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By Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta (Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures climbed on Friday as optimism about an imminent interest-rate cut boosted investor sentiment ahead of the final trading session of a week marked by volatility due to a federal government shutdown that extended to a third day. The shutdown, which began on Wednesday, has disrupted the flow of critical data that the U.S. Federal Reserve uses to assess if economic conditions justify a reduction in borrowing costs. The much anticipated nonfarm payrolls report that was originally scheduled for a Friday release has now been postponed, leaving investors to rely on other indicators, which suggest a softening in the labor market, keeping alive bets on an impending rate cut. The optimism, coupled with strength in the technology sector, helped investors look past the impasse in Washington so far. The three main Wall Street indexes marked record closing highs on Thursday and were on track to notch weekly gains, should the current levels hold through Friday's session. "Solid macroeconomic conditions, supported by healthy consumer activity combined with an opportunity for the Fed to ease rates, have contributed to a market environment where stock volatility has been largely contained," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. At 06:49 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 114 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 15 points, or 0.22%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 59.25 points, or 0.24%. Still, the rally has shown signs of fragility, with stocks occasionally retreating as traders lock in gains. Investors will now turn to the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing PMI data for September that is due later in the day. The final readings of S&P Global services and composite PMIs for September are also on deck. These data points may carry outsized weight in shaping near-term expectations for Fed action, making equities susceptible to headline-driven swings. New York Fed President John Williams said central banks needed to be aware that unpredictable change was inevitable and strategize to operate in those environments. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan will speak at a conference later in the day. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is also scheduled to discuss the U.S. economic outlook and policy framework in Philadelphia. In stocks, Tesla rose about 1% in premarket trading after dropping more than 5% on Thursday. Shares of USA Rare Earth jumped 9.6% after CEO Barbara Humpton told CNBC the company was "in close communication" with the White House. Applied Materials fell 2.9% after the chip-equipment maker forecast a $600 million hit to fiscal 2026 revenue on broader semiconductor export curbs. Shares of peer Lam Research lost 1.8%. (Reporting by Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Pooja Desai)

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(Reuters) -Global equity funds witnessed robust demand in the week through October 1 as an inline U.S. inflation report and weaker-than-expected private payrolls data renewed hopes of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Investors bought a net $49.19 billion worth of global equity funds during the week, the most since November 13 last year, data from LSEG Lipper showed. Investors snapped up U.S. equity funds of $36.41 billion in their largest weekly net purchase in nearly 11 months. European and Asian funds also saw weekly inflows to the tune of $7.36 billion and $3.94 billion, respectively. Equity sectoral funds received $11.56 billion, the largest amount for a week since at least January 2022, with tech and financials leading the net purchases at $4.15 billion and $3.43 billion, respectively. Ned Davies Research upgraded global equities to overweight on Thursday, raising stock allocation to 60% from 55% and cutting cash to 5% from 10%, citing seasonal strength, earnings momentum, and easing inflation pressures. Global bond funds were popular for a 24th straight week, although weekly net investments eased to a 14-week low of $6.06 billion. Euro-denominated bond funds and high yield bond funds stood out with a net of $7.37 billion and $2.41 billion weekly inflows. In contrast, short-term bond funds saw a net $8.52 billion outflow after 13 weeks of inflows in a row. Investors parked a net of $8.84 billion into money market funds, posting the first weekly net purchase in three weeks. Gold and precious metals commodity funds saw a sixth successive weekly inflow, amounting to $4.66 billion on a net basis. In emerging markets, investment activities were mixed as equity funds faced with $239 million net outflows after 10 weeks of inflows in a row, while bond funds had a net $373 million weekly inflow, data for a combined 29,715 funds showed. (Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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By Anna Szymanski LONDON (Reuters) -What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Anna Szymanski, Editor-in-Charge, Reuters Open Interest Hello Morning Bid readers!  