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By Akash Sriram (Reuters) -Tesla teased an October 7 event, in which investors and analysts anticipate the unveiling of a more affordable vehicle to counter falling sales, sending the shares of the Elon Musk-led electric automaker more than 5% higher on Monday. In a nine-second video posted on social media platform X on Sunday, Tesla showed a vehicle with its headlights illuminated in a dark setting, while hinting at an event set for Tuesday in a separate video that had "10/7" at the end. The teaser follows Tesla's record third-quarter deliveries, driven by a surge in EV purchases ahead of the expiration of the $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit on September 30.  However, analysts expect Tesla's annual deliveries to fall for a second straight year to about 1.62 million vehicles, as expiring incentives and a demand slowdown linked to CEO Musk's polarizing politics weigh on sales. Tesla has previously delayed rolling out a lower-cost version of the Model Y in the U.S. It said in June it had made "first builds" of the vehicle, but would start selling it in the fourth quarter and ramp up output at a pace that would be slower than planned. The stripped-down version is designed to be roughly 20% cheaper to produce than the refreshed Model Y and could scale to about 250,000 units a year in the U.S. by 2026. Tesla has not revealed details of how it plans to cut costs. Analysts have said reducing the size of the battery, changing to cloth seats from leather and removing some audio speakers, the glass roof and the rear touchscreen would be key to Tesla trimming costs. The scale of the cost cut is crucial for Tesla's already squeezed margins and will be closely watched. Wall Street expects Tesla's deliveries to jump next year to 1.85 million vehicles, with the cheaper model accounting for 155,610 units in 2026, according to Visible Alpha estimates. "Tesla is teasing something big as a flurry of X posts has fans bracing for what looks like the launch of a more affordable Model Y tomorrow," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, who personally owns Tesla shares. "The price tag will be the real tell, offering clues on how far Tesla has pushed cost savings and how much new demand it can unlock." The company has not introduced a new mass-market vehicle in years, relying heavily on incremental updates to the Model 3 and Model Y to drive sales. Sales of its last major launch, the Cybertruck, have struggled, with Tesla offering thousands of dollars in discounts for vehicles in inventory in the past few months.  A U.S. recall filing in March showed 46,096 Cybertrucks had been built between its introduction in November 2023 and early this year. (Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Arun Koyyur)

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(Reuters) -Lucid reported a 46.6% jump in third-quarter deliveries on Monday, driven by a rush of demand for electric vehicles before lucrative tax credits expired last week, but it still missed Wall Street expectations. The EV maker and its rivals are bracing for a sharp drop in sales in the last three months of the year without the $7,500 in credits. While some have cut prices and found mechanisms to extend the benefits of the credit, others have cut production plans in anticipation of a slump. Lucid lowered its annual production forecast in August and now expects to make between 18,000 and 20,000 vehicles this year. Five analysts are expecting the company to produce about 17,800 vehicles on average, according to Visible Alpha. The EV industry has already been grappling with high tariffs on imports of vehicles and auto parts into the U.S. While Lucid makes its vehicles in the U.S., it imports some parts from abroad. Lucid vehicles did not qualify for the tax credits on cash purchases, but it used the credits to offer attractive leases. Lucid handed over 4,078 vehicles in the quarter, compared with estimates of 4,286 deliveries seven analysts, on average, were expecting, according to Visible Alpha. This compares with 2,781 vehicles delivered a year ago. EV giant Tesla posted record quarterly deliveries on Thursday, while Rivian also beat sales estimates as consumers rushed to buy EVs ahead of the incentive's September 30 deadline. The company has put in place offers and discounts to boost the appeal of its luxury Air sedans to attract consumers who have pared back big-budget spending because of high interest rates. The EV maker has been aggressively striking deals with North American companies to domestically source critical minerals used in manufacturing. The company's fortunes rely heavily on the success of its newly launched Gravity SUV and the upcoming mid-size car, which targets a $50,000 price point, as the company looks to expand its consumer base.   (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala, Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Leroy Leo and Alan Barona)

