- Futures Fall on Tariffs, Bitcoin Hits $120,000: Markets Wrap
Equity-index futures retreated and Asian shares edged down in a cautious start to the week after President
Donald Trump dialed up trade tensions by announcing a 30% tariff on goods from the European Union and
Mexico. Contracts for the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and those for European stocks dipped 0.6%. Asian shares were flat,
with small gains in Hong Kong and mainland China. Silver gained to trade near the highest level since 2011.
Bitcoin breached $120,000 for the first time. The yen rose against the dollar while bond futures dropped after
a report that Bank of Japan officials may consider raising at least one of their inflation forecasts at a policy
meeting later this month. - Dow falls 280 points, S&P logs weekly loss as Trump trade war escalates
Stocks closed lower Friday, a day after the S&P 500 posted a new record high and President Donald Trump
announced a 35% tariff on Canada and threatened higher tariffs across the board. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average lost 279.13 points, or 0.63%, to close at 44,371.51. The S&P 500 slid 0.33% to end at 6,259.75, and
the Nasdaq Composite ended the day 0.22% lower at 20,585.53. Friday’s losses, driven by an escalation in the
trade war, came after all three major averages rose during Thursday’s session. After Thursday’s market close,
Trump cited fentanyl as a reason for higher Canada duties, adding that they would go higher if the country
retaliates. “If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to
this letter,” Trump said in a letter posted on Truth Social. Trump then told NBC News he was planning blanket
tariffs of 15% to 20% on remaining countries, higher than the current 10% standard that investors had grown
comfortable with. - Oil edges up, investors eye Trump statement on Russia
Oil prices nudged higher on Monday, adding to gains of more than 2% from Friday, as investors eyed further
U.S. sanctions on Russia that may affect global supplies, but a ramp-up in Saudi output and ongoing tariff
uncertainty limited gains. Brent crude futures rose 8 cents to $70.44 a barrel by 0011 GMT, extending a 2.51%
gain on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed to $68.50, up 5 cents, after settling 2.82%
higher in the previous session. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will send Patriot air defense
missiles to Ukraine. He is due to make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday. Trump has expressed
frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin due to the lack of progress in ending the war in Ukraine and
Russia’s intensifying bombardment of Ukrainian cities. In a bid to pressure Moscow into good-faith peace
negotiations with Ukraine, a bipartisan U.S. bill that would hit Russia with sanctions gained momentum last
week in Congress, but it still awaits support from Trump. European Union envoys are on the verge of agreeing
an 18th package of sanctions against Russia that would include a lower price cap on Russian oil, four EU sources
said after a Sunday meeting. Last week, Brent rose 3%, while WTI had a weekly gain of around 2.2%, after
the International Energy Agency said the global oil market may be tighter than it appears, with demand
supported by peak summer refinery runs to meet travel and power generation. - Goldprices scale three-week peak as Trump widens trade war
Gold prices touched a three-week high on Monday, supported by safe-haven demand after U.S. President
Donald Trump threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union and Mexico.
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $3,361.19 per ounce, as of 0134 GMT, after hitting its highest point since June 23
earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures climbed 0.4% to $3,376. “We are seeing safe-haven demand coming
back into the picture due to this uncertainty on the implementation of U.S. global trade tariffs policy,” OANDA
senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said. “Near-term outlook looks positive for gold and if gold prices are able
to have a daily close above $3,360, it could potentially advance higher towards the next resistance level at
$3,435.” Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European
Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a
comprehensive trade deal. Both the European Union and Mexico described the tariffs unfair and disruptive,
while the E.U. said it would extend its suspension of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until early August and
continue to press for a negotiated settlement. Investors now await the U.S. inflation data for June due on
Tuesday for more cues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path. Markets are currently pricing in just over
50 basis points worth of Fed easing by December. Gold, often considered as a safe-haven asset during
economic uncertainties, tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment. Meanwhile, gold speculators cut
net long positions by 1,855 contracts to 134,842 in the week ended July 8. Spot silver gained 0.6% to $38.59
per ounce. - Chinese car brands are rapidly making inroads in Europe’s EV utopia
China is swiftly capturing market share in Norway, the world’s most electric vehicle-friendly country. From the
first delivery of an MG in January 2020, Chinese EV brands have since gone onto capture a combined market
share of roughly 10% in Norway. The explosive growth is particularly notable given the Nordic country’s
decision not to impose tariffs on Chinese EV imports. - Trump announces tariffs of 30% on Mexico and the European Union
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened duties of 30% on products from Mexico and the European
Union, two of America’s biggest trading partners, in an ongoing tariff campaign that’s upended global trade
since he retook office in January. “The United States of America has agreed to continue working with the
European Union, despite having one of our largest Trade Deficits with you. Nevertheless, we have decided to
move forward, but only with more balanced and fair TRADE,” Trump wrote in the letter to Ursula von der
Leyen, president of the European Commission, which he posted to Truth Social. Trump has imposed a slate of
