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HANOI, Oct 2 (Reuters) – The death toll in Vietnam from Typhoon Bualoi and the floods it triggered has risen to 36, according to a Thursday report from the government's disaster management agency. Bualoi made landfall on Monday in northern central Vietnam, bringing huge sea swells, strong winds and heavy rains that also left 21 people missing and injured 147 others, according to the report. The agency also raised its estimate of property damage caused by the typhoon and its flooding to 11.5 trillion dong ($435.80 million), up from $303 million in a previous report released on Wednesday. The typhoon severely damaged roads, schools and offices, and caused power grid failures that left tens of thousands of families without electricity, the report said. More than 210,000 houses were damaged or inundated, and more than 51,000 hectares of rice and other crops were destroyed, it said. ($1 = 26,388 dong) (Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by David Stanway)

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BANGKOK, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Thailand plans to sell up to 349 billion baht ($10.76 billion) of government bonds during the October-December quarter, with the proceeds to be used for debt restructuring and management, the finance ministry said. The bonds will be sold domestically, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. ($1 = 32.45 baht) (Reporting by Orathai Sriring; Editing by David Stanway)

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Six weeks after earning her initial LPGA victory, Akie Iwai sits in first place after the opening round of the Lotte Championship in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. The 23-year-old Japan native shot an 8-under-par 64 on Wednesday at Hoakalei Country Club to hold a one-stroke lead over Taiwan's Peiyun Chien, Australia's Gabriela Ruffels and Japan's Nasa Hataoka. The Thai duo of Pornanong Phatlum and Patty Tavatanakit share fifth place with South Korea's A Lim Kim, the defending champion, at 66. Jessica Porvasnik and South Koreans Youmin Hwang and Sung Hyun Park are tied for eighth place at 67. Iwai opened the tournament on the back nine and birdied three of her first four holes. She added two more birdies on either side of the turn, then birdied four out of five from No. 4 to No. 8 before making her lone bogey of the day at No. 9. "Everything felt good, so my driver was all consistent," she said. "Yeah, and then played good and (the) putting was good. … I'm looking forward to tomorrow, too." Ruffels had a start that was similar to Iwai's. She started on the back nine and ran off four birdies over the opening five holes, though she mixed in one bogey. Ruffels added another four birdies. "I feel like I'm playing better golf as the season is kind of closing," said Ruffels, who is 66th in the Race to CME Globe points list and needs to get to No. 60 to qualify for the season-ending championship. "Kind of had a rough start the first couple of events of the season, but I feel like my game is kind of getting there. "Yeah, today was a really good one." Chien's bogey-free round featured four birdies on the front nine and three on the back nine. Hataoka was 1 under at the turn after playing the back nine, then had a string of five consecutive birdies. She bogeyed No. 6 but rebounded to birdie Nos. 7 and 9. "Back side, I (was) hitting great putts, so that's why I (shot a) low score today," Hataoka said. World No. 2 Nelly Korda shot a 69 and finished tied for 25th place. –Field Level Media

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Oct 2 (Stats Perform) – Results from the MLB games on Wednesday (home team in CAPS) CLEVELAND 6 Detroit 1 DET 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 1 CLE 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 X – 6 San Diego 3 CHICAGO CUBS 0 SD 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 – 3 CHC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 NY YANKEES 4 Boston 3 BOS 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 – 3 NYY 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 X – 4 LA DODGERS 8 Cincinnati 4 CIN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 – 4 LAD 0 0 1 2 0 4 1 0 X – 8

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NAIROBI, Oct 2 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Thursday. – – – – – EVENTS: *Tanzania's central bank to announces its latest lending rate decision. GLOBAL MARKETS Tech shares rallied on Thursday, driving Asia stock indexes higher, while gold hovered near a record high and the dollar languished as a weak U.S. labour market report bolstered bets for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices rose on Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak and rebounding from 16-week lows on prospects of tighter sanctions on Russian crude, though expectations of higher supply from an OPEC+ output boost next month capped gains. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest news on South African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS The South African rand strengthened on Wednesday, supported by upbeat purchasing managers' index data for the local manufacturing sector and a softer U.S. dollar. NIGERIA CRUDE OIL Exports of four key Nigerian crude oil grades will average around 641,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, preliminary programmes seen by Reuters showed. MADAGASCAR PROTESTS Hundreds of protesters across Madagascar demanded the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina on Wednesday, taking to the streets for a fifth day of demonstrations that have shaken the government, local television broadcasts showed. GHANA INFLATION Ghana's annual consumer inflation rate slowed for the ninth consecutive month in September, falling to 9.4% year-on-year from 11.5% in August, marking its lowest level since August 2021, the statistics service said on Wednesday. MOZAMBIQUE NATURAL GAS Italian energy group Eni is expected to agree a final investment decision for Mozambique's second floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) platform at an event in the capital Maputo on Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on

