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By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian share markets pushed higher on Monday amid optimism on earnings as reporting season gets into full swing, while a reading on U.S. inflation is expected to be no more than a speed bump on the way to further rate cuts. Data on the Chinese economy are forecast to show growth slowed to 4.8% in the third quarter, while retail sales and industrial output should underline the need for stimulus as policymakers convene to discuss the latest Five-Year Plan. Figures out in the United States on Friday, and despite the government shutdown, are expected to show core inflation held at 3.1% in September, but should not trouble markets given the Federal Reserve has not pushed back against pricing for cuts. "Chair Powell has highlighted the importance of signs of a weakening job market in the Fed's policy considerations," said Michael Feroli, head of U.S. economics at JPMorgan. "That confirmed widely held expectations that the FOMC will cut rates again at its next meeting in just over two weeks." Futures are fully priced for a quarter-point easing this month, and another in December, with rates seen reaching 3.0% by the middle of next year. Japan's Nikkei led Asia higher with a rise of 1.5% encouraged by news the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party have agreed to form a coalition government, setting the stage for the country's first female prime minister. Analysts assume Sanae Takaichi would be pro-stimulus and against further hikes in interest rates, a negative for the yen and bonds but a plus for equities. Shares in South Korea added 0.6%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.1%. For Wall Street, S&P 500 futures were steady, while Nasdaq futures edged up 0.1% on expectations for upbeat earnings this week. HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR EARNINGS Reports include Tesla, Ford, GM, Netflix, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola, along with aerospace and defence giant RTX and tech stalwarts IBM and Intel. The UK also has major banks reporting this week while software giant SAP will make a splash in Germany. EUROSTOXX 50 futures edged up 0.4%, while DAX futures firmed 0.5% and FTSE futures 0.1%. S&P 500 companies overall are expected to have increased earnings by 8.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to LSEG IBES, and strong results will be needed to justify the market's lofty valuations. The prospect of a series of Fed rate cuts has underpinned bonds, with 10-year yields falling almost 14 basis points last week to currently stand at 4.011%. The slide in yields has pressured the dollar against European and higher-yielding currencies, with the euro at $1.1656 having edged up 0.3% last week despite a surprise credit downgrade of France. The yen had its own problems as investors have scaled back pricing for a Bank of Japan rate hike this month to just 22%, with a move in December put at 50-50. The dollar was up 0.2% at 150.92 yen, while the euro made similar gains to 175.89. The dollar index was flat at 98.543. In commodity markets, gold remained in high demand after jumping almost 6% last week to as far as $4,378.69. The metal was trading at $4,245 an ounce, with $4,200 now acting as chart support. [GOL/] "On a three-year horizon, we believe that there is more room for gold prices to rise, eventually reaching a target of $5,000 an ounce in 2028 due to a structural change in demand for the metal by investors and central banks," said Lorenzo Portelli, head of cross-asset strategy at Amundi Investment Institute. Oil prices continued to be weighed by ample supplies as OPEC+ keeps raising its output. [O/R] Brent was flat at $61.28 a barrel, while U.S. crude held at $57.57 per barrel. (Reporting by Wayne ColeEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

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By Pratima Desai LONDON (Reuters) -Copper consumption in the United States and India is set to emerge from China's shadow over the next decade as demand growth in the world's largest consumer of the industrial metal slows. Beijing's industrial and infrastructure expansion has helped fuel a rally that has seen copper prices rise to above $10,000 a metric ton from $1,500 25 years ago. But while China is forecast to remain the largest market for copper into the next decade and beyond, analysts expect other demand and price influences to increasingly come into play. Changing regional policies, infrastructure cycles and geopolitical shifts are likely to mean producers, consumers, traders and investors need to adapt to a market that has many different drivers. "China will reduce its rate of copper consumption and stockpiling. We are going back to old-fashioned drivers of copper, which is basically replacement cycles outside China," said Panmure Liberum analyst Tom Price. The impact has yet to be seen, but moves by the U.S. and other countries to promote local manufacturing also mean China's export machine and manufacturing activity is expected to slow and weigh on its demand for refined copper, which is estimated at around 15 million tons this year. Meanwhile, the data centres needed to support AI technology and upgrades to power grid infrastructure mean copper demand growth outside China will become the driving force for prices. "China has built its infrastructure, including its power distribution grid. Its activity will drift to a lower level to match (its) requirement," said Price, who forecasts Chinese demand will be 6% lower in 2031 than in 2026. Price predicts China will account for 52% of global consumption of primary copper, at around 27 million tons, in 2031 compared with 57% in 2026. And he expects U.S. copper demand of 2.2 million tons in 2031, up nearly 50% from 2026, while for India, he forecasts copper demand to rise above 1 million tons, representing a rise of more than 30%.      