European and US stock markets fell before recovering somewhat as markets weighed trade tensions between Beijing and Washington and digested fresh Federal Reserve commentary.Wall Street indices opened firmly in the red amid the latest back and forth involving the United States and China on trade. But US stocks recovered somewhat following midday remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.Powell’s observation that US payroll gains have “slowed sharply” strengthened confidence the US central bank would cut interest rates later this month.”In this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment appear to have risen,” Powell said.While two of the three major US indices still finished in the red, the broad-based S&P 500 shed just 0.2 percent at 6,644.31, about 90 points above its session low.Bourses earlier in Europe had also struggled to get out of the red, while Asian markets suffered losses following Monday’s pullback in the wake of US -China tensions.”There is a whiff of risk aversion about financial markets today,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. “The global stock market uptrend is facing a little more resistance on the upside.”Markets were unsettled after China imposed sanctions on five American subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, accusing them of supporting a US government investigation into the shipping industry.In Europe, eyes were on embattled French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu as he presented a cost-cutting budget to a divided parliament, with parties on both ends of the political spectrum already trying to topple his government.Paris ended down just 0.2 percent but among individual shares, tire maker Michelin plunged almost nine percent after it revised downward its revenue expectations in North America where its activities have been hit by tariffs. It later recovered to close down 2.6 percent.Earlier, Tokyo slumped more than two percent as the country’s top opposition parties sought to find a unified candidate for prime minister and oust the ruling party from power after the ruling coalition collapsed last week, putting in peril Sanae Takaichi’s bid to become the country’s first woman prime minister.Back in New York, JPMorgan Chase finished down 1.9 percent despite reporting higher profits in results that topped analyst expectations. However, the bank disclosed a $170 million hit from its exposure to Tricolor, a subprime auto lending company that went bankrupt. Goldman Sachs also dropped 2.0 percent after reporting higher profits, but Citigroup jumped 3.9 percent and Wells Fargo surged 7.2 percent. – Key figures at around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.4  percent at 46,270.46 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,644.31 (close)New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.8 percent at 22,521.70 (close) London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,452.77 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,919.62 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 24,236.94 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.6 percent at 46,847.32 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 25,441.35 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,865.23 (close)Euro/dollar: UP $1.1604 from $1.1570 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3319 from $1.3333Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.74 yen from 152.28 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.13 pence from 86.77 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $62.39 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $58.70 per barrel

Brazil, India, Italy and Japan vowed Tuesday to quadruple their production and consumption of renewable fuels, hoping other countries will join the pledge during UN climate talks in November.”We hope to have a good number of signatories” by COP30, Brazilian foreign ministry official Joao Marcos Paes Leme told reporters in the capital Brasilia.”Other European countries are also interested,” he added.Paes Leme was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of representatives from 67 countries in the run up to COP30 climate talks in the Amazon city of Belem next month.The pledge involves quadrupling the production of sustainable fuels such as biofuels, hydrogen and some synthetic fuels by 2035, compared to 2024 levels.Paes Leme noted that these fuels can be used to replace planet-harming fossil fuels in sectors such as aviation, maritime transport, or the cement and steel industries.”These are sectors where decarbonization is difficult,” because electrical energy has not yet succeeded in replacing fossil fuels.Sustainable fuels are already used in these industries “but they are not produced in sufficient quantities,” he said.The massive use of coal, oil, and fossil gas for energy since the industrial revolution is the primary driver of human-induced global warming.The commitment to sustainable fuels “is something we love to hear,” said Francesco La Camera, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). However, he warned that some biofuels can be harmful due to the vast expanses of land required to produce raw materials such as sugarcane, soy, or corn. “We have to be serious about what we say: sustainable fuel also means sustainable from the perspective of land use.”For the first time, the world pledged to “transition away” from fossil fuels at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.However many of the largest fossil-fuel producing nations — including Brazil — are planning to increase production in the coming years.

