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* RBNZ cuts benchmark rate by an aggressive 50bps, signals more to come * NZ dollar and interest rate swaps tumble post-rate cut * RBNZ's larger cut comes as economy struggles despite previous raft of cuts * NZ Prime Minister Luxon has supported lower cash rate amid economic challenges * RBNZ sees inflation returning to midpoint of target band in 2026 (Adds more policy and economic context, background, updates market reaction) By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) – New Zealand's central bank slashed its benchmark rate by an aggressive 50 basis points on Wednesday, surprising some in the markets as policymakers signalled concerns about the frail state of the economy and kept the door open for further easing. The New Zealand dollar and interest rate swaps tumbled in the wake of the move that took the official cash rate to 2.5%, as investors bet on more stimulus in the coming months to shore up demand and buffer the economy from rising global headwinds. “The Committee reached consensus to reduce the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 2.5 percent,” the RBNZ said in its accompanying policy statement. “The Committee remains open to further reductions in the OCR as required for inflation to settle sustainably near the 2% target mid-point in the medium term.” The dovish stance will be a welcome relief for the New Zealand government and the country’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, whose popularity has taken a sharp hit in recent months as the economic recovery he and his party campaigned on has failed to eventuate. Luxon has said publicly he would like to see the cash rate lower to try and shake off the economic torpor, with households in a depressed mood as they fret about the rising cost of living and scarcity of jobs. The Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll released earlier Wednesday found that the current government would not have enough seats to govern if an election was held today. The RBNZ decision went against 15 of 26 economists surveyed in a Reuters poll who had forecast the Reserve Bank of New Zealand would cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points. However, the larger cut wasn't totally unexpected as the remaining 11 economists had picked a 50-bp reduction and markets were primed for the RBNZ to pull harder on its monetary policy levers to inject impetus to a weakened economy. The New Zealand dollar fell 0.90% to $0.5745, while two-year interest rate swaps fell to 2.5251% from 2.6194% before the decision. “The RBNZ’s decision signals that the likelihood of inflation pressures being weaker than previously anticipated carried more weight than waiting to see how quickly the economy rebounds and what ripple effects come from the current spike in inflation,” ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said in a note. The central bank has cut rates by 300 basis points since August 2024, and with inflation within its target band of 1% to 3%, policymakers have leeway to lower borrowing costs further. TRUMP POLICIES ADD TO ECONOMIC WOES Wednesday's policy meeting is Christian Hawkesby’s second-to-last meeting as RBNZ Governor, after the government last month appointed Swedish policymaker Anna Breman to the role starting Dec. 1. A global front-runner in withdrawing pandemic-era stimulus, the RBNZ lifted rates 525 basis points between October 2021 and September 2023 to curb inflation in the most aggressive tightening since the official cash rate was introduced in 1999. The punishing borrowing costs, however, slammed the brakes on demand and tipped the economy into recession last year. Since then it has struggled to motor on, contracting by 0.9% in the second quarter in a shock result that fuelled bets of steeper rate cuts. While trading partner growth has been resilient, it is expected to slow in part due to U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and the government’s tight fiscal policy, hurting business confidence and pushing up unemployment. One challenge for the bank is that inflation ticked up to 2.7% in the second quarter and the central bank expects inflation to reach 3.0% in the third quarter. However, in its statement on Wednesday, the RBNZ said spare capacity in the economy should see inflation return to near its mid-point in 2026. New Zealand is one of several countries to ease rates as inflation has moved lower, but its sharp reductions to borrowing costs contrast with a more cautious approach by the U.S. Federal Reserve and its counterpart in Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia held the cash rate steady last week as it flagged inflation concerns. And last month, the Federal Reserve delivered its first rate cut for the year. (Reporting by Lucy Craymer Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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By Divya Chowdhury MUMBAI, Oct 8 (Reuters) – India's mid- and small-cap companies will lead the next leg of equity market gains, fuelled by growth in "new-age" sectors such as renewables, semiconductors and digital platforms, Sunil Singhania, founder of Abakkus Asset Manager, said. "Mid- and small-caps, over a five-year period, can still give those 14%-15% kind of returns," said Singhania, whose firm oversees 400 billion rupees ($4.5 billion) in assets. Earnings growth in the broader market has outpaced that of companies in the benchmark Nifty 50 index this year, a trend that Singhania expects will continue. Profits of firms in the Nifty Smallcap 250 index rose 6% in the April-June quarter, their slowest in nine quarters, HDFC Mutual Fund data showed. In contrast, mid-caps grew a robust 