'INCREASING PUSHBACK BY COUNTRIES IN THE WEST' Analysts also expect U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of 50% tariffs on copper pipes and wiring to help encourage local production. For China, the likely outcome is the loss of a major market for its exports of copper pipe. Trade Data Monitor ranks the U.S. as China's fourth biggest market for the product. Last year, it imported 14.4 million tons of copper tubes and pipes directly from China and in the first seven months of this year these totalled some eight million tons, TDM data shows, underlining the potential loss of a major market for Beijing. "China's output of manufactured goods, particularly for export, is likely to slow down to some extent as a function of increasing pushback by countries in the West," said Duncan Hobbs, research director at Concord Resources. Those exports will include copper wire used for power grid infrastructure. In its last network-infrastructure review a decade ago, the U.S. Department of Energy found 70% of U.S. transmission lines were more than 25 years old. Meanwhile, India is expanding its transmission infrastructure to support its goal of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based capacity by 2030.  And in Asia, excluding China, consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expects copper demand to jump 25% to more than 9.2 million tons between 2025 and 2030.  For electric infrastructure which includes power grids and generation, data centres and telecoms, BMI expects demand to rise 35% to 2.2 million tons.  BMI's forecasts for China are 4% and 11% respectively. MODERNISING INFRASTRUCTURE Grid improvements in the West mainly mean modernising infrastructure. This will be slow and steady and not as copper intensive as building from scratch, as China has been doing. Robert Edwards, principal analyst at metals consultancy CRU has expected China's influence on the copper market to wane for some years. But this did not materialise because of Chinese investment in electric vehicles, renewables and its power grid.  CRU expects China's consumption of global mined and recycled copper consumption to fall to 57% of 31.36 million tons in 2030, from 59% of 27.62 million tons this year. "Demand growth potential in China is limited. You should see more growth in the rest of the world," said Edwards.  (Reporting by Pratima Desai; editing by Veronica Brown and Alexander Smith)

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(Refiles to fix links to earlier stories in copy; no change to text) PARIS(Reuters) -Gucci owner Kering said on Sunday it has agreed to sell its beauty business to L'Oreal for 4 billion euros ($4.66 billion), as new CEO Luca de Meo moves to tackle the luxury group's high debt and refocus on its core fashion business. Under the deal, French beauty giant L'Oreal will acquire Kering's fragrance line Creed, as well as rights to develop fragrance and beauty products under Kering's fashion labels Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga under a 50-year exclusive license. The licence for Gucci fragrances is currently held by Coty and the new deal will commence when that expires, believed by analysts to be in 2028. The sale is a major step towards reducing Kering's net debt, which stood at 9.5 billion euros at the end of June, on top of 6 billion euros in long-term lease liabilities which have sparked investor concern. The company has struggled to reverse declining growth at its largest brand Gucci, which was hit hard by slowing demand in the key Chinese market. With the deal struck less than two months after taking over the helm, de Meo is unwinding one of the biggest strategic pivots made by his predecessor Francois-Henri Pinault, whose family controls the group, in recent years. Kering set up its beauty business in 2023 after acquiring perfume maker Creed for 3.5 billion euros in an effort to diversify and reduce its reliance on its Gucci brand, which accounts for most of its profits. But the group has struggled to ramp up the business, posting a 60 million euro operating loss for the first half of the year. Gucci's revenue meanwhile plummeted 25% year-on-year in the last reported quarter, increasing the pressure on Kering to deleverage to avoid further credit downgrades.  De Meo, who took over as CEO in September, had told shareholders he planned to take some difficult decisions to reduce debt at the group, including rationalising and reorganising where necessary. L'Oreal, the world's biggest dedicated cosmetics and beauty player, already produces blockbuster perfumes under the Yves Saint Laurent label after acquiring rights to the brand from Kering for 1.15 billion euros in 2008.  The deal for Kering beauty will be L'Oreal's largest to date, bigger than its purchase of Australian brand Aesop for $2.5 billion in 2023. L'Oreal, which said there were "plenty" of acquisitions being looked at this year, has also been approached by representatives of Armani Group, Reuters reported this month, after the beauty conglomerate was named in the will of late designer Giorgio Armani as one of the preferred buyers for a minority stake in his fashion house. ($1 = 0.8576 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Patton and Tassilo Hummel in Paris, Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann, Diane Craft and Lincoln Feast.)