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Oct 2 (Reuters) – West Indies captain Roston Chase won the toss and elected to bat against India in the opening test of their two-match series that gets underway in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Thrashed 3-0 by Australia on home soil in July, West Indies are missing injured fast bowlers Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph for their first tour of India in seven years. "There's lots of moisture but we'll probably battle that and it looks like its going to be a good wicket," Chase said. "We don't want to be batting last on this wicket because we know it tends to spin in the fourth innings." India are playing their first test at home under captain Shubman Gill after the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin. They will be looking to banish memories of their last home series when they lost 3-0 to New Zealand late last year. World Test Championship points are at stake in the two matches in Ahmedabad and New Delhi, with India gunning for a third final in the competition in 2027 after finishing runners-up in 2021 and 2023. India have selected pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah despite his workload being managed this year due to back problems. The 31-year-old played in only three of the five tests in the team's tied 2-2 series in England during the summer. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )

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SYDNEY, Oct 2 (Reuters) – The Australian and New Zealand dollars inched higher on Thursday as gains in global stock markets supported risk assets generally, though disappointing domestic data proved a headwind for the Aussie. Particularly notable was a miserly 0.1% rise in household spending for August, missing forecasts of 0.3% and the lowest reading in four months. The details showed falls in recreation and alcohol and tobacco spending, suggesting gains in July may have been fuelled by British fans visiting for the Lions rugby tour which then reversed when they left. The pullback could be telling for interest rates given the Reserve Bank of Australia had cited the strength of consumption as one reason it skipped a cut this week. "Given that the RBA still believes that monetary policy is restrictive, a renewed slowdown in consumption growth may well convince policymakers that the economy needs another shot in the arm," said Marcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific economics at Capital Economics. Much still depended on third-quarter consumer price data due later this month where a high reading would likely scupper any chance of an easing in November, he added. Other figures showed Australia's trade surplus shrank to a seven-year low of A$1.8 billion ($1.19 billion) in August as exports of non-monetary gold dived 47% after a run of strong months. Imports rose strongly across the board, implying a risk trade will drag on economic growth this quarter. Markets imply around a 40% chance of a quarter-point rate cut to 3.35% in November and 60% for December. The soft reading kept the Aussie restrained at $0.6615 , having again failed to crack resistance around $0.6630 overnight. Support lies at $0.6580 and $0.6521. The kiwi dollar added 0.2% to $0.5818, after bouncing 0.3% overnight as speculators took profits on short positions. Resistance comes in at $0.5830 and $0.5870. Investors are certain the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will cut its 3.0% rate next week and have steadily pushed up the probability of an outsized half-point easing to 45%. "We expect the RBNZ to cut by 25bp with dovish messaging that leaves open the option of a 50bp cut in November and thereby prevents monetary conditions tightening on the day," said analysts at ANZ in a note. "There are good arguments for front-loading monetary easing, and we'd give a 50bp cut a 35% probability." ($1 = 1.5119 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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* Senior Taiwanese military officer made rare trip to Europe this week * Taiwan has been studying lessons of Ukraine war for its own defence * Taiwan faces stepped up military pressure from China By Ben Blanchard TAIPEI, Oct 2 (Reuters) – If Russia defeats Ukraine it will embolden China's moves towards Taiwan and Taipei hopes that Kyiv emerges victorious, a senior uniformed Taiwanese military officer said this week in a rare visit to Europe to attend a security forum. Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has found an increasingly sympathetic ear in parts of central and eastern Europe since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, even though almost all European countries only maintain formal diplomatic ties with Beijing and not Taipei. Unlike the United States, Europe no longer sells big-ticket defence items to Taiwan, fearful of incurring Beijing's wrath, and open visits to Europe by any Taiwanese military officers are highly unusual. Addressing the Warsaw Security Forum on Tuesday, Hsieh Jih-Sheng, deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence at Taiwan's defence ministry, said the war in Ukraine was being closely watched in Taipei. "We wish for their victory," he said, in footage streamed online from the event, where he attended in person wearing full military uniform and speaking in English. "There are many things that we can learn from the Ukrainian theatre that we can elevate for our overall readiness," Hsieh added. "The defeat of Ukraine will signal that China can take more aggression towards Taiwan." China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, it condemned Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung's attendance at the same forum saying Taiwan was seeking to exaggerate the China threat. Hsieh raised the alarm about China and Russia's joint military drills. "If China moves on Taiwan while Russia increases its offensive in Ukraine, the world could face a two-front geopolitical crisis," he added. "Europe today, you are fighting for your own security. If you help us, we can prevent the possibility of war in the Indo-Pacific." Taiwan has joined in Western sanctions against Russia and has also been studying how the much smaller Ukrainian military has been able to fight its huge neighbour, drawing lessons for how it could deal with any Chinese attack. Taiwan has complained for the past five years of increased Chinese military pressure, both war games and also "grey zone" activities that stop short of open combat but are designed to exert pressure, including cyber attacks and undersea cable sabotage. Hsieh said Taiwan and Europe could learn from each other. "We have been dealing with China's grey zone operations for years. There is a tremendous (amount of experience about) how we counter disinformation that we can share with Europe, and also how we can benefit us, but also benefit European nations," he said. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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* Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix shares surge 4.7%, 12% each * Samsung hits four-year high, SK Hynix at record-high * Their partnership with OpenAI improves outlook for chip demand (Recasts with share price updates, add bullets) SEOUL, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Shares of South Korea's Samsung Electronics jumped 4.7% and SK Hynix soared 12% on Thursday, bolstered by a deal with OpenAI to support the ChatGPT maker's expansive Stargate artificial intelligence data centre project. The partnership, announced late on Wednesday, sent Samsung shares to their highest in more than four years and SK Hynix to an all-time high, adding $37 billion to their combined market capitalisation. Their rally also propelled the benchmark KOSPI index more than 3% to a record. "There have been worries about high bandwidth memory (HBM) chip prices falling next year on intensifying competition, but such worries will be easily resolved by the strategic partnership," Jeff Kim, an analyst at KB Securities, said in a note, expecting a surge in demand from the project. "Since Stargate is a key project led by President Trump, there also is a possibility the partnership will have a positive impact on South Korea's trade negotiations with the U.S.," Kim said. OpenAI, participating in President Donald Trump's $500 billion Stargate private-sector initiative to build AI infrastructure in the U.S., agreed on Wednesday to join forces with the two chipmakers in semiconductor procurement and work on building two data centres in South Korea, a Korean-style Stargate. With the new data centres, which will have an initial capacity of 20 megawatts, Seoul is hoping to become an AI hub in Asia, while OpenAI is looking to cement its position in the country which has the second-largest number of paying ChatGPT users after the United States. Samsung Electronics' affiliates Samsung SDI, Samsung C&T and Samsung SDS also rose sharply on partnerships with the U.S. firm. The global AI boom has been driving strong demand for semiconductors, helping South Korea's exports rise in September at the fastest pace in 14 months despite a hit from U.S. tariffs, blowing past market expectations. South Korea hopes to formalise by late October a preliminary trade deal reached with Trump in July, lowering U.S. tariffs on South Korean imports in return for a $350 billion investment in the U.S. However, follow-up negotiations have stalled due to Seoul's concerns over the foreign exchange implications and structure of the investment package. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jacqueline Wong)

