- Stock Futures Fall, Dollar Gains on Tariff Jitters: Markets Wrap
US equity-index futures retreated and the dollar strengthened after President Donald Trump ratcheted up
trade tensions yet again by suggesting higher tariff rates on most trading partners. Contracts for the S&P 500
and European stocks fell 0.2% after Trump said Thursday he plans to impose blanket levies of 15% or 20%. The
current blanket tariff rate is 10%. A gauge of the dollar rose 0.2%. The Canadian dollar weakened after Trump
said he will impose 35% levy on some goods from the country. Gold gained for a third day and Treasuries edged
lower. Trump is also planning to make a “major statement” on Russia and is mulling the use of sanctions. Asian
equities rose 0.4%, led by Hong Kong shares. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists raised their forecast for Asia
ex-Japan stocks, citing a more favorable macro environment and lower tariff risk. - S&P, Nasdaq close at fresh records as traders shake off tariff worries
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached new milestones on Thursday as investors continued to shrug off
tariff worries. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at all-time highs, with the broad index gaining
0.27% to end the day at 6,280.46. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 0.09% to 20,630.67. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 192 points, or 0.43%, to finish at 44,650.64. - Oil falls more than 2% amid bearish Trump tariff outlook
Oil prices fell more than 2% on Thursday, as investors weighed the potential impact of U.S. President Donald
Trump’s tariffs on global economic growth. Brent crude futures fell $1.55, or 2.21%, to close at $68.64 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost $1.81, or 2.65%, to settle at $66.57 a barrel. On Wednesday, Trump
threatened Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, with a punitive 50% tariff on exports to the U.S., after a
public dispute with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Brazil’s Lula called a meeting with
ministers on Thursday to decide his country’s reaction, having hinted in a post on social media on Wednesday
that tariffs would be met with reciprocal measures. Trump has also announced plans for tariffs on copper,
semiconductors and pharmaceuticals and his administration sent tariff letters to the Philippines, Iraq and
others, adding to over a dozen letters issued earlier in the week including for powerhouse U.S. suppliers South
Korea and Japan. Trump’s history of back-pedalling on tariffs has caused the market to become less reactive to
such announcements, said Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group. “People are
largely in wait-and-see mode, given the erratic nature of policymaking and the flexibility the administration is
showing around tariffs,” Tchilinguirian said. Policymakers remain worried about the inflationary pressures from
Trump’s tariffs, with only “a couple” of officials at the Federal Reserve’s June 17-18 meeting saying they felt
interest rates could be reduced as soon as this month, minutes of the meeting released on Wednesday showed.
Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive and reduce demand for oil. OPEC+ oil producers are set
to approve another big output boost for September, as they complete both the unwinding of voluntary
production cuts by eight members and the United Arab Emirates’ move to a larger quota. - Gold steadies as firmer dollar counters trade tensions
Gold prices were little changed on Thursday as a stronger U.S. dollar offset the impact of U.S. President Donald
Trump’s latest tariffs in driving buying by investors seeking shelter from geopolitical risk. Spot gold was up 0.1%
at $3,317.44 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% higher at $3,325.7. The U.S. dollar index drifted 0.2%
higher. Gold tends to lose appeal when the U.S. dollar strengthens, as it becomes more expensive for investors
holding other currencies. “Unless there’s a major geopolitical escalation, I don’t see gold breaking above
$3,400. In the near term, I think gold will stay in a range,” said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO
Futures. Trump launched a further tariff assault on Wednesday, announcing a new 50% tariff on U.S. copper
imports and a 50% duty on goods from Brazil, both to start on August 1. There is a “rising appeal for gold among
emerging economy nations, which see the metal’s counterparty-free qualities as attractive in a world burdened
by persistent geopolitical risk,” Paul Wong, Market Strategist at Sprott Asset Management, said in a note.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting showed only “a couple” of officials felt interest rates could
be reduced as soon as this month, with most policymakers remaining worried about the inflationary pressure
they expect from tariffs. On the data front, the number of Americans filing applications for jobless benefits
unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting employers may be retaining workers despite other indications of a
cooling labor market. Among other metals, spot silver rose 1.5% to $36.87 per ounce. - Trump announces 35% tariffs on Canada starting Aug. 1, warns of higher levies if Ottawa retaliates
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a 35% tariff on Canadian imports, starting Aug. 1. Trump
