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FINWIRES

US Dollar Rises Early Wednesday Before Import Prices, Empire, Beige Book

-- The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Wednesday ahead of the release of import and export price data for March and the New York Federal Reserve's Empire manufacturing index for April, as well as an appearance by Fed Governor Michael Barr, all at 8:30 am ET.

The National Association of Home Builders sentiment reading for April is due to be released at 10:00 am ET, followed by weekly petroleum stocks data at 10:30 am ET.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is due to speak at 1:45 pm ET, the Fed's Beige Book report is due to be released at 2:00 pm ET and the Treasury's TICS report for February is due at 4:00 pm ET.

Earlier Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers' Association said that a decline in mortgage rates lifted refinancing activity, though home purchase activity declined due to continued uncertainty.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Wednesday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.1778 from 1.1792 at the Tuesday US close and 1.1797 at the same time Tuesday morning. Eurozone industrial production rebounded in February from a decline in the previous month. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is due to speak at 3:30 pm ET, followed by ECB policy board member Isabel Schnabel at 4:00 pm ET and ECB policy board member Philip Lane at 11:40 pm ET. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for April 30.

GBP/USD fell to 1.3552 from 1.3564 at the Tuesday US close and 1.3559 at the same time Tuesday morning. There are no UK data on Wednesday's schedule, but Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is due to speak at 11:50 am ET and again at 2:00 pm ET. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for April 30.

USD/JPY rose to 158.9718 from 158.8620 at the Tuesday US close and 158.7746 at the same time Tuesday morning. Japanese business conditions slowed in April according to the Reuters Tankan survey released overnight, while core machinery orders improved in February after a decline in the previous month. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for April 27-28.

USD/CAD rose to 1.3781 from 1.3770 at the Tuesday US close and 1.3751 at the same time Tuesday morning. Canadian manufacturing and wholesale sales data for February are due to be released at 8:30 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for April 29.

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Australia

Intel Poised for 'Slight Beat' Amid Solid Server CPU Demand, RBC Says

Intel (INTC) is expected to report a "slight beat" in its fiscal first-quarter results amid robust server central processing unit demand, RBC Capital Markets said in a note e-mailed Tuesday.On Thursday, the chipmaker is likely to post adjusted per-share earnings and revenue above RBC's projections for breakeven and $12.20 billion, respectively, for the March quarter, according to the brokerage. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $0.02 and sales of $12.42 billion."We expect a slight beat/raise driven by strong server CPU demand," RBC analyst Srini Pajjuri said. "(Personal computer) market also appears to be holding up for now."First-quarter revenue in the company's data center and artificial intelligence segment is pegged at $4.3 billion, representing a 3% annual gain, with room for potential upside, according to RBC."While demand remains strong, management expected internal wafer supply constraints to be most acute in (the first quarter) which could limit near-term upside," Pajjuri wrote. "Recent media reports point to Intel raising prices which should help."For the current quarter, RBC expects Intel to issue an outlook above Wall Street's estimates of $13.1 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $0.09, driven by server CPU demand and improving wafer supply.The data center and AI business is projected to see sequential growth of 10% in the second quarter, with RBC seeing potential upside amid improving supply and healthy pricing. The brokerage expects server demand to continue to benefit from agentic AI and sees industry supply remaining "tight" through 2026, it said in the note.RBC maintained its sector perform rating on Intel's stock with a $48 price target.The company's shares were up 0.3% in Tuesday afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-gains to nearly 79%.Last year, the US government agreed to invest $8.9 billion in Intel's common stock as part of a deal to secure a stake in the company. Separately, Nvidia (NVDA) agreed to inject $5 billion in Intel under a collaboration that aims to develop new data center and PC chips.Price: $66.04, Change: $+0.34, Percent Change: +0.52%

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Australia

Scholastic Reports Preliminary Results of Dutch Auction Tender Offer

Scholastic (SCHL) on Tuesday announced preliminary results from its modified Dutch auction tender offer, which closed on Monday.The company said that shareholders tendered a total of about 2.85 million shares at or below the $40 per share purchase price, including about 1 million shares that were tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery.Based on the preliminary count, Scholastic expects to purchase all properly tendered shares at $40 each, for a total cost of about $114.1 million, excluding fees and expenses, it added.The company said that following completion of the offer, it expects nearly 17.9 million shares to remain outstanding, representing a reduction of about 13.7% in its share count.Shares of Scholastic rose 2.3% in the session.Price: $40.69, Change: $+0.93, Percent Change: +2.34%

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Sectors

Sector Update: Financial

Financial stocks were declining in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.7% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.6%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 0.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) fell 1.8%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.9% to $75,117, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 5 basis points to 4.30%.In corporate news, Coinbase (COIN) and Gemini Titan have been sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly violating the state laws against against illegal gambling with their prediction markets, Reuters reported, citing complaints filed in a state court in Manhattan. Coinbase shares fell nearly 7%.

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