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By Junko Fujita TOKYO, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Japan's Nikkei share average gained slightly on Thursday after four straight sessions of losses, as chip-related stocks tracked their U.S. peers higher. The Nikkei rose 0.28% to 44,675.96 by the midday break after shedding 2.6% in the last four sessions, with some analysts expecting the recovery to be short-lived given the fall in the broader Topix. Earlier in the day, the Nikkei rose as much as 1.3%. The Topix fell 0.72% to 3,072.32. "Retail investors refrain from buying stocks as they are waiting for the shares to fall further," said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research department at Tachibana Securities. "The Nikkei has risen too high. The decline in the Topix index is a real reflection of the market sentiment." The Nikkei, which is heavily weighted by chip-related shares, hit a record high last month, helped by gains in chip-related shares. It has risen 12% so far this year, heading for a third straight annual gain. Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 5.7% on Thursday after the U.S. Philadelphia chip index notched a record high overnight. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rose 2.11% and artificial intelligence technology investor SoftBank Group jumped 5.13%. "Investors who bet on U.S. technology stocks bought Japanese tech shares today," Kamada said. Bank shares fell, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group down 1.64%. Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 1.25% and 0.99%, respectively. Auto shares fell, with Toyota Motor and Honda Motor losing 0.99% and 1.59%, respectively. Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's prime market, 74% fell, 22% rose and 2% traded flat. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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