- Stocks Edge Up, Futures Dip After China-US Talks: Markets Wrap
Asian stocks posted modest gains after US and Chinese officials struck an optimistic tone at the end of two days
of talks aimed at defusing trade tensions. Shares in mainland China stood out. A regional stock gauge edged up
0.3%. Hong Kong’s 1% advance and mainland China’s 0.9% move were the biggest gains in the region. US
equity-index futures dipped 0.3% as investors searched for details from the talks in London. Contracts for
European equities fell 0.4%. Treasuries steadied ahead of Wednesday’s US inflation reading. A gauge of the
dollar strengthened 0.1% and gold rose 0.5%. The US and China de-escalated trade tensions, agreeing to a
preliminary deal on how to implement the consensus reached in Geneva, negotiators for both sides said. While
the full details of their accord weren’t immediately available, US negotiators said they “absolutely expect” that
issues around shipments of rare earth minerals and magnets will be resolved with the framework
implementation. - S&P 500 rises for a third day as traders hope for progress on U.S.-China trade talks
Stocks climbed on Tuesday as investors hoped for a positive resolution on trade discussions between the U.S.
and China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 105.11 points, or 0.25%, and closed at 42,866.87. The S&P
500 rose 0.55% to end at 6,038.81, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.63% and settled at 19,714.99. It was
the third positive session for both indexes. Talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in London continued for
the second day. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he hopes the discussions will end Tuesday night,
adding that they could run into Wednesday if need be. - Oil prices down, markets assess U.S.-China trade talks outcome
Oil prices fell in early trade on Wednesday as markets were assessing the outcome of U.S.-China trade talks,
yet to be reviewed by President Donald Trump, with weak oil demand from China and OPEC+ production
increases weighing on the market. Brent crude futures lost 24 cents, or 0.36%, to trade at $66.63 a barrel, while
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 21 cents, or 0.32%, to $64.77 at 0119 GMT. U.S. and Chinese officials
agreed on a framework to put their trade truce back on track and resolve China’s export restrictions on rare
earth minerals and magnets, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday at the conclusion of
two days of intense negotiations in London. Trump will be briefed on the outcome before approving it, Lutnick
added. “In terms of what it means for crude oil, I think it removes some downside risks, particularly to the
Chinese economy and steadies the ship for the U.S. economy – both of which should be supportive for
crude oil demand and the price,” said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst for IG. Oil import data from China
earlier this week and ongoing production increases from OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, were adding to the downside. OPEC+ plans to
increase oil production by 411,000 barrels per day for July as it looks to unwind production cuts for a fourth
straight month. Meanwhile, China’s customs data showed this week the country, the world’s
biggest oil importer, brought in 46.60 million tonnes of crude oil in May, down 3% from the previous month,
with imports of oil products falling by 12.9%. - Gold rises as US-China trade uncertainty persists, investors eye inflation data
Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday as uncertainty surrounding the finalization of a U.S.-China trade
agreement weighed on sentiment and fueled some safe-haven buying, with investors awaiting key U.S.
inflation data for further market direction. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,328.89 an ounce, as of 0153 GMT. U.S.
gold futures were up 0.2% to $3,349.80. U.S. and Chinese officials agreed on a framework to put their trade
truce back on track and resolve China’s export restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets, U.S. Commerce
Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday at the conclusion of two days of intense negotiations in London.
Lutnick said that the U.S. team plans to present the framework to President Donald Trump for approval prior
to implementation, while the Chinese delegation will similarly seek an endorsement from President Xi Jinping.
“We know that U.S. and Chinese negotiators have agreed on a ‘framework’, but until Trump or Xi approves
them, uncertainty lingers. And that uncertainty is supporting gold heading into the inflation figures,” said Matt
Simpson, a senior analyst at City Index. - China, U.S. officials reach agreement for allowing rare-earth, tech trade. Now it’s up to Trump and Xi
The U.S. and China have reached an agreement on trade, representatives from both sides said after a second
day of high-level talks in London, with the deal now awaiting a nod from the leaders of the two countries. “We
have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents,” U.S.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters. That echoed comments to reporters from Li Chenggang,
China’s international trade representative and a vice minister at China’s Commerce Ministry. U.S. President
Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone late last week, stabilizing what had become a
fraught relationship with both countries accusing each other of violating the Geneva trade agreement. At a
meeting in Switzerland in mid-May, the world’s two largest economies had agreed to a 90-day suspension of
tariffs added in April, and a rollback of certain other measures. Lutnick said he and U.S. Trade Representative
Jamieson Greer will head back to Washington, D.C., to “make sure President Trump approves” the deal outline.
