared for publication on Monday morning.

Poland is among nearly a dozen European Union countries at risk of being put under the bloc's excessive deficit procedure, imposed on those whose deficit limits exceed 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Warsaw, whose deficit is seen increasing at year-end to 5.4% according to a Reuters poll, points among others to spending more than 4% of economic output on defence, as Russia continues its attack on neighbouring Ukraine.

Domanski said his aim was to repair public finances following several years of elevated off-budget spending by the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Starting April 30, state-owned development bank BGK will start publishing data on all of its funds in terms of execution and current plans on a quarterly basis," he said.

He said he was in favour of merging some of BGK's funds and the finance ministry would cooperate with the bank and other ministries on this.

LONG-TERM PLAN

Poland's annual long-term financial plan, to be adopted by the government on Tuesday, will also include the framework for establishing a fiscal council to monitor government policy, including macroeconomic projections and the budget bill, Domanski said.

"It of course must be an independent institution and everything it publishes must be made public ... It has to have its own firepower when it comes to criticizing the finance minister for submitted assumptions to the budget act."

He said he expected the project to be made public within a few weeks.

Domanski noted that Poland's debt servicing costs were among the highest in the EU and said he was looking at its smaller neighbour, the Czech Republic, as a guide.

"This is a problem that will get even worse in the coming years - the debt servicing costs in relation to GDP will increase, although fortunately only slightly," he said, adding that policy changes at the U.S Federal Reserve and other main central banks were pressuring emerging markets.

"I am looking at the spread to Czech bonds - my goal is for this spread to narrow."

Domanski also said he was eyeing more private investments, in addition to higher consumption, as a driver of economic growth. "Private investments are very important to me, which is why we are talking to investors in Poland and abroad."

BEIJING (Reuters) - The export controls proposed by Japan related to semiconductors will seriously affect normal trade between Chinese and Japanese enterprises, China's commerce ministry said on Monday.

China urged Japan to rectify what it called "erroneous practices", saying the move would undermine the stability of the global supply chain.

The ministry said China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.

Japan proposed last week to require companies to notify the government before exporting advanced materials and equipment that could be used for military applications, Nikkei reported.

By Daniel Leussink and Sarah Wu

BEIJING (Reuters) -Global automakers including Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) and Toyota came to this year's Beijing auto show looking to catch up to surging China EV makers that are dominating the world's largest auto market.

The show that started this week showcased a marked shift in attitude among some foreign automakers, industry executives said. After being impressed by the bold leaps made by BYD (SZ:002594) and other Chinese automakers at last year's event in Shanghai, foreign automakers are now avidly searching for Chinese partners and announcing new tie-ups, the executives said.

Among the most active were European and Japanese automakers, with announcements coming from Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) that it would team up with Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent on artificial intelligence and big data, and Volkswagen promoting its partnership with Chinese EV startup XPeng (NYSE:XPEV).

An executive from Renault (EPA:RENA) said on Friday it had "pivotal conversations" with Chinese EV maker Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) and Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF), the smartphone maker that just introduced its first car, to explore EV and smart-vehicle technologies. Nissan (OTC:NSANY), meanwhile, announced a tie-up with Chinese tech firm Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) to carry out research on AI and "smart cars."

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida visited several booths including that of Chinese tech giant Huawei, which is becoming a major auto supplier.

European automakers sent "much more senior management" to visit the booth of LIDAR remote sensing technology supplier Hesai Technology this year versus last year, said Bob in den Bosch, senior vice president of global sales at the Shanghai-headquartered firm.

"They're looking for a partner to close the gap," he said. "They came here with a plan and a mission."

Foreign brands have dominated China's auto business since the 1990s and have brought extensive know-how to the Asian country. But last year, foreign brands' collective share of China's passenger car market fell to 48%, down sharply from 57% just two years earlier, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. 

GOING LOCAL

German automakers including Volkswagen and Mercedes, in particular, emphasized their efforts to localize production and invest more in local partnerships, with Volkswagen saying repeatedly its goal was to remain the best-selling foreign automaker in China into 2030.

Hildegard Mueller, president of Germany's powerful car lobby VDA, told Reuters that the German automakers are, in addition, exploring new marketing strategies to attract Chinese consumers. This includes partnering with the country’s army of car influencers, who promote and discuss new vehicle models and trends with their large followings on social media.

"It’s huge (online) traffic and huge potential,” she said.

