- Dollar Rises, Stocks Waver After Trump-Powell Saga: Markets Wrap
The dollar recouped some of Wednesday’s losses and Asian stocks struggled for direction after US markets had
a volatile session amid speculation about the future of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The greenback
gained versus all its Group-of-10 peers, resuming this month’s advance. The yen weakened to 148.41 per dollar
as some currency strategists predicted a possible slide past 150. The Aussie declined and government bonds
fell as bets the central bank will cut rates in August firmed up. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co. dipped before earnings later Thursday. Equity-index futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, following a gain in
the US session after President Donald Trump played down the prospect he may soon fire Powell. Treasuries
dipped with yields on the 10-year rising one basis point to 4.47%. - Dow adds 200 points, S&P 500 rises in volatile trading as Trump denies he’s firing Powell
Stocks went on a wild ride Wednesday as a White House official indicated to CNBC that President Donald Trump
was moving closer to firing Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman, initially knocking down the S&P 500.
The benchmark rebounded as Trump later denied the report, but traders remained concerned he could follow
through. The S&P 500 added 0.32% and ended at 6,263.70. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.26%, settling at
20,730.49 and posting its ninth record close of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 231.49 points,
or 0.53%, ending at 44,254.78. At its low of the session, the 30-stock index dropped 264.31 points, or 0.6%. - Oil rises as demand hopes and economic data lift sentiment
Oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, reversing the previous session’s losses, buoyed by stronger-than
expected economic data from the world’s top oil consumers and signs of easing trade tensions. Brent crude
futures rose 27 cents, or 0.39%, to $68.79 a barrel at 0000 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude
futures were up 31 cents, or 0.47%, at $66.69. Both benchmarks fell more than 0.2% in the previous session.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information
Administration said on Wednesday, a steeper decline than forecasts for a 552,000-barrel draw, suggesting
stronger refinery activity, tighter supply, and increased demand. There is “some support from the favorable
margin environment associated with the refining sector. Product spreads remain relatively wide in all the
regions,” said John Paisie, president of Stratas Advisors. However, larger-than-expected builds in gasoline and
diesel inventories capped price gains. The U.S. central bank’s latest snapshot of the economy, released on
Wednesday, showed activity picked up in recent weeks. However, the outlook was “neutral to slightly
pessimistic” as businesses reported that higher import tariffs were putting upward pressure on prices. China
data showed growth slowed in the second quarter, but not by as much as previously feared, in part because of
front-loading to beat U.S. tariffs, easing fears over the state of the world’s largest crude importer’s economy.
The data also showed that China’s June crude oil throughput was up 8.5% from a year ago, implying stronger
fuel demand. - Gold prices slip as dollar firms, Trump eases Powell uncertainty
Gold prices dipped on Thursday, pressured by a firmer dollar and easing market tensions after U.S. President
Donald Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Spot gold was down 0.2% at $3,340.79 per ounce, as of 0400 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4% to $3,347.10. The
dollar index edged 0.1% higher against its rivals, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for other
currency holders. “Gold dropped $3,340/oz as the U.S. dollar regained ground following eased uncertainty over
the Federal Reserve chair’s position” said Jigar Trivedi, senior commodity analyst at Reliance Securities. Trump
is open to the idea of firing Fed’s Powell, a source told Reuters on Wednesday. However, Trump said on
Wednesday that he is not planning to fire Powell, but kept the door open to the possibility and renewed his
criticism of the central bank chief for not lowering interest rates. Data showed that U.S. producer prices were
unexpectedly unchanged in June as an increase in the cost of goods because of tariffs on imports was offset by
weakness in services. “June’s flat U.S. PPI reading indicated steady wholesale prices, suggesting tariffs may be
impacting the economy less than initially feared,” Trivedi said. On the trade front, EU trade chief
Maros Sefcovic headed to Washington on Wednesday for tariff talks, an EU spokesperson told Reuters, adding
that he will meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Elsewhere, spot silver edged 0.1% higher to $37.98 per ounce. - Trump denies that he plans to fire Powell: ‘Highly unlikely’
President Donald Trump plans to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “soon,” according to a White
House official. Trump told a group of House Republicans about the plan Tuesday night, but pressure has been
growing on Powell for months. Other Republicans, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, insist Trump has
no plans to dismiss the central bank leader. - Wholesale inflation measure was unchanged in June
A measure of wholesale prices showed no change in June, providing a conflicting sign over whether tariffs
threaten to boost inflation in the coming months. The producer price index was flat, according to seasonally
adjusted numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones
had been looking for an increase of 0.2%. The same was true for core PPI, which also was expected to show a
0.2% increase. - China’s premier urges tighter price oversight as deflation pressures squeeze economy
Chinese Premier Li Qiang singled out the electric-vehicle sector, urging strengthened cost oversight and price
monitoring. Beijing needs to balance the task of curbing excess supply without stalling growth or putting jobs
at risk, economists say. Some industrial players have reportedly planned to cut output, but it is unlikely to
translate into a broader supply drawback, economists say. - Crypto regulation bills move forward after record-setting House vote
The future of three crypto bills in Congress is uncertain after two days of House Republican infighting over the
contents of the legislation and the process for moving it. House Speaker Mike Johnson spent around 10 hours
trying to unite his conference enough to push through a procedural vote to approve rules of debate for the
crypto bills and an adjacent Pentagon appropriations package. The rules were only approved after a group of
‘no’ votes flipped to yesses. - J&J beat Wall Street’s quarterly sales expectations and raised its full-year outlook, showing confidence as
the pharmaceutical industry faces threats of tariffs and a crackdown on drug pricing
Sales in the quarter were $23.7 billion, the company said, ahead of analysts’ $22.8 billion average estimate.