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(Reuters) -Sany Heavy Industry is seeking to raise as much as HK$12.36 billion ($1.59 billion) through its Hong Kong listing, a filing showed on Monday, as the machinery maker taps into renewed investor appetite for Chinese listings in the city. The company is selling 580.4 million shares in a price range of HK$20.30 to HK$21.30 each, according to the filing. Reuters reported in February that Sany Heavy was looking to raise up to $1.5 billion. Cornerstone investors have taken up stock worth about $759 million in the deal, the filings showed. Singapore's Temasek will invest about $75 million in the stock, while Hillhouse, UBS Asset Management, BlackRock and Oaktree will also subscribe, according to the filings.  The listing underscores Hong Kong’s resurgence as the premier offshore fundraising hub for Chinese companies, as mounting U.S. scrutiny pushes more firms to pivot away from American exchanges. Toymaker Miniso said in late September it would spin off its brand Top Toy and list the same in Hong Kong, while Reuters has reported that China's Momenta was mulling shifting its initial public offering to Hong Kong from New York. Hong Kong, fuelled by the influx of Chinese companies, has emerged as the top global bourse by volume of IPOs and second listings so far this year, overtaking its biggest rival, the New York Stock Exchange, according to data from LSEG. Sany Heavy Industry specializes in heavy equipment, making a wide range of machinery including excavation, lifting, road construction and pile-driving equipment. Sany Heavy Industry has operations and factories in the United States, Europe, India, Brazil and Germany, as well as five manufacturing hubs in China, according to its website.     ($1 = 7.7669 Hong Kong dollars) ($1 = 7.1264 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Diane Craft and Tom Hogue)

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PARIS(Reuters) -Gucci owner Kering said on Sunday it has agreed to sell its beauty business to L'Oreal for 4 billion euros ($4.66 billion), as new CEO Luca de Meo moves to tackle the luxury group's high debt and refocus on its core fashion business. Under the deal, French beauty giant L'Oreal will acquire Kering's fragrance line Creed, as well as rights to develop fragrance and beauty products under Kering's fashion labels Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga under a 50-year exclusive license. The licence for Gucci fragrances is currently held by Coty and the new deal will commence when that expires, believed by analysts to be in 2028. The sale is a major step towards reducing Kering's net debt, which stood at 9.5 billion euros at the end of June, on top of 6 billion euros in long-term lease liabilities which have sparked investor concern. The company has struggled to reverse declining growth at its largest brand Gucci, which was hit hard by slowing demand in the key Chinese market. With the deal struck less than two months after taking over the helm, de Meo is unwinding one of the biggest strategic pivots made by his predecessor Francois-Henri Pinault, whose family controls the group, in recent years. Kering set up its beauty business in 2023 after acquiring perfume maker Creed for 3.5 billion euros in an effort to diversify and reduce its reliance on its Gucci brand, which accounts for most of its profits. But the group has struggled to ramp up the business, posting a 60 million euro operating loss for the first half of the year. Gucci's revenue meanwhile plummeted 25% year-on-year in the last reported quarter, increasing the pressure on Kering to deleverage to avoid further credit downgrades.  De Meo, who took over as CEO in September, had told shareholders he planned to take some difficult decisions to reduce debt at the group, including rationalising and reorganising where necessary. L'Oreal, the world's biggest dedicated cosmetics and beauty player, already produces blockbuster perfumes under the Yves Saint Laurent label after acquiring rights to the brand from Kering for 1.15 billion euros in 2008.  The deal for Kering beauty will be L'Oreal's largest to date, bigger than its purchase of Australian brand Aesop for $2.5 billion in 2023. L'Oreal, which said there were "plenty" of acquisitions being looked at this year, has also been approached by representatives of Armani Group, Reuters reported this month, after the beauty conglomerate was named in the will of late designer Giorgio Armani as one of the preferred buyers for a minority stake in his fashion house. ($1 = 0.8576 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Patton and Tassilo Hummel in Paris, Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann, Diane Craft and Lincoln Feast.)