The market share in China of Toyota, the world's top-selling automaker, declined last year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). Toyota's China joint ventures with GAC and FAW held a combined 7.9% of the Chinese auto market last year, compared with an 8.6% share in 2022, the CPCA said. Toyota has said it will include technology from Tencent in a China-made passenger vehicle the Japanese automaker will put on sale this year as part of a new tie-up.

On Thursday, Toyota took care to emphasize the new tie-up, with its chief technology officer, Hiroki Nakajima, inviting a senior Tencent executive onstage to its auto show presentation. 

"We want to, with Toyota, build products and services that are closer to consumers, to jointly build mobility solutions of the future and we look forward to the fruits of our cooperation," said Dowson Tong, CEO of Tencent Cloud and Smart Industries Group. 

PESSIMISM

Some foreign auto executives were more pessimistic about their ability to fight back. 

Katsuhide Moriyama, president of GAC Honda (NYSE:HMC) Automobile, Honda's joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group, cited how China's leading EV makers have found ways to slash vehicle development time.

"Manufacturers should shorten the lead time to compete with those competitors," Moriyama said outside the automaker's booth at the show. "But a two-year model cycle is too short for us."

The number of American car executives paled compared with visitors from other foreign markets, noted Hesai's In den Bosch. 

The market share in China of major American brands including Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) has plummeted amid declining gasoline-car sales and the shift from foreign to Chinese brands. 

Ford's chief financial officer, John Lawler, told reporters in the United States on Wednesday that the automaker wants to maintain its existing China presence but is not planning to invest more.

"We're not putting capital into China," he said. 

By Vidya Ranganathan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Japanese yen hit its weakest levels since April 1990 on Monday, in trading thinned by a holiday in Japan and attempts by traders to test key levels and stop-loss orders in a nervous, illiquid market.

The dollar rose as far as 160.245 yen in a sudden move after the yen traded in a narrow 158.05-158.15 range in early deals.

A portfolio manager said "stops" on the pair at the key 160 level had been "taken out", meaning the yen's descent had forced those with long yen holdings and stop-loss orders around that big level to square positions, exacerbating its slide.

The yen's move barely affected the euro and sterling, both of which stayed near the bottom of the ranges hit during Friday's volatile session.

Markets are on guard for any intervention by Japanese authorities to contain the yen's nearly 11% fall this year.

While the yen had its biggest drop in six months on Friday, it also briefly surged to 154.97 to the dollar, triggering speculation that Japanese authorities may have checked currency rates ahead of likely intervention. It was not immediately clear what caused the move.

Japan's yen was at 159.105 by 0200 GMT, down 0.5%. Tokyo markets were closed for the first of the country's Golden Week holidays.

The yen had moved nearly 3.5 yen between 158.445 and 154.97 on Friday as traders vented their disappointment after the Bank of Japan kept policy settings unchanged and offered few clues on reducing its Japanese government bond (JGB) purchases - a move that might have put a floor under the yen.

The Federal Reserve's May 1 policy review is the prime focus for markets this week, with investors already anticipating a delay in its rate cuts after a batch of sticky U.S. inflation and as officials including Chair Jerome Powell emphasise even those plans are dependent on data.

Vishnu Varathan, head of Asia economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank in Singapore, expects the dollar-yen pair will see more two-way action until the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, unlike in the past few weeks when hawkish Fed expectations had kept the dollar steadily rising against most other currencies.

"The bar is pretty high for a sustained hawkish surprise, which would in turn lift yields," he said, referring to the Fed.

"So, from a yield-spread perspective between U.S. Treasuries and JGBs, for that to continue to fuel further yen depreciation, the bar is really high because the Fed may not be tilting as hawkish as markets expect either."

"The BOJ disappointment might be transcribed onto the FOMC insofar that they may be more undecided than decidedly hawkish."

The Fed is seen holding its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25%-to-5.5% at the April 30-May 1 meeting. Investors now see perhaps only a single cut this year, currently anticipated by November, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.

Sterling was at $1.2522, up 0.22%, but still some distance from Friday's $1.2541 highs.

Investing.com -- It’s set to be another hectic week in markets with the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting front and center. The U.S. is to release its latest employment report on Friday and the last of the "Magnificent Seven" big tech names are to report earnings. Meanwhile the euro zone and China are to release what will be closely watched economic data. Here’s what you need to know to start your week.