If Xi also agrees, then “we will implement the framework,” Lutnick said. The fact that the two sides will now
brief their leaders “is a clear sign that some disagreements or unresolved details still require internal
discussion,” said Jianwei Xu, senior economist at Natixis. The framework agreement signals a commitment to
de-escalate and continue the dialogue process, but whether it will lead to “concrete agreements or substantive
breakthroughs” continues to be uncertain, he said. - EU announces punishing sanctions targeting Russian energy and banks
The European Commission announced Tuesday its latest salvo of sanctions on Russia, taking aim at the
Kremlin’s energy exports, infrastructure and financial institutions. The measures, which are intended to pile
pressure on Moscow to end its war in Ukraine, include proposals to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45 per
barrel and ban the use of the Nord Stream pipelines to funnel gas between Russia and Germany. A further 22
Russian banks will also be cut off from the SWIFT international banking system, with the current, partial
prohibition on Russian financial institutions broadened to a “full transaction ban,” Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen said. - Tesla rallies on robotaxi hopes as fear over Musk-Trump feud subsides
In the three trading days since Elon Musk’s war of words with President Donald Trump last week
sank Tesla’s market cap by 14% in a single session, the stock has rallied almost all the way back. Tesla shares
rose 5.7% on Tuesday to close at $326.09 on Tuesday, leaving the stock about $6 short of where it was trading
last Wednesday, before the Musk-Trump brouhaha exploded across social media. The latest jump came after
Musk shared a video on X showing that Tesla was testing driverless vehicles on the roads of Austin, Texas,
without a human safety supervisor behind the wheel. The eight-second clip showed the latest version of the
Model Y SUV, painted black with a white “Robotaxi” graffiti-style logo painted on it, navigating an intersection
and pausing to allow pedestrians to traverse a crosswalk. After years of delays and unfulfilled promises left
Tesla well behind rivals like Alphabet’s Waymo in the robotaxi market, Musk’s company finally appears poised
to put its autonomous driving technology on public streets, even if in a very limited capacity to start. Bloomberg
previously reported that Tesla is expected to officially launch its “pilot” for a driverless ride-hailing service in
Austin on June 12, though the company hasn’t confirmed the timing beyond saying that it’s coming in June.
Musk recently told CNBC’s David Faber that Tesla will start with a very small rollout, including about 10 to 20
of its robotaxis, with a new, “unsupervised” version of the company’s FSD or “Full Self-Driving” technology
installed. The tests will involve the Model Y, not the futuristic looking CyberCab that Tesla plans to produce
next year. Musk said Tesla will “geofence” the service, limiting where the robotaxis can initially operate, and
that employees will remotely monitor the fleet. - AST SpaceMobile Set to Join the U.S. Large-Cap Russell 1000 Index
AST SpaceMobile, Inc., the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network
accessible directly by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government applications,
announced it is set to join the U.S. large-cap Russell 1000® Index, effective after the U.S. market closes on June
27, as part of the 2025 Russell indexes reconstitution. Inclusion in the Russell 1000® Index, which tracks the
largest 1,000 U.S. companies by market capitalization, reflects AST SpaceMobile’s advancing position as a
leader in delivering space-based cellular broadband worldwide. “Joining the Russell 1000® Index marks another
important milestone as we work to deliver on our mission of eliminating coverage gaps and bringing cellular
broadband connectivity directly to the mobile devices of the billions of people who remain unconnected,” said
Andrew Johnson, Chief Financial Officer of AST SpaceMobile. “This inclusion will expand our visibility among
investors as we continue to advance our technology, scale operations, and execute against our global growth
plans.” - Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. is splitting itself in half, unshackling its fast-growing streaming business from
the struggling legacy media channels and setting up two independent companies that could pursue deals on
their own
The new Global Networks business will include entertainment, sports and dozens of cable television brands
such as CNN, TNT and TBS and will be headed by Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels. It will hold a 20%
stake in the other Streaming and Studios business, headed by Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav, and use
proceeds from that entity as a way to cut debt, the company said. “The decision to separate Warner Bros.
Discovery reflects our belief that each company can now go further and faster apart than they can together,”
Zaslav said. He added that each business would attract a very different set of investors. The Global Networks
division will include some streaming assets, such as Discovery+ and CNN’s planned streaming news platform,
as well as Warner Bros.’ sports broadcasting rights. The company will also house a significant portion of Warner
Bros.’ nearly $35 billion in debt. Zaslav said Global Networks will continue to generate “significant cash flow”
that will be used mostly to pay off the debt. The separation is expected to be completed by mid-2026. - JM Smucker Co. declined 15.6% after saying US tariffs increasing costs in its coffee business will hurt
profit, continuing a challenging run for the biggest US packaged food producers
The company, which owns the Folgers and Cafe Bustelo coffee brands, said adjusted earnings this fiscal year
will be as much as $9.50 a share. The impact of higher coffee costs and US levies reduced that forecast by
roughly $1 a share, Smucker said. “Ahead of the print, we heard some concerns about” the outlook, Citi
analyst Thomas Palmer wrote. “This is well-below even the more bearish outlooks we heard.” The company
generated about a third of its revenue from coffee last fiscal year. It raised prices for the beverage in May. And
it expects to boost them again in August. Overall, prices will be up about 20% this year, Smucker said. Smucker
increased its coffee prices three times since last June. The company expects to boost them again in August.
These hikes are expected to hurt demand this year, Smucker said. The company’s sales have been weighed
down by its November 2023 acquisition of Hostess. The maker of sweet treats such as Twinkies
has underperformed as some consumers pull back on spending. Revenue from the division housing Hostess
sank 14% last quarter, excluding brands Smucker has sold off. The company said operating income took a hit
from impairment charges relating to Hostess totaling about $980 million. On the positive side, Smucker’s
results have been bolstered by the continued growth of its popular Uncrustables frozen sandwiches. The firm
expects the brand to eclipse $1 billion in sales by the end of the fiscal year that runs through April 2026. That’s
up from about $920 million the previous year. - GM to invest $4 billion in U.S. plants amid tariffs for Mexican-produced vehicles
GM plans to invest $4 billion in several American plants, including adding production of two popular Chevrolet
vehicles that are currently built in Mexico. The Detroit automaker announced the plans Tuesday, as there have
been few indications of progress in trade talks between the Trump administration and Mexican leaders. The
investment and moves will likely be hailed as a win for Trump’s policies and automotive tariffs, which took
effect for imported vehicles in April and many auto parts in May.
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