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By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said Monday that all medium- and heavy-duty trucks imported into the United States will face a 25% tariff rate starting November 1, a significant escalation of his effort to protect U.S. companies from foreign competition. Trump last month had said heavy truck imports would face new duties on Oct. 1 on national security grounds, saying the new tariffs were to protect manufacturers from "unfair outside competition" and that the move would benefit companies such as Paccar-owned Peterbilt and Kenworth and Daimler Truck-owned Freightliner. Under trade deals reached with Japan and the European Union, the United States has agreed to 15% tariffs on light-duty vehicles but it is not clear if they will face that rate for larger vehicles. The Trump administration has also allowed producers to deduct the value of U.S. components from tariffs paid on light-duty vehicles assembled in Canada and Mexico. Larger vehicles include everything from delivery trucks, garbage trucks, public utility trucks, transit, shuttle, and school buses and tractor-trailer trucks as well as semi-trucks and heavy-duty vocational vehicles. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce earlier urged the Commerce Department not to impose new truck tariffs, noting the top five import sources are Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Finland "all of which are allies or close partners of the United States posing no threat to U.S. national security." Mexico is the largest exporter of medium- and heavy-duty trucks to the United States. A study released in January said imports of those larger vehicles from Mexico have tripled since 2019 to around 340,000 today, according to government statistics. Under the North American free trade deal USMCA, medium- and heavy-duty trucks move tariffs free if at least 64% of a heavy truck's value originates in North America, via parts like engines and axles, raw materials such as steel, or assembly labor. Tariffs could also affect Chrysler-parent Stellantis which produces heavy-duty Ram trucks and commercial vans in Mexico. Stellantis had been lobbying the White House not to impose steep tariffs on its Mexican-made trucks. Sweden's Volvo Group is building a $700 million heavy-truck factory in Monterrey, Mexico, due to start operations in 2026.  Mexico is home to 14 manufacturers and assemblers of buses, trucks, and tractor trucks, and two manufacturers of engines, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. Mexico opposed new tariffs, telling the Commerce Department in May that all Mexican trucks exported to the United States have on average 50% U.S. content, including diesel engines. Last year, the United States imported almost $128 billion in heavy vehicle parts from Mexico, accounting for approximately 28% of total U.S. imports, Mexico said. (Reporting by David Shepardson, Christian Martinez and Susan Heavey; editing by Costas Pitas and Chizu Nomiyama )

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(Reuters) -Lucid reported a 46.6% jump in third-quarter deliveries on Monday, driven by a rush of demand for electric vehicles before lucrative tax credits expired last week, but it still missed Wall Street expectations. The EV maker and its rivals are bracing for a sharp drop in sales in the last three months of the year without the $7,500 in credits. While some have cut prices and found mechanisms to extend the benefits of the credit, others have cut production plans in anticipation of a slump. The EV industry has already been grappling with high tariffs on imports of vehicles and auto parts into the U.S. While Lucid makes its vehicles in the U.S., it imports some parts from abroad. Lucid vehicles did not qualify for the tax credits on cash purchases, but it used the credits to offer attractive leases. Lucid handed over 4,078 vehicles in the quarter, compared with estimates of 4,286 deliveries seven analysts, on average, were expecting, according to Visible Alpha. This compares with 2,781 vehicles delivered a year ago. EV giant Tesla posted record quarterly deliveries on Thursday, while Rivian also beat sales estimates as consumers rushed to buy EVs ahead of the incentive's September 30 deadline. The company has put in place offers and discounts to boost the appeal of its luxury Air sedans to attract consumers who have pared back big-budget spending because of high interest rates. The EV maker has been aggressively striking deals with North American companies to domestically source critical minerals used in manufacturing. The company's fortunes rely heavily on the success of its newly launched Gravity SUV and the upcoming mid-size car, which targets a $50,000 price point, as the company looks to expand its consumer base.   (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala, Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Leroy Leo and Alan Barona)

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By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq advanced on Monday, as artificial intelligence-related dealmaking boosted investor sentiment even as the U.S. government shutdown extended through its sixth day. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached record closing highs, while the blue-chip Dow inched lower. Chips took the lead after AMD said it would supply AI chips to OpenAI in a deal that could generate tens of billions of dollars in yearly revenue and would allow the ChatGPT creator to buy a stake of up to 10% in the chipmaker. AMD surged, pushing the broader Philadelphia Semiconductor Index higher. "The market is seeing some strength in areas like technology and consumer discretionary and it's flying in the face of the government shutdown," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. "The market is still interested in the AI trade and the companies that support and use it." "It's a wave and waves don't go on forever; it will eventually crest and decline," Pavlik added. "But where are we this cycle of the wave? It's impossible to know." The federal government remained shuttered for the sixth day as lawmakers idled in a partisan impasse. The shutdown has postponed the release of key economic indicators, forcing investors to rely on secondary, non-government data to gauge the timing and extent of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Monetary policymakers have cautioned against rushing to lower the Federal Funds target rate as inflation remains high, while others believe signs of softness in the labor market merit rate cuts. Financial markets have priced in an all-but-certain 94.6% chance of a 25 basis point interest rate reduction at the conclusion of the Fed's October meeting. Without new U.S. government data this week, market participants are monitoring reports on outstanding consumer credit, mortgage demand and the University of Michigan's preliminary take on October consumer sentiment. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 24.52 points, or 0.37%, to end at 6,740.31 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 160.69 points, or 0.71%, to 22,941.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 63.19 points, or 0.14%, to 46,695.50. Next week, third-quarter earnings will provide market catalysts as the reporting season gets underway with results from large U.S. banks. Analysts estimate aggregate year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 8.8% for the July-to-September period, up 0.8 percentage points from projections at the beginning of the third quarter, according to LSEG data. Tesla advanced after the electric carmaker teased an event scheduled for Tuesday on social media platform X over the weekend. TD Cowen cut its Starbucks price target, citing a weakening labor market affecting Generation Z, sending the coffee chain's shares lower. Bitcoin breached the $125,000 mark on Sunday, sending crypto-related firms Coinbase, Strategy, Riot Platforms and MARA Holdings higher. Regional bank Comerica jumped after Fifth Third said it will buy the company in an all-stock deal valued at $10.9 billion. Verizon shares dipped after the telecommunications company named former PayPal boss Dan Schulman as its new chief executive officer. (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional Reporting by Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)

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By Dawn Chmielewski and Helen Coster LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Bari Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News, the news division of U.S. broadcaster CBS, as part of a deal to acquire the online news site she founded, The Free Press. The appointment is seen as Ellison's bet that Weiss, a successful entrepreneur and outsider with billionaire connections, can modernize and turn around the powerful but third-placed broadcast news network.   The companies did not disclose the deal value in Monday's announcement. A source familiar with the matter said it was for $150 million.  In an essay announcing the transaction on Monday, Weiss, 41, said the deal provides "a chance to help reshape a storied media organization—to help guide CBS News into a future that honors those great values that underpin The Free Press and the best of American journalism." Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, took over the CBS network and other Paramount properties earlier this year when his company Skydance Media merged with Paramount Global in a $8.4 billion deal. He helped secure regulatory approval for the deal with the promise that the CBS network would reflect "a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum." Monday's announcement capped months of talks between Ellison and Weiss. The newly minted media baron first floated the idea at July's Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, a frequent staging ground for major media mergers, according to media reports. Weiss previously worked in the opinion sections of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, describing herself as the most right-wing person at the Times and the most politically progressive at the Journal. Defying easy characterization, she has been critical of diversity initiatives, defended gay marriage, supported reproductive rights, and described herself as proudly pro-Israel. She resigned as opinion writer for the Times in July 2020, in a 1,500-word open letter in which she said she had been the subject of "constant bullying" by colleagues who disagreed with her views. She went on to launch an independent media company, The Free Press, which she began as a newsletter in 2021. FROM NEW YORK TIMES TO START-UP, AND BACK TO LEGACY MEDIA In 2022, she wrote that The Free Press was founded on a credo of "honesty, doggedness, and fierce independence." In a letter to Paramount employees on Monday, Ellison wrote that the company is a steward of one of the world's most iconic news organizations. “We are challenging ourselves to do better – recognizing that we have the ability to reach a broad audience and demonstrate constructive, respectful, and bipartisan dialogue in our own work,” he wrote. Weiss “brings a passion for reaching broad audiences through rigorous, fact-based reporting and a relentless commitment to amplifying voices from all corners of the spectrum,” he wrote. In a letter to CBS News employees, Weiss