J&J increased the midpoint of its 2025 revenue projection by $2 billion to $93.4 billion. The company raised
the midpoint of its full-year adjusted earnings outlook by 25 cents to between $10.80 and $10.90 per share.
Darzalex beat estimates for the quarter, bringing in $3.54 billion, while Tremfya exceeded expectations with
$1.19 billion. Tremfya, approved to treat inflammatory bowel disease, is now on pace to reach $10 billion in
peak yearly sales, CFO Joe Wolk said. The company’s medical devices business contributed $8.54 billion,
surpassing projections. Stelara, whose key patents expired last year, brought in $1.65 billion during the quarter,
missing analysts’ view in what could be a sign that J&J’s fading cash cow might decline faster than expected.
Wolk said a slow ramp-up to tariffs would be good news, as it shows an understanding that biopharmaceutical
manufacturing facilities cannot be set up overnight. Shares rose 6.2%. - ASML Holding NV Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet walked back his forecast that sales will
grow next year, blaming trade disputes and global tensions
Fouquet said “we continue to see increasing uncertainty driven by macro-economic and geopolitical
developments,” and therefore cannot confirm growth in 2026 at this stage. ASML forecast third-quarter net
sales between €7.4 billion and €7.9 billion, which was below the €8.2 billion average analyst estimate. ASML
reported bookings of €5.5 billion in the second quarter, beating estimates. ASML plans to stop reporting the
figure next year, arguing orders don’t always reflect its business momentum. Shares slumped 11.4%. - Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock traders posted the largest revenue haul in Wall Street history, with
equity-trading revenue of $4.3 billion for the second quarter
According to Chief Executive Officer David Solomon, “the economy and markets are generally responding
positively to the evolving policy environment,” but the company remains focused on risk management. The
firm’s fixed-income traders reported $3.47 billion of revenue, and investment-banking fees jumped to $2.19
billion, with a 71% gain in financial-advisory revenue driven by fees from mergers and acquisitions. Total
management fees in asset and wealth management — a key growth area for the bank — rose 11% compared
to a year earlier, though net revenue dipped slightly to $3.78 billion. Shares rose 0.9%. - Morgan Stanley’s stock traders scored their best second quarter on record, earning $3.72 billion in equity
trading revenue, a 23% jump from a year ago
The firm’s wealth management unit reeled in $59.2 billion of net new assets in the period, surpassing
predictions, and the wealth-management business posted $7.76 billion in net revenue, also surpassing analyst
forecasts. Morgan Stanley’s investment-banking fees fell 5% to $1.54 billion, a smaller drop than analysts
expected due to a 42% increase in equity underwriting. Both advisory and debt underwriting dropped from a
year ago and fell short of analyst estimates. Non-interest expenses came in at nearly $12 billion for the quarter,
higher than the $11.5 billion expected by analysts. Shares fell 1.3%. - Renault SA sank after slashing its profitability outlook and naming Duncan Minto interim chief executive
officer
The company cut its guidance for operating margins this year to around 6.5% (from at least 7% previously),
citing intensifying competition and declines in the automotive market. Renault’s new management will try to
continue a turnaround started under Luca de Meo, who refreshed Renault’s lineup and bolstered profitability,
according to the company. Renault shares tumbled 18.5%. - TSMC Q2 profit soars 61% to record high, beats expectations on solid AI demand
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC) clocked a sharp rise in its second-quarter net profit on
Thursday, beating market expectations as the chipmaker continued to benefit from robust artificial intelligence
demand. TSMC’s (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM) net income rose 60.7% to T$398.27 billion ($13.52 billion) in the three
months to June 30. The print was higher than Reuters expectations of T$377.4 billion, and translated to
earnings per share of T$15.36 ($2.47 per American Depository Receipt). Revenue jumped 38.6% to T$933.79
billion, the company said in a statement. The robust print was driven chiefly by strong AI-fueled demand for
TSMC’s 3 nanometer and 5nm wafer technology, which is a key component of advanced AI processors. This
helped offset a smaller revenue contribution from smartphone and device chip sales. Thursday’s print showed
TSMC faced limited earnings headwinds from unfavorable foreign exchange rates, after the Taiwan dollar
appreciated sharply against the dollar in the past two months. TSMC is the world’s largest contract chipmaker,
and is a key supplier to AI darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and other major AI server makers. The company
clocked a stellar bump-up in earnings and valuation over the past two years, amid rapidly growing AI demand.
But focus is now on the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed trade tariffs. While the
company has committed a total $165 billion to building more production capacity in the U.S., to avoid said
tariffs, it remains to be seen just how of an impact the levies will have.
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