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By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) -China's economic growth likely slowed to a one-year low in the third quarter as a prolonged property downturn and trade tensions weigh on demand, keeping pressure on policymakers to roll out more stimulus to shore up confidence and momentum. Beijing has unveiled modest support measures this year to preserve policy space for future shocks, helped by resilient exports and strong stock markets. Renewed U.S.-China trade tensions pose risks, however, and while there is room for more stimulus, analysts are divided on whether policymakers will act this year. Data due Monday is expected to show gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.8% year-on-year in July-September, the slowest pace since the third quarter of 2024, and down from the 5.2% rate clocked in the second quarter, according to a Reuters poll. GDP growth is projected to slow to 4.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing full-year expansion to 4.8% – below the official target of around 5%, the poll showed. Economic growth is expected to ease further to 4.3% in 2026. "We do not anticipate any new reflationary policies in the near term," Xing Zhaopeng, senior China strategist at ANZ, said in a note. "The 5% GDP growth target remains easily achievable – with 5.3% growth already recorded in H1 2025, only 4.6% growth is needed in H2 to meet the full-year goal." Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley, expects limited stimulus of between 500 billion yuan ($70.22 billion) and 1 trillion yuan, and forecasts second half growth of 4.5% or lower. Renewed trade tensions with Washington have highlighted the vulnerabilities of China's lopsided economy, which relies heavily on manufacturing and overseas demand. This has raised expectations that Chinese leaders may embrace painful changes to rebalance growth towards domestic consumption. On a quarterly basis, the economy is forecast to have expanded 0.8% in the third quarter, slowing from 1.1% in April-June, the poll showed. GDP data is due on Monday at 0200 GMT. Separate data on September activity is expected to show both industrial output and retail sales slowing. Chinese leaders will hold a closed-door meeting from Monday through to Thursday to discuss, among other things, the country's 15th five-year development plan, which is expected to prioritise high-tech manufacturing in the wake of the intensifying rivalry with the United States. Investors are also looking to a Politburo meeting and the Central Economic Work Conference, expected in December, for clues on economic policy for next year. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods by an additional 100% starting November 1. However, U.S. officials have signalled that both countries were prepared to lower the temperature in their tariff spat. While China's export growth rebounded in September, much of the recent data show the world's second-largest economy has lost momentum, and deflationary pressures have persisted despite efforts to curb overcapacity and fierce competition among firms. PAINFUL REBALANCING Policymakers face a delicate balancing act between stimulating growth and addressing acute supply-demand imbalances reflected in entrenched deflation. Boosting private spending to foster sustainable longer term economic growth will require painful reforms. China's stimulus spending has traditionally focused on infrastructure investment and manufacturing, even as the government has increased subsidies for consumers. The People's Bank of China (PBOC), which has kept its policy rate steady for four consecutive months, is likely to dole out more modest easing steps in the coming weeks, analysts say. Analysts polled by Reuters expect a 10-basis point cut in the seven-day reverse repo rate – the central bank's key policy rate – in the fourth quarter, along with a similar reduction to the benchmark loan prime rate (LPR). In August, Beijing announced interest subsidies on loans to households and businesses to boost consumption. China also plans to deploy 500 billion yuan of policy-based financial tools to speed investment projects to shore up its slowing economy. ($1 = 7.1207 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Kevin YaoEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

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By Leika Kihara WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda likely left Washington last week with little conviction that global headwinds will allow the central bank to raise interest rates as soon as this month, with finance officials from around the world warning of downside risks amid renewed U.S.-China trade tensions. But the resilience of the global economy, which was touted by the International Monetary Fund in its latest World Economic Outlook last week, also gives him cover to proceed with a near-term rate hike if a hawkish-leaning BOJ board prefers to move sooner rather than later. Ueda, as a result, left his options open by offering few clues on the timing of a rate hike, which markets bet will happen by January of next year. "There's not much of a gap in how I see global and U.S. economies now and how I saw it back in Japan," Ueda said in a press conference on Thursday after attending the G20 finance leaders' gathering in Washington. "I would like to keep gathering more information and scrutinize various data that comes out leading up to our October policy meeting," he said, when asked about the chance of a rate hike at the October 29-30 session. Markets have been focusing on Ueda's comments in Washington, after he said earlier this month he hoped the talks with finance officials and bankers would provide information that helped BOJ policymakers decide whether to hike rates in late October. Ueda has repeatedly cautioned against raising borrowing costs too soon, stressing the need to gauge the strength of the U.S. economy and the extent of the damage from President Donald Trump's tariffs on Japan's export-reliant economy. The meetings in Washington likely gave Ueda little clarity on how soon the fog shrouding the global outlook would clear. PRESSURE WITHIN BOJ BOARD TO RAISE RATES QUICKER The IMF last week lifted its 2025 global growth forecast but warned that a renewed U.S.