Global equity markets mostly shrugged off the U.S. government shutdown this week, with all three major U.S. indices recording record highs on Thursday and Asian and European markets on track to deliver weekly gains early on Friday. While history suggests markets may be right not to panic, this shutdown will likely delay the release of vital government data, making the Federal Reserve’s job even more challenging. The Fed already faces a head-scratching economic environment, with almost 4% annualized growth and little job creation, something that might be explained by the artificial intelligence boom. Staying on the AI theme, ROI Financial Markets Editor-at-Large Mike Dolan argues that if the AI equity “bubble” bursts, it might take the U.S. economy down with it. Private payrolls for September were released on Wednesday. While economists tend not to put too much stock in this data, investors took note of the biggest monthly drop in employment in over two years. Meanwhile, hopes for continued Fed easing helped put gold on track for its seventh consecutive weekly gain.  In the energy markets, oil prices fell throughout much of the week on expectations of rising supply, including possible accelerated production increases from OPEC+, but Brent crude was down 1% early on Friday following news of a fire at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery, one of the largest on the U.S. West Coast. Zooming out, ROI Energy Columnist Ron Bousso argues that Big Oil is becoming increasingly bullish about the future outlook even as it grows ever more bearish about the near term. Predicting what’s going to happen in oil markets this year has become quite tricky, argues ROI Asia Commodities Columnist Clyde Russell, given that three of the biggest current drivers of crude prices are the unwinding of OPEC+ production cuts, China storage flows and geopolitical tensions – all of which are challenging to forecast accurately.  On the renewables side, ROI Energy Transition Columnist Gavin Maguire explains why Italy’s economic woes may have a climate upside. And Clyde Russell discusses critical minerals and why the weak pricing for many of them does not reflect their supposed importance to the global energy transition. And, finally, over in the metals world, ROI Metals Columnist Andy Home looks at the fragility of the copper supply chain, highlighting the catastrophic events at Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine last month. As we head into the weekend, check out the ROI team’s recommendations for what you should read, listen to, and watch to stay informed and ready for the week ahead. I’d love to hear from you, so please reach out to me at This weekend, we're reading… GAVIN MAGUIRE, ROI Global Energy Transition Columnist: This analysis by Carbon Brief explains that electricity demand in Great Britain was fully covered by clean energy sources for a record long stretch in 2025. That's pretty impressive for a country that was over 75% powered by fossil fuels up to 2010.  ANDY HOME, ROI Metals Columnist: My read of the week comes courtesy of Anjana Ahuja in the Financial Times. She writes about ground-breaking work on the concept of black hole stars, which pose the cosmological question of which came first: galaxies full of matter or black holes?  RON BOUSSO, ROI Energy Columnist: The book More and More and More by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz is a fascinating overview of the history of energy through the centuries. It argues that the idea of an energy transition is false, suggesting instead that the world has always been adding new sources of energy.  JAMIE MCGEEVER, ROI Markets Columnist: United States, Inc. is a collection of four Project Syndicate articles highlighting several fundamental flaws in trying to run the U.S. government like a business. We're listening to… ANNA SZYMANSKI, ROI Editor-in-Charge: Reuters' newest podcast, On Assignment, does a deep dive on the UN General Assembly. From broken escalators to high-stakes diplomacy, Reuters correspondents explore the challenges facing global multilateralism at a challenging moment in history.   MIKE DOLAN, ROI Financial Markets Editor-at-Large: "Facing Coming Storms" is a podcast by the British Army's Centre for Historical and Conflict Research and the Project for Study of the 21st Century. In this episode, Reuters columnist and PS21 executive director Peter Apps speaks with Admiral Nils Vang, former head of the Danish Navy, about the future of naval warfare in an era defined by drones, AI, and hybrid threats.    And we're watching… ANNA SZYMANSKI, ROI Editor-in-Charge: In the latest episode of AI Weekly, Reuters rounds up some of the week's biggest stories from this space, including Amazon's goals for AI and how military drones could reshape the future of air combat. Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website, and you can follow us on LinkedIn and X.  Opinions expressed are those of the authors. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. (By Anna Szymanski)

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By Dawn Chmielewski LOS ANGELES, October 3 (Reuters) -Superstar Taylor Swift's 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," arrived on Friday with a promotional blitz including midnight sales at Target stores, a release party at movie theaters around the globe and pop-up experiences in New York and Los Angeles. It follows "The Tortured Poets Department", which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and sold the equivalent of 8 million albums in the United States, according to Luminate, a firm that tracks music sales. Swift's latest offering is expected to be similarly lapped up by her huge global fan base, even though the music press gave the release a mixed response.    "With this album it's exactly where I am at in my life," Swift told Britain's Capital Breakfast radio show, kicking off promotional appearances. "I am exactly in the same spot as I was when I made this record so it feels very accurate to my life experience right now." Many critics praised the upbeat songs and humour on the 12-song album, whose title track features Sabrina Carpenter. Rolling Stone gave it five stars saying Swift "shoots into a fresh echelon of superstardom — and hits all her marks", while Britain's BBC called it "a triumphant pop victory lap". Awarding it two stars, The Financial Times and Guardian newspapers were cooler, with the former saying the album was "charismatic as ever, but lacks sparkle" and the latter describing it as "dull razzle-dazzle from a star who seems frazzled". 'RARE POSITION' Swift has been building anticipation for the album since August 11, when she posted a countdown on her website that kept fans waiting until 12:12 a.m. ET on August 12, when she revealed the new record. The next day, she appeared on the "New Heights" podcast hosted by her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his brother, retired Philadelphia Eagles lineman Jason Kelce. The Top-10 rated sports and pop-culture podcast provided a friendly platform for Swift to talk about the album, which she said had been inspired by the joy she felt while performing around the world on her record-setting Eras Tour. The August 13 episode has surpassed 23.4 million views on YouTube.   "She occupies a very rare position in today's fragmented music landscape: she is an active superstar with a massive and loyal fan base," said Tatiana Cirisano, vice president of music strategy for MIDiA Research. These passionate followers, or "Swifties," help the artist rise to the top of the charts, said Cirisano. "So few can get such a massive number of people listening to the same thing at once. So, it would surprise me a lot if the new release did not reach her usual level of success," she said.      Swift's globe-trotting Eras Tour was the highest-grossing tour of all time, surpassing $2 billion in ticket sales by the time it concluded in December 2024, according to Pollstar, a trade publication that tracks the concert industry. That figure does not include the boost to hotel and Airbnb rentals, restaurant tabs and merchandise sales.  Academics have said Swift rivals other pop icons, like Elvis or Michael Jackson, in terms of her cultural impact — whether it's driving tune-in to NFL gamesor leading voter registration drives. Business partners have been eager to tap into the phenomenon that's been dubbed "Swiftonomics." AMC Theatres announced plans to distribute "The Official Release Party of a Showgirl," an 89-minute film that features the album's first music video, "The Fate of Ophelia," behind-the-scenes footage, and Swift's reflections on the album's songs. It will be in limited release, from Friday through Sunday, in more than 50 markets. Retailer Target opened some stores at midnight to sell a limited-edition vinyl pressing of the album with a "gold shimmer," and three CDs featuring exclusive album and poster art. Music streaming service Spotify opened a three-day pop-up in New York on Tuesday, with song lyrics hidden among displays that included a dressing room and other trappings of a concert tour. On Friday, TikTok opened its own "Life of a Showgirl" installation in Los Angeles. Swift's promotional appearances include stops on "The Graham Norton Show" on Friday, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Monday and "Late Night with Seth Meyers" on Wednesday. (Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Toby Chopra)

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By Aditya Kalra and Arpan Chaturvedi NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Hundreds of AI-generated Bollywood videos with 16 million views have been deleted from Google's YouTube after Reuters reported they were similar to those at the centre of a legal challenge filed by a celebrity couple to protect their rights. Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have asked a New Delhi judge to remove and prohibit creation of AI videos infringing their intellectual property rights. Their lawsuits also challenge YouTube's AI training policy. While a judge had ordered the takedown of a handful of YouTube links last month which the actors sought, Reuters reported this week that the platform was still showing hundreds of other similar videos, some showing celebrities kissing or their lookalikes romancing through AI manipulation. One such popular YouTube channel sharing "AI-generated Bollywood love stories" has been removed. It previously had 259 videos, some sexually explicit in nature, that had been viewed 16.5 million times. On Friday its link stated: "This page isn't available." None of its videos are accessible anymore. YOUTUBE SAYS IT REMOVES DOCTORED, MISLEADING CONTENT YouTube said in an email to Reuters the channel flagged in the news agency's report was deleted by the creator and the content is no longer available on the platform.  It did not elaborate on that account — titled "AI Bollywood Ishq" — but said the company prohibits harmful misinformation and removes content that has been technically manipulated or doctored in a way that misleads users. A message to the email address previously listed for YouTube channel @AIbollywoodishq bounced back on Friday. The owner had not responded to Reuters queries earlier this week. With around 600 million users, India is YouTube's biggest market globally, and it is popular for entertainment content like Bollywood videos. The most popular video on the now-deleted channel was a video with 4.1 million views showing an AI animation of Salman Khan and Aishwarya in a swimming pool. Khan was in a relationship with Aishwarya long before her marriage. Representatives for Khan and the Bachchans did not immediately respond to Reuters queries on Friday. Some other videos similar to the examples cited in Abhishek's lawsuit papers on YouTube were still online as of Friday. Among them were a clip showing Abhishek posing but then suddenly kissing a film actress using AI manipulation, and an AI depiction of Aishwarya and Khan enjoying a meal together, while Abhishek Bachchan fumes. The Bachchans are seeking $450,000 in damages against Google and other little-known websites offering unauthorised merchandise with images of them. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Editing by William Maclean)