attributed fentanyl and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs as reasons for the rate. The 35% duty might be increased if
Canada continues to retaliate, Trump said. Trump told NBC news Thursday that he intends to impose blanket
tariffs of 15% or 20% on most trade partners. - Trump’s 200% tariff threat leaves pharma firms scrambling with scenario planning
The pharmaceutical industry is scrambling with scenario planning as U.S. President Donald Trump’s 200% tariff
proposal threatens to drive up drug prices and rip out corporate profit margins. The president once again
warned on Tuesday that long-awaited industry-wide tariffs would be announced “very soon” after the
administration launched a so-called 232 investigation into the sector in April. Trump suggested that those
levies would not go into effect immediately, but get a grace period of “about a year, year and a half to come
in.” Analysts nevertheless warn that such a rate — even with a delay — will have a detrimental effect on drug
prices and profit margins. “A 200% tariff would inflate production costs, compress profit margins, and risk
supply chain disruptions, leading to drug shortages and higher prices for U.S. consumers,” Barclays wrote in a
note Wednesday. UBS analysts cited a “significant negative impact” on margins, where goods are
manufactured outside of the U.S. Meanwhile, the hit for patients could be “disastrous,” Afsaneh Beschloss,
founder and CEO of investment firm RockCreek Group said Tuesday, in reference to an estimated 100% levy.
“That would be potentially disastrous for every person because we need those pharmaceuticals, and it takes
those companies a long time to produce them here in the U.S.,” Beschloss told CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” It is
estimated that a tariff of just 25% on pharmaceutical imports would drive up U.S. drug prices by almost $51
billion annually, increasing domestic prices by as much as 12.9% if passed on, according to research from
industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which on Wednesday
lambasted the president’s proposals as “counterproductive” to health outcomes. - UK economy contracts again in May, missing expectations for slight rebound
The U.K. economy shrank again in May, data showed Friday. The latest monthly growth figures from the Office
for National Statistics showed U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.1% month-on-month in May.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 0.1% expansion. The latest data follows a contraction of 0.3% in
April when domestic tax rises were introduced and U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on trading
partners and adversaries alike. The tariffs frenzy sent global markets into a tailspin and created widespread
business uncertainty. The U.K. was hit with a 10% “reciprocal tariff” from Trump despite having a more-or-less
balanced trading relationship with the U.S. when it comes to the exchange of goods, although it runs a large
surplus when it comes to services, according to ONS trade data for 2024. Britain has since struck a trade deal
with the U.S., however, becoming the first country to do so as tetchy trade talks continue for other trading
partners, including the European Union which is still waiting to sign a trade agreement with Washington.
Despite having the comfort of a U.S. trade deal, the U.K. is facing domestic economic headwinds and the first
quarter’s bumper 0.7% expansion in GDP (attributed to a likely frontloading of economic activity ahead of
Trump’s trade tariffs) is not expected to be repeated in subsequent quarterly updates. The first estimate of
second quarter (Q2) GDP is due on Aug. 14. Instead, economists expect growth to slow in the rest of the year
amid a weaker jobs market and ongoing economic uncertainty, while the Bank of England forecasts a lackluster
1% growth rate in 2025. - Bitcoin sets another record above $113,000 as investors jump into risk assets, liquidate shorts
Bitcoin climbed to new all-time high on Thursday, building on its previous record reached just a day earlier, as
investors jumped into risk assets and liquidated short positions. The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was
last higher by about 2% at $113,459.16. Earlier, it rose as high as $113,863.18. On Thursday afternoon, bitcoin
saw about $318 million in short liquidations across centralized exchanges in a 24 hour period, according to
CoinGlass. When traders use leverage to short bitcoin and the cryptocurrency’s price rises, they buy bitcoin
back from the market to close their positions, which pushes the price up and causes more positions to be
liquidated. Altcoins, or cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin, joined the rally for a second day after many
investors had started to lose hope that they would show signs of life this year. Ether and the Solana token
gained about than 2% each. Dogecoin and the token tied to Cardano advanced more than 5%
each. XRP and litecoin rose 3%. Crypto stocks gained as well. Bitcoin mining stocks Mara Holdings and Riot
Platforms rose more than 2% each, while crypto trading platforms Coinbase and Robinhood each advanced
4%. Bitcoin has traded in a tight range for several weeks despite billions of dollars flowing into bitcoin exchange
traded funds, which has helped the price stay above the $100,000 level for more than 60 consecutive days.