said that CBS was part of her family tradition. "Whenever I hear that tick, tick, tick or that trumpet fanfare, it sends me right back to our den in Pittsburgh,"  Weiss wrote in the letter seen by Reuters. "The opportunity to build on that legacy with you — and to renew it in an era that so desperately needs it — is an extraordinary privilege." Weiss said she wanted to hear from the staff at CBS News about what was working and what was not, with the goal of making CBS News the most-trusted news organization in America. She promised to listen with "an open mind, a fresh notebook and an urgent deadline." The clock is ticking for the traditional nightly newscast, whose audience is dwindling in an era of instant access to information online and on social media. The "CBS Evening News" show attracts an average of nearly 3.8 million viewers, fewer than its broadcast rivals, according to the most recent Nielsen data.  "Bari Weiss runs a small passionate team that truly understands how to build a brand and engage their followers," said LightShed Partners media analyst Richard Greenfield. "CBS News outside of '60 Minutes' does not mean much to the average consumer in 2025. (It) will be fascinating to see if and how Bari can change that." FREE PRESS CHALLENGES CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVES The Free Press has earned a reputation for challenging conventional narratives. Notable articles include a first-person essay from a then-senior editor at NPR, who accused the public radio network of liberal bias that cost it listeners' trust.  Another offered a whistleblower account of the Washington University Transgender Center at the St. Louis Children's Hospital, which reported vulnerable teenagers with mental health problems rushed into life-altering treatments. In a 2023 essay in Tablet magazine, Weiss argued for the dismantling of institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, writing that the movement "threatens not just Jews— but America itself."  The reaction to her hiring has been mixed. Judy Marie Muller, a former correspondent for CBS and ABC News, and a professor emerita of journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, called Weiss’ appointment a “sad shift.” "We can say what we want coming in — yes, let's stick to these high standards — and then we'll just see what happens," said Muller. "I think we have to watch what she does, not what she says." Weiss had never been a reporter and had "zero news experience," said Nikole Hannah-Jones, a reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. Weiss will report directly to David Ellison and help set an editorial course for CBS News.  The Free Press, which has about 1.5 million subscribers including 170,000 paying members, will remain independent, retaining its brand and operations, and will continue to publish, the companies said.  Prior to the Paramount-Skydance deal being cleared, Paramount paid $16 million to settle a 2024 lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The Federal Communications Commission has said the settlement and regulatory review were unrelated. (Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Helen Coster in New York, Aditya Soni and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Nick Zieminski and Rosalba O'Brien)

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By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) -Major stock indexes climbed on Monday, with technology shares rising on news of AMD's artificial intelligence chip-supply deal with OpenAI, while the yen and euro weakened against the dollar after Japan's ruling party elected a new leader and France's new government quit. Bitcoin hit a record high as investors increasingly sought alternative assets and uncertainty prevailed with the U.S. government shutdown. The world's largest cryptocurrency was last up 2.16% at $125,426.34. The euro was down 0.2% at $1.1717. New French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, barely 14 hours after appointing his cabinet. Japan's ruling party picked conservative Sanae Takaichi, putting her on course to become the nation's first female prime minister. She is an advocate of late premier Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" strategy to boost the economy with aggressive spending and easy monetary policy. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose while the Dow was slightly lower, as the U.S. federal government shutdown, which began last week, dragged on. The S&P 500 finished last week at a record closing high. "The market is extending its momentum bias. It's shrugging off the (U.S.) government shutdown and, because of that, there's a belief that perhaps the Fed is going to be more generous than the market previously expected," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates again by 25 basis points at its October 28-29 meeting, following data that shows a weakening labor market. Moreover, Cardillo said, "we're not far away from third-quarter earnings, and it looks as though it'll be another good earnings season." Earnings season for S&P 500 companies unofficially kicks off next week with reports from some big U.S. banks. AMD shares jumped more than 25% and other chip companies' stocks also rose amid optimism around AI deals. The S&P 500 technology index was up 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.83 points, or 0.12%, to 46,700.45. The S&P 500 rose 29.67 points, or 0.44%, to 6,745.46 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 194.13 points, or 0.85%, to 22,974.63. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 3.14 points, or 0.32%, to 996.35. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.04%. French political instability has ramped up since Emmanuel Macron's re-election in 2022, with no party or grouping holding a parliamentary majority. In Japan, the Nikkei soared above 48,000 for the first time after Takaichi beat the more moderate Shinjiro Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership vote. Short-dated Japanese government bond yields slid to a two-week low as traders pared bets on when the Bank of Japan will resume raising interest rates. "There's a little bit more focus on the back end of the curve now, just given that Takaichi is generally seen as a follower of Abenomics. The market expects a little bit more fiscal stimulus there," said Sarah Ying, head of FX strategy, FICC Strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto. Most other major share markets around the region were closed for holidays, including mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan. Gold surged to an all-time high above $3,900 per ounce, helped in part by the economic and political uncertainty in the U.S., France and Japan. Spot gold rose 1.83% to $3,956.94 an ounce. Oil prices also rose after OPEC+'s planned production increase for November was more modest than expected. U.S. crude gained 81 cents to settle at $61.69 a barrel, while Brent climbed 94 cents to settle at $65.47. (Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York, Kevin Buckland in Tokyo and Lucy Raitano in London; editing by Alison Williams, Nick Zieminski and Richard Chang)

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By Karen Brettell NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Japanese yen and euro weakened against the dollar on Monday on fiscal and political stability concerns after Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected a new leader and France's new government quit. The yen declined after Japan's ruling party picked conservative Sanae Takaichi, an advocate of late premier Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" strategy to boost the economy with aggressive spending and easy monetary policy, as its head on Saturday. Her victory caused traders to reduce bets that the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates this month. "It was unexpected that it was going to be Takaichi," said Sarah Ying, head of FX strategy, FICC Strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto. "There's a little bit more focus on the back end of the curve now, just given that Takaichi is generally seen as a follower of Abenomics. The market expects a little bit more fiscal stimulus there." The dollar at one point rose more than 2% to 150.47 yen, the highest since August 1. It was last up 1.87% at 150.2, and if sustained, that would be its biggest daily gain since May 12. The Bank of Japan maintained on Monday its cautiously optimistic economic outlook but warned of nagging uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs on corporate profits, suggesting its preference to wait for more data before raising interest rates. The euro reached 176.25 yen, the highest since the single currency was introduced in 1999. The euro slid against the dollar and the pound, however, after France's new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his government resigned on Monday, hours after announcing his cabinet line-up, making it the shortest-lived administration in modern French history. "It's not really too much of an existential crisis, it doesn't look great domestically given especially what's going on with the budget," said Ying. "The biggest risk is really if (President) Macron resigns, but it doesn't seem to be a high-risk scenario." The euro was last down 0.26% at $1.171. It earlier reached $1.1649, the lowest since September 25. It also dipped against the pound to its lowest since September 18. The European Central Bank may need to reduce borrowing costs slightly if the risk of inflation going too low increases, but interest rates are appropriate now, the ECB's top brass said on Monday. The dollar index rose 0.4% to 98.11. Traders are waiting for signs that the U.S. federal government will reopen, with Congress so far unable to pass a bill to continue funding operations. The shutdown is leaving a void of U.S. economic data, with last Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report for September delayed along with other key releases until the government reopens. That has also resulted in lower market volatility. "Financial market volatility has dropped significantly since the start of the US government shutdown. Risks to US economic activity and the labour market from furloughing, or even terminating employment of, federal workers will not be apparent for a while," Barclays analysts led by Themistoklis Fiotakis said in a report. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points at its October 28-29 meeting, following data that shows a weakening labor market. Traders are also pricing in 83% odds of an additional cut in December, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, though this will likely depend on data released before then. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was last up 2.24% at $125,530, after hitting a record high of $125,835.92.  (Reporting by Karen Brettell; Additional reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter and Alun John; Editing by Susan Fenton and Richard Chang)