US President Donald Trump slammed China’s halt of American soybean purchases as an “economically hostile act,” warning Tuesday that his country could in turn stop buying cooking oil from the world’s second-biggest economy.”We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.His comments online, however, came shortly after he appeared to soothe rising temperatures between Washington and Beijing.”We have a fair relationship with China, and I think it’ll be fine. And if it’s not, that’s okay too,” Trump told reporters at the White House.Trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies have reignited in Trump’s second presidency, with tit-for-tat duties reaching triple-digit levels at one point.In an interview with the Financial Times on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed Beijing, accusing it of seeking to harm the global economy following China’s sweeping new export controls in the strategic field of rare earths.Trump, in turn, maintained that Washington has “to be careful with China.””I have a great relationship with President Xi (Jinping), but sometimes it gets testy, because China likes to take advantage of people,” Trump said. “Where the punches are thrown, you got to put up the blocks.”On Truth Social, Trump stressed that China’s halt in purchases was causing difficulty for US soybean farmers.US imports of animal fats, greases and processed oils, including those used cooking oil, have skyrocketed in recent years — driven by rising domestic production of biomass-based diesel, according to government data.- China tariff threat -While tensions between Washington and Beijing have de-escalated from their peak, the truce remains shaky.After Beijing imposed fresh controls on the export of rare earth technologies and items, Trump said he would roll out an additional 100-percent tariff on the country’s goods from November 1.And US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC separately that this timeline could be accelerated.”A lot depends on what the Chinese do,” Greer said in the interview, adding that Beijing had “chosen to make this major escalation.”China is the world’s leading producer of the minerals used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronic and defense industries.Bessent told the Financial Times: “This is a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them.”Last week, Trump also threatened to scrap a planned meeting with Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit starting later this month.China over the weekend accused the United States of “double standards” after Trump’s threat of further tariffs. On Tuesday, China said it was ready to “fight to the end” in a trade war with the United States.

Robust dealmaking activity and strong trading results helped boost US bank earnings Tuesday despite lingering worries about a softening job market and a potentially overvalued stock market.Profits rose in the third quarter at JPMorgan Chase and three other US lending giants, reflecting strength in core business areas and the still-healthy condition of many consumers even after a lengthy stretch of persistently high costs that have stretched low-income households.At JPMorgan, profits were $14.4 billion, up 12 percent from the year-ago level, with revenues of $46.4 billion, up 9 percent.The bank, the biggest US lender in terms of assets, reported somewhat higher credit costs in the quarter as it disclosed details about a $170 million hit from the bankruptcy of Tricolor, a subprime auto lender. But JPMorgan executives reiterated that consumers remain generally “resilient” and mostly on time with credit card payments, a tone echoed by other large banks. “We’ve been waiting for the so-called consumer recession, but it doesn’t materialize,” said investment banker and author Christopher Whalen of Whalen Global Advisors.The large banks “don’t do business with subprime” customers, said Whalen, who suspects more troubles involving banks’ corporate lending will surface in time. – Stock market ‘frothiness’ -More bank earnings will be released in the coming days, but Tuesday’s batch showed increases all around with Citigroup profits rising 16 percent to $3.8 billion, Goldman Sachs up 39 percent to $3.9 billion and Wells Fargo up 9 percent to $5.6 billion.Goldman Sachs pointed to its role as the “exclusive advisor” to Electronic Arts in a $55 billion deal to go private as it confidently described its merger and acquisition “pipeline” of pending and future deals. Other banks also touted strong demand for financial advisory service. But they expressed concern about weakening US job data.”While there have been some signs of a softening, particularly in job growth, the US economy generally remained resilient,” said JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon.”However, there continues to be a heightened degree of uncertainty,” said Dimon, pointing to tariffs, the risk of “sticky” inflation and other factors.Executives also acknowledged concerns that sky-high equity valuations for artificial intelligence companies may be out of hand.Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said the stream of stock market records suggests “some frothiness in different sectors,” adding, “we’ll have to see how that ultimately evolves.”- Problem loans limited so far -Heading into the results, one overhang facing the sector was the question of exposure to a pair of recent high-profile bankruptcies.Accounts of the collapse of Texas-based Tricolor have pointed to “apparent or alleged fraud,” JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said on a conference call with reporters. Barnum said it can be difficult to avert all cases where a “motivated party” is committed to deception, but that the firm was looking at fortifying its controls.”This is not our finest moment,” added Dimon, who said colleagues would “scour every issue” in light of the revelations on the case.Citigroup also disclosed what it called “idiosyncratic downgrades” that more than doubled its corporate non-accrual loans compared with last year.Mason said Citi had not experienced broad problems within its portfolio, noting the bank was not exposed to Tricolor or to First Brands, a US auto supply firm whose bankruptcy has hit some other lenders, including UBS and Jefferies.”There’s no particular concentration of exposure that I’m worried about,” he said.While the damage from such examples has been limited so far, more cases of problem corporate lending could surface. Whalen said the financial system is still flush from a period of great liquidity due to central bank actions.”There’s been so much credit available,” he said. “It’s just that they haven’t gotten to the point where they’re cleaning house.”