17%-24%, buoyed by industrial, technology, and consumer sectors. "Mid- and small-caps are the bulls and the tigers – they may falter at times, but when they run, they will really run fast," Singhania said. Indian shares have underperformed regional peers this year, with the Nifty 50 up 6.7% year-to-date, still around 4% below its 2024 peak, while mid- and small-cap gauges are down 4.4% and 8.8% from their respective highs. In comparison, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index has surged more than 27% year-to-date. Foreign investors have withdrawn $17.6 billion from Indian equities this year, their second-highest outflow on record for the January-September period, even as resilient domestic flows have helped mitigate some pain. Singhania said overseas interest is picking up again as India remains under-owned in some global portfolios, adding that potential catalysts such as U.S.-India tariff resolution will be "triggers" for investors. Beyond tariffs, Singhania highlighted easing interest rates, GST reforms, and a better-than-expected monsoon as factors turning last year's headwinds into tailwinds for India. "Markets are already starting to see a turnaround," he said. ($1 = 88.7725 Indian rupees) (Join the Reuters Global Markets Forum and Trading India on LSEG Messenger) (Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Mumbai; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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(Adds analyst comment, updates prices) CANBERRA, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Chicago wheat futures slipped for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as top exporter Russia stepped up the pace of its exports amid abundant global supply. Soybeans also edged lower and corn futures were flat, with large U.S. harvests in full swing and a rise in the dollar to its strongest against a basket of major currencies since early August making U.S. commodities costlier for importers. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.1% at $5.06-1/4 a bushel at 0141 GMT. CBOT wheat has fallen more than 1.5% so far this week and is nearing a 5-year low of $5.00-3/4 reached in August. Russian analysts expect the country's exports to accelerate. Consultants Sovecon raised their estimate of September wheat exports by 0.3 million metric tons to 4.6 million tons and forecast shipment of 5 million tons in October. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev estimated this year's wheat harvest at 88 million tons, the latest in a series of large crops. Good rainfall in large parts of the Black Sea region underscored the prevalence of crop-friendly weather across many of the world's big wheat exporting nations this year. Following large Northern Hemisphere production, upcoming harvests in Southern Hemisphere exporters Argentina and Australia now look better than initially expected, said Dennis Voznesenski, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank in Sydney. "Our forecast is for CBOT prices to stay slightly above $5," he said. "But I see no significant upside for time being." In other crops, CBOT corn unchanged at $4.19-3/4 a bushel and soybeans were 0.1% lower at $10.21-1/4 a bushel. Argentina's government said it had ordered workers' unions to suspend plans for an indefinite strike over wages at processing plants. The U.S. government is expected to announce this week a U.S. farmer bailout plan worth as much as $15 billion, as China continues to boycott U.S. soybeans amid trade tensions. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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DETROIT — J.P. Crawford, Eugenio Suarez and Cal Raleigh each belted home runs, sending the Seattle Mariners to an 8-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers following a nearly three-hour rain delay in Game 3 of their American League Division Series on Tuesday. Seattle pitcher Logan Gilbert struck out seven and allowed only four hits over six innings in his second career postseason start. He combined with relievers Matt Brash, Eduard Bazardo, Caleb Ferguson and Andres Munoz to strike out nine. The Mariners, who lead the best-of-five series 2-1, can clinch their first trip to the American League Championship Series since 2001 with a win in Game 4 on Wednesday in Detroit. The Tigers have dropped eight straight games at home and have not won in Detroit since Sept. 6 against the Chicago White Sox. The Mariners jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Victor Robles scored from third when the throw from Riley Greene in left field got away from catcher Dillon Dingler, allowing Robles to beat the tag at the plate. Randy Arozarena then singled to center to bring home Crawford. Seattle added a pair of runs in the fourth inning as Suarez hit his first home run of the postseason to center field off Detroit starter Jack Flaherty and Cal Raleigh singled up the middle to send Dominic Canzone home from second. Flaherty, who was making his 11th career playoff start, allowed three runs on four hits over 3 1/3 innings. Dingler scored to cut the deficit to 4-1 in the fifth inning when Kerry Carpenter grounded into a force out. Crawford pushed the margin to 5-1 in the sixth with his homer to right field off reliever Brant Hurter. He later flied out to left field in the eighth inning to score Luke Raley. Raleigh upped the lead to 8-1 in the ninth inning with his two-run shot to center off Brenan Hanifee that scored Arozarena. Detroit mounted a late rally on Spencer Torkelson's double that brought home Jake Rogers and Jahmai Jones, and Andy Ibanez's single that scored Torkelson. –Bob Tripi, Field Level Media

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