-China trade war could slow output. While describing global growth as resilient, IMF member countries voiced concerns about emerging strains and risks to the outlook. A senior IMF official told Reuters there were downside risks to Japan's economy and urged the BOJ to be "very gradual" in raising rates due to high uncertainty about the outlook. While Ueda may have plenty of reasons to put rates on hold, he faces pressure from within his board to move quicker. With inflation above the BOJ's 2% target for three straight years and Japan's economy weathering the hit from U.S. tariffs so far, the central bank's board is gradually leaning toward resuming rate hikes that had been put on hold since it raised its key interest rate to 0.5% in January. Two of the BOJ's nine board members unsuccessfully proposed raising rates in September on mounting inflationary pressure. Another dovish member then surprised markets by saying the need for a rate hike was increasing "more than ever." Delaying rate hikes for too long could also trigger a renewed slide in the yen, which could further push up the cost of living by inflating import prices. "If the BOJ holds off on raising rates in October, the next chance would be in December," said Tomoyuki Shimoda, a former BOJ executive. "During that time, there's a risk the yen could slide further." Still, the overall tone of Ueda and his staff suggests the BOJ will take a go-slow approach partly because hiking its key rate to 0.75% would bring it to levels unseen in three decades. Japan's parliament will likely vote to choose a new prime minister on Tuesday, giving the BOJ little time to communicate with a new administration before its next policy meeting. The expected new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is a proponent of loose monetary policy. "We don't know how exactly the economy will react" to rate hikes, BOJ Assistant Governor Seiichi Shimizu said during a seminar in Washington on Thursday. "This is another type of uncertainty we are facing now" that warrants moving cautiously, he said. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Paul Simao)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration said late Sunday that air traffic control staffing issues were delaying travel at airports in Dallas, Chicago and Newark as a U.S. government shutdown hit its 19th day. The FAA said numerous staffing triggers had been received for the evening shift and flights could also be delayed in Las Vegas and Phoenix because of air traffic control absences. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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(Reuters) -Sany Heavy Industry is seeking to raise as much as HK$12.36 billion ($1.59 billion) through its Hong Kong listing, a filing showed on Monday, as the machinery maker taps into renewed investor appetite for Chinese listings in the city. The company is offering 580.4 million H shares under listing, for a maximum offer price of HK$21.30 apiece.  It is expected to be no less than HK$20.30 per share.  Reuters reported in February that Sany Heavy was looking to raise up to $1.5 billion. The raising underscores Hong Kong’s resurgence as the premier offshore fundraising hub for Chinese companies, as mounting U.S. scrutiny pushes more firms to pivot away from American exchanges. Toymaker Miniso said in late September that it would spin off its brand Top Toy and list the same in Hong Kong, while Reuters had reported that China's Momenta was mulling shifting its initial public offering to Hong Kong from New York.  ($1 = 7.7669 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)

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PARIS(Reuters) -Gucci owner Kering has agreed to sell its beauty business to L'Oreal for 4 billion euros ($4.66 billion), the company said on Sunday, as new CEO Luca de Meo moves to tackle the luxury group's high debt and refocus on its core fashion business. Under the deal, French beauty giant L'Oreal will acquire Kering's fragrance line Creed, as well as rights to develop products under Kering's fashion labels Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga under a 50-year exclusive license. The sale is a major step towards reducing Kering's net debt, which stood at 9.5 billion euros at the end of June, adding to 6 billion euros in long-term lease liabilities, sparking investor concern. The company has struggled to reverse declining growth at its largest brand Gucci, which was hit hard by slowing demand in the key Chinese market. ($1 = 0.8576 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Patton and Tassilo Hummel in Paris, Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Diane Craft)

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