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(Corrects paragraph 3 to say Abu Dhabi-based AI investment firm MGX, not Mubadala, is involved in deal talks. The error appeared in an earlier version as well.) (Reuters) -BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is in advanced talks to acquire Macquarie-backed Aligned Data Centers in a deal valuing the technology infrastructure company at $40 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The companies have yet to finalize a deal, but an agreement could be announced within days, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter. Abu Dhabi-based AI investment firm MGX, established by sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and G42 as founding partners, is also involved in the talks and will invest independently as part of a transaction, the report said. GIP and BlackRock declined to comment on the report. Aligned, Macquarie and Mubadala did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The enormous uptake of AI, both in business and personal use, has prompted a host of companies to invest in AI data centers. McKinsey estimates those investments to reach $6.7 trillion by 2030 to meet computing power demand. Texas-based Aligned, which specializes in AI-related infrastructure, raised more than $12 billion in January. (Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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By Michael S. Derby (Reuters) -Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Friday that unpredictable change is inevitable and central banks need to be aware of that and have strategies to operate in those environments. Williams' comments, which came in prepared remarks for an event in Amsterdam, did not address the outlook for U.S. monetary policy. Williams serves as vice chair of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, which cut interest rates last month as officials sought to offset rising risks to the job market. “Unpredictable change and uncertainty will certainly continue to be with us for the foreseeable future,” Williams said, flagging issues like “the effects of ongoing global demographic shifts, artificial intelligence, and potentially transformative innovations in our financial systems.” Williams said dealing with uncertainty means that central banks need robust principles and strategies in place that can deal with a range of contingencies, while noting there will still be novel situations to deal with. Williams also said that formerly unconventional strategies like bond buying are no longer novel and are a normal part of the toolkit. Williams said anchoring inflation expectations is critical and cannot be taken for granted. (Reporting by Michael S. Derby; editing by Diane Craft)

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(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday as hopes of an interest rate cut underpinned sentiment in the final trading session of a volatile week, marked by a government shutdown that has dragged into its third day. The shutdown, which began on Wednesday, has disrupted the flow of critical data that the Federal Reserve uses to assess whether economic conditions justify an interest rate cut. Among the data casualties is the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report, which was scheduled for release on Friday but has now been postponed, leaving investors to rely on other indicators that have suggested softening in the labor market and kept bets for a rate cut alive. The optimism, coupled with strength in the technology sector, has helped investors look past the impasse in Washington so far. The three major Wall Street indexes marked record closing highs on Thursday and are on track to notch weekly gains should current levels hold through Friday's session. "Solid macroeconomic conditions, supported by healthy consumer activity, combined with an opportunity for the Fed to ease rates, have contributed to a market environment where stock volatility has been largely contained," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. At 05:07 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 104 points, or 0.22%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 18 points, or 0.27%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 72.5 points, or 0.29%. Still, the rally has at times shown signs of fragility, with stocks occasionally retreating as traders lock in gains. Investors will now turn to the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing PMI data for September, due later on Friday. Final readings of S&P Global services and composite PMIs for September are also on deck. These releases may carry outsized weight in shaping near-term expectations for Fed action, making equities susceptible to headline-driven swings. Fed watchers will have a slate of central bank speakers to parse on Friday. New York Fed President John Williams is set to deliver a keynote address in Amsterdam, while Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan will speak at a conference. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson will also discuss the U.S. economic outlook and policy framework in Philadelphia. Among individual stocks, Tesla rose 1.8% in premarket trading after dropping more than 5% on Thursday. Shares of USA Rare Earth jumped 7.4% after its CEO Barbara Humpton told CNBC that the company was "in close communication" with the White House. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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By Rocky Swift and Lucy Raitano TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) -The dollar headed for its worst weekly performance since late July on Friday as the U.S. government shutdown increased uncertainty, while the yen pulled back from this week's highs as traders mulled the Bank of Japan's next move ahead of a ruling party leadership election this weekend. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of key currencies, fell 0.1% to 97.78. The euro was up 0.2% at $1.17355. Sterling firmed 0.2% to $1.346. "We've got the government shut down in the U.S. which has no real practical impact…but for market participants it means we're not getting any of the data releases we would usually get like the non-farm payrolls data today," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. "I think that's why we're seeing things trade in such listless fashion." Though ISM data is due out of the U.S. later, Brown said he does not expect it to move the needle for markets. The yen slid 0.1% to 147.375 per dollar having earlier fallen as much as 0.4%. But it remained on track for a 1.4% advance this week that would be the biggest since mid-May. The weakness came after BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda struck a cautious tone in comments about the global economy, lowering expectations of an imminent rate hike. Markets are also focused on a Liberal Democratic Party election on Saturday that will determine Japan's next prime minister. "Market participants are a little bit disappointed potentially… he (Ueda) didn't really lean into the idea of a October rate hike as much as some of his colleagues have done in recent sessions, that's why we've seen a little bit of pressure on the yen," said Brown. Markets were keeping a close eye on speeches by BOJ officials this week after the central bank's tankan survey on Wednesday showed confidence among big manufacturers improved for the second straight quarter. Deputy governor Shinichi Uchida said on Thursday that the business mood is improving and corporate profits remain high even as U.S. tariffs weigh on exports. But in a speech on Friday, Governor Ueda put the focus back on how global factors, particularly the health of the U.S. economy, could impact the trajectory of wages and prices in Japan. Goldman Sachs economists said in a note that Ueda's speech "supports our view that the possibility of an October rate hike is very low." Japan's market is also girding for an election on Saturday that has consequences for its budget and central bank policies. Among the front-runners, dovish party veteran Sanae Takaichi could trigger more bond market uncertainty, while farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi and top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi are less likely to rock the boat. In the U.S. overnight, a Chicago Fed report that combines private and available public data estimated the September jobless rate was 4.3%, the same as in August and evidence that a feared rapid rise in unemployment had not yet begun. But details of the report, along with other data, pointed to sluggishness in the labor market. The ADP National Employment report on Wednesday showed private payrolls decreased by 32,000 in September, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates two more times this year. Traders see a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed's October meeting as almost certain and are pricing in an 89% probability of an additional cut in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan on Thursday said the central bank appropriately cut rates last month to guard against the risk of a sharp deterioration in the job market, but said that so far the cooling has been gradual and signalled she is not eager to cut rates further. Elsewhere, a few Fed, ECB, Bank of England central bankers are due to speak at the farewell symposium of the Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot including ECB President Christine Lagarde and BoE's Andrew Bailey. (Reporting by Rocky Swift in Tokyo and Lucy Raitano in LondonEditing by Shri Navaratnam and Toby Chopra)

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(Reuters) -BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Macquarie-backed Aligned Data Centers in a deal valuing the technology infrastructure company at $40 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The companies have yet to finalize a deal, but an agreement could be announced within days, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter. Mubadala, an investor in Aligned and a backer of MGX, an Abu Dhabi AI investment firm, is also involved in the talks and would invest independently as part of the transaction, the report said. GIP and BlackRock declined to comment on the report. Aligned, Macquarie, and Mubadala did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The enormous uptake of AI, both in business and personal use, has prompted a host of companies to invest in AI data centers. McKinsey estimates those investments to reach $6.7 trillion by 2030 to meet computing power demand. Texas-based Aligned, which specializes in AI-related infrastructure, raised more than $12 billion in January. (Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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