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By Nicole Jao NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices gained about 1% on Monday after the OPEC+ production increase planned for November was more modest than expected, tempering some concerns about supply additions, though a soft outlook for demand is likely to cap near-term gains. Brent crude futures settled 94 cents, or 1.46%, higher at $65.47 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $61.69, up 81 cents, or 1.33%. "The market feel that the actual amount of oil that is going to hit the market is far less than what they announced, given that some of the OPEC+ members are already producing at capacity," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. On Sunday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus Russia and some smaller producers, said it would raise production from November by 137,000 barrels per day, matching October's figure, amid persistent concern over a looming supply glut. In the run-up to the meeting, sources said although Russia was advocating for an increase of 137,000 bpd to avoid pressuring prices, Saudi Arabia would have preferred double, triple or even four times that to quickly regain market share.  The modest production update also comes at a time of rising Venezuelan exports, the resumption of Kurdish oil flows via Turkey, and the presence of unsold Middle Eastern barrels for November loading, PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said.  Saudi Arabia kept unchanged the official selling price for the Arab Light crude it sells to Asia. While refining sources in Asia surveyed by Reuters had expected a slight increase, those expectations diminished as concerns about rising Middle Eastern crude supply felled the premium to a 22-month low last week. [CRU/M] In the near term, some analysts expect the refinery maintenance season starting soon in the Middle East will help to cap prices. [REF/OUT]  The Kirishi oil refinery, one of Russia's largest, halted its most productive crude unit following a drone attack and subsequent fire on October 4, with its recovery expected to take about a month, two industry sources said on Monday. Expectations of weak demand fundamentals in the fourth quarter are another factor limiting the market's upside. U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories rose more than expected in the week ended September 26 as refining activity and demand softened, the Energy Information Administration said last week. "If we see a steadier rise in production then the downside in oil prices may be contained. Much now depends on whether the U.S. economy can reaccelerate over the rest of 2025 and into 2026, which would help demand immensely," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group. (Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York, Seher Dareen in London, Emily Chow in Singapore; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Sharon Singleton and Nia Williams)

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By Walter Bianchi BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina's peso weakened marginally on Monday while stocks edged up and bond prices rose in anticipation of news of financial aid from the U.S. Treasury and as political tensions in Argentina escalate before the country's midterm elections later this month. International dollar bonds rose between 0.7 and 2.5 cents each across maturities, continuing the volatile trend of the past few weeks, and remain far from historic highs set in January and revisited in late June. Sovereign bonds in the local market rose an average of 1.2%, driven by portfolio restructuring in the face of speculative buying, traders said. The interbank peso fell 0.35% to 1,429.5 per dollar and the S&P Merval stock index ticked up 0.3%. Economy Minister Luis Caputo has been in Washington for several days, according to his office, to negotiate with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a multimillion-dollar currency swap to boost investor confidence. So far, no developments have been announced and it is unclear whether he has met with Bessent or with International Monetary Fund officials. U.S. President Donald Trump will also meet with Milei on October 14, during the week that the World Bank and the IMF will convene in Washington. "The market is waiting for more than just signals; more details about the loan or program are needed to calm tensions and guarantee the financial program regardless of the election outcome," said economist Roberto Geretto of AdCap, a consulting group in Buenos Aires. On Sunday, the leading candidate on the midterms ticket for Milei's party in the Buenos Aires province resigned, after facing public scrutiny for ties to a businessman under investigation in the U.S. for drug trafficking. Milei has been in political hot water for weeks, with his popularity falling amid a corruption scandal that ensnared his sister and confidante, and a public tired of the government's austerity measures. In another setback last week, Argentina's opposition-controlled Senate voted to override Milei's vetoes of bills boosting funding for public universities and pediatric healthcare. (Report by Walter Bianchi; Edited by Hernán Nessi, Maximilian Heath, Rodrigo Campos and Mark Porter)

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