1. Fed decision

Investors will be awaiting indications about whether the Fed still expects to cut interest rates at some stage this year when officials conclude their two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said the central bank needs more confidence that inflation is heading towards its 2% goal before cutting rates.

Friday’s inflation data for March, which was broadly in line with consensus, did little to alter market expectations for a first rate cut in September.

Expectations for interest rate cuts have faded as data on the labor market and inflation continued to surprise on the upside. Financial markets initially expected the first rate cut to come in March. That expectation got pushed back to June and then September.

2. Nonfarm payrolls

Friday’s monthly jobs report will give a fresh look at the strength of the U.S. labor market, with economists expecting the economy to have added 243,000 jobs in April, moderating from 303,000 in March. The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 3.8%.

Ahead of Friday, there will be ADP data on private sector hiring as well as the report on JOLTS job openings and other survey data that will help firm up expectations.

Investors will also be looking to Tuesday’s data on the employment cost index for signs that inflation pressures arising from the labor market continue to cool.

3. Tech earnings

The last of the "Magnificent Seven" megacaps that drove markets higher last year to report are Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), on Tuesday, and Apple, on Thursday.

Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) have tumbled over 10% so far this year and the iPhone maker is expected to post a decline in first quarter earnings after China smartphone shipments fell 19%.

Amazon's cloud computing business will be in focus while investors will also be watching what the online retailing giant has to say about consumer spending.

Solid reports from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on Thursday helped the S&P 500 register its biggest weekly gain since November.

But some of their peers such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) have given a mixed performance.

"We cautioned that potential earnings beats might not lead to equity upside during the results season, given the already strong equities run leading up to the earnings season, and stretched positioning...," JPMorgan analysts said in a note. "Indeed, stock price reactions in the US (have) been underwhelming so far."

4. China PMI data

Market watchers will be looking to Chinese manufacturing data for April for signs that a long-awaited recovery in the world's second largest economy is gathering momentum after last months stronger than expected data.

Official figures for China's purchasing managers' index are due on Tuesday, followed shortly afterwards by the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI.

Upbeat data would be a relief to policymakers who have been trying to shore up growth and bolster investor sentiment.

Global investment houses have turned increasingly bullish on Chinese stocks, helping the blue-chip index tack on more than 10% from a February trough. But Beijing has lately found itself in a bind over its currency. The yuan is sliding against a robust dollar but is stronger against its major trading partners - an unwelcome sign for China's export-dependent economy.

5. Eurozone data

The eurozone is to release inflation and economic growth data on Tuesday which will likely strengthen market bets for a June rate cut by the European Central Bank.

Inflation has fallen quickly over the past year and the ECB has indicated it plans to cut rates in June, but the longer-term outlook remains clouded by rising energy costs, stubbornly high services inflation and continued geopolitical tensions that threaten to disrupt trade.

Economists are expecting the bloc’s gross domestic product to have expanded by just 0.2% in the first quarter, on a year-over-year basis.

Progress on inflation is expected to have stalled with consumer prices expected to have risen by 2.4% in April, matching the previous month amid rising energy costs.

(Reuters contributed reporting)

By Iain Withers

LONDON (Reuters) - Real estate deals in Europe fell through in their highest numbers since the global financial crisis in the first quarter of 2024, data firm MSCI Real Assets said on Thursday, as economic uncertainty in the region continues to loom large.

Europe's commercial property sector has been hammered in recent years by a punishing rise in debt costs and tumbling prices, exacerbated by some offices and high streets emptying after the pandemic.

Investors globally are rethinking when they expect central banks to start cutting interest rates, cooling hopes for a rapid rebound in rate-sensitive sectors like real estate.

The MSCI data showed the number of property deals worth more than 5 million euros ($5.4 million) terminated and for-sale properties withdrawn from the market in the quarter spiked to 110, the highest since 2010 when the sector was still gripped by the fallout from the global financial crisis.

The total value of European commercial property sales also slumped by 26% in the first quarter compared to the prior year, to 34.5 billion euros, the lowest since 2011 and the seventh straight quarter of annual declines.

"After a very slow 2023, there were hopes that European property investment would start to pick up...(but) the market remains a difficult place in which to transact," said Tom Leahy, Head of EMEA Real Assets Research at MSCI.

"Buyer and seller price expectations have diverged and until interest rates start to come back down or the growth prospects for European economies improve markedly, the price gap is likely to remain in place."