Public companies have also been on a bitcoin buying spree and outpaced bitcoin ETF inflows in the second
quarter. Bitcoin’s climb this week began on Wednesday, when investors returned to risk-on mode, driving the
tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite to a record close and giving a boost to cryptocurrencies. Between big purchases
from institutions and optimism on the regulatory front with Congress making progress on stablecoin legislation,
investors were expecting bitcoin to push to new heights in the second half of the year. - Delta shares jump 10% after airline reinstates 2025 profit outlook as CEO says bookings stabilized
Delta Air Lines expects 2025 adjusted earnings of between $5.25 and $6.25 a share, down from a January
forecast of more than $7.35 a share. The airline said in April that it couldn’t reaffirm its financial targets for the
year. Delta’s third-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts topped estimates. - US-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 0.9% after the chipmaker reported its
June sales. Analysts said the sales are stronger than they appear given the impact of currencies
Bernstein (outperform): The sales are “in line with the guidance midpoint and 0.5% above consensus,” but “as
FX is likely to present a close to 5% headwind, this implies TSMC’s 2Q25 revenue in USD actually beat even the
high end of its guided range by c. 3%”. Foreign exchange is “a stiff headwind but we believe price hike will
partially mitigate its burden”. Wedbush (outperform): “This ‘in-line’ result in TWD comes despite substantial
strengthening of the TWD over the past two months,” and in US dollar terms, “our math suggests TSMC sales
should have been around $30.2B, or roughly 5% ahead of the midpoint of TSMC’s guidance”. “We again view
TSMC’s strength as a testament to the continued momentum of AI silicon”. JUNE RESULTS: Sales NT$263.71
billion. Monthly sales (Y/y) +26.9%. Monthly sales (M/m) -17.7%. YTD sales NT$1.77 trillion. YTD sales (Y/y)
+40%. - Advanced Micro Devices rose 4.2% as HSBC upgraded the semiconductor maker to buy from hold, and
doubled its price target to $200, matching the Street-high
Analysts including Frank Lee say there could be significant upside to 2026 AI revenue estimates, and this is not
priced-in to the stock. Bank’s revised forecast of $15.1 billion is 57% above consensus, driven by higher-than
expected pricing premium of the recent MI350 series launch. Lee says HSBC previously underestimated the
pricing premium for the MI350 series. However, with performance comparable to Nvidia’s B200, the bank now
believes the average selling price for MI355 can be $25,000 versus previous assumption of $15,000. HSBC is
also encouraged by the MI400 rack architecture, due to be launched in 2026, though it remains too early to
quantify. - Tesla to open first India store on July 15 in Mumbai
Electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) inched closer to start its sales in India, as it said on Friday it would
be opening its first showroom at the financial hub of Mumbai on July 15, dubbed as an “experience center”.
Reuters reported in March that the Elon Musk-led company had signed a lease deal to open its first showroom
in Mumbai to start its sales in India. As a part of its entry into the South Asian nation, the EV maker had stepped
up hiring and in the past was scouting for showroom sites in Mumbai and India’s capital city, New Delhi.
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