tariffs on US trading partners this year – then paused, modified, raised or lowered them, in a chaotic barrage
of policy actions that’s left everyone from major nations to individual Americans trying to figure out how to
plan for the future even as economic uncertainty grows. The EU and Mexico join a growing list of countries
whose imports will face updated duties on August 1, since Trump began posting tariff letters on Monday with
rates of up to 40%. In his letters to the EU and Mexico, Trump said that all imports were subject to the 30%
tariff, excluding “Sectoral Tariffs,” such as the 25% auto tariff. Von der Leyen said Saturday in a statement that
the EU remains “ready to continue working towards an agreement” by the August 1 deadline. But, she said, a
30% tariff on EU exports would hurt supply chains, businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
The EU “will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate
countermeasures if required,” von der Leyen wrote. - Bitcoin hits new all-time highs as it crosses past $120,000, fueled by ETF inflows
Bitcoin extended gains Monday to hit a new milestone, breaking past $120,000, fueled by a rally in the
cryptocurrency’s ETFs. The price of the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization topped $122,600 at
1:27 p.m. Singapore time, according to data from Coin Metrics. The rally has seen bitcoin reach new highs amid
more inflows into bitcoin ETFs. On Thursday, bitcoin ETFs had logged their biggest day of inflows in 2025 at
$1.18 billion. “We believe that Bitcoin’s surge is driven by longer-term institutional buyers and this will propel
it to $125k in the next month or two,” Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at cryptocurrency exchange BTSE, said
in a statement sent to CNBC. “Trump’s trade disputes with the likes of the EU, Mexico, and other trading
partners could cause dips in the week ahead, but it’s likely that Bitcoin’s institutional buyers are discounting
this risk and maintaining their positions that Bitcoin will still appreciate in the long run,” he added. - Singapore warns of ‘uncertainty’ after it averts a technical recession on manufacturing and construction
growth
Singapore’s economy grew at 1.4% quarter on quarter in the second quarter of 2025, a reversal from the 0.5%
contraction seen in the first quarter. The GDP growth was led by the manufacturing sector, which expanded
5.5% year over year. The data also comes ahead of a monetary policy decision by the country’s central bank
later in July. - BP shares rose 3.4% after analysts said an encouraging second-quarter update will lift earnings
expectations, noting the oil giant’s strong trading performance following a weak update from peer Shell
earlier this week
Citi (buy): “Finally some encouraging news from BP, with a 2Q25 outlook statement that should reverse the
swath of negative revisions that consensus has made in recent weeks,” writes analyst Alastair Syme. The big
takeaway is that trading was better than the previous quarter, noting strong oil trading while others de-risked
books amid the geopolitical storm. Heading in the right direction with small drop in net debt, but leverage
remains high and this is expected to feed into a reduction in buybacks in 2Q. Makes minor adjustments to
estimates, but already 15%-20% above where consensus has moved in recent weeks. Jefferies (hold, PT 390p):
This update should push consensus earnings up by over 10%, driven by higher-than-expected upstream
volumes and better trading contribution than anticipated — especially after Shell’s recent update, according
to analyst Giacomo Romeo. Also sees small upside to consensus for cashflow from operations pre-working
capital. Guidance for slightly lower net debt should also be well-received. - NIO shares rose 5.7% on Friday. The company’s family-oriented sub-brand Onvo reportedly kicked off
pre-sales for its new flagship SUV, the L90
Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsiao reiterated his Buy rating on Nio, with a $5.90 price target, citing the launch
of the Onvo L90 electric SUV as a key catalyst. Onvo set an initial price of RMB279,900 ($39,000), including an
85-kWh battery — under CEO William Li’s previously stated RMB300,000 target and potentially even lower at
official launch. The L90 is expected to undercut Li Auto’s upcoming Li i8 and its premium Li L9 model, which
starts at RMB409,800, CnEV Post adds. - Albemarle shares dropped 4.4% as UBS analyst Joshua Spector cut the lithium producer to sell from
neutral and trimmed the price target to $57 from $64, encouraging investors to “fade the bounce” as he
expects lithium prices will remain low
“Lithium markets will remain oversupplied through 2026”. Says that Albemarle has been working to get its free
cash flow to neutral through the lithium downturn and has cut capital expenditures. Sees “more downside risk
to shares medium term”. - Paypal stock falls after JPMorgan plans data access fees
Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL) stock fell 5.73% and Block, Inc (NYSE:XYZ) dropped 5.26% after reports that JPMorgan
Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) plans to charge fintech companies for access to customer data. According to
Bloomberg, JPMorgan has distributed pricing sheets to data aggregators outlining new fees that could amount
to hundreds of millions of dollars. These aggregators serve as intermediaries connecting banks and fintech
companies. The fees will vary based on how companies utilize the information, with payment-focused firms
facing higher charges. The new fee structure is expected to be implemented later this year, pending the
outcome of a Biden administration regulation. The charges are not yet finalized and could be subject to
negotiation. A JPMorgan spokesperson stated that the bank has made significant investments to create a
secure system protecting consumer data. “We’ve had productive conversations and are working with the entire
ecosystem to ensure we’re all making the necessary investments in the infrastructure that keeps our customers
safe,” the spokesperson said. The move by the largest U.S. bank could potentially disrupt business models
across the fintech industry, as companies that have previously accessed customer banking information without
direct charges would now face substantial fees for this data access.
