1. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 breaches 45,000 mark to hit a fresh high
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surpassed the 45,000 mark for the first time, leading gains in Asia-Pacific markets Monday, after President Donald Trump said that the U.S.-China trade negotiations in Spain were progressing well. The trade talks were overshadowed by a “framework” deal regarding the divestment of Chinese-owned TikTok, announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Monday. Speaking from Madrid, Bessent noted that the commercial terms have already been settled. Both U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will speak on Friday to discuss the terms. Japan’s Topix gained 0.41% to an all-time high of 3,172.33.
2. S&P 500 closes above 6,600 for the first time after Trump’s positive comments on China trade talks
Stocks rose Monday after President Donald Trump said that U.S.-China trade negotiations were going well. Investors also braced for a key Federal Reserve meeting this week. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to 6,615.28, marking its first close above 6,600. The Nasdaq Composite also advanced to a new all-time high, rising 0.9% to 22,348.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a small gain, gaining 49.23 points, or 0.1%, 45,883.45. Top U.S. and Chinese officials for a second day discussed tariff rates and a deadline for the sale of Chinese-owned social media TikTok.
3. Gold hits record high as dollar, yields ease; spotlight on Fed meeting
Gold rose to an all-time high on Monday, underpinned by a softer dollar and lower Treasury yields, as investors positioned ahead of a pivotal Federal Reserve meeting this week that could set the tone for the rest of the year. Spot gold was up 1.1% at $3,680.80 per ounce, after hitting a record high of $3,685.39 earlier in the session. Bullion climbed about 1.6% last week. U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled 0.8% higher at $3,719.00. The dollar index fell 0.3% to a one-week low, making gold more attractive for other currency holders, while the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield edged lower. Markets are all but certain the Fed will deliver a 25-basis-point rate cut on Wednesday, the first since December, with some still holding out for a larger 50 bps move, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
4. Oil rises after attacks on Russian energy facilities
Oil prices rose on Monday as investors assessed the impact of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he was prepared to impose sanctions on Russia if NATO nations stop buying Russian oil. Brent crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.67%, to close at $67.44 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $63.30 a barrel, up 61 cents, or 0.97%. Ukraine launched a large attack with at least 361 drones targeting Russia overnight, sparking a brief fire at the vast Kirishi oil refinery in Russia’s northwest, Russian officials said on Sunday. Both crude contracts gained more than 1% last week as Ukraine stepped up attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, including the largest oil exporting terminal, Primorsk.
5. Trump tariffs are fuelling inflation, congressional budget chief says
Congressional Budget Office director Phillip Swagel said Monday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs appear to have pushed inflation up higher than CBO analysts had initially expected. His views differ from those of Wall Street analysts, many of whom have been bracing for tariff-driven price hikes, but have yet to see them in materialize. Swagel also shared his office’s long-term view of the impact of Trump’s tariffs: The CBO expects the levies to reduce the U.S. budget deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade by pouring money into the federal coffers. “So $3.3 trillion of revenue and then $700 billion of averted debt costs,” he said. “That would be a big reversal in terms of the deficit.” “The effects of policy uncertainty dissipate over time and disappear by the end of 2027, returning investment to what it would have been without the uncertainty in trade policy,” the September CBO analysis said.
6. Trump advocates end to quarterly earnings reports
President Donald Trump floated the idea Monday of companies no longer providing earnings report on a quarterly basis and switching to semi-annual instead. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the idea is “subject to SEC approval” and would “save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies.” “Did you ever hear the statement that, ‘China has a 50-to-100-year view on management of a company, whereas we run our companies on a quarterly basis??? Not good!!!’” Trump said. During his first term, Trump had asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to study the issue but no recommendations came of the matter.
7. Trump cannot fire Fed’s Lisa Cook before FOMC meeting, appeals court rules
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that President Donald Trump cannot fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook before the central bank’s policy committee votes on whether to lower interest rates. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit means that Cook, a member of the Fed’s board of governors, can participate in the pivotal two-day meeting starting Tuesday morning. Trump’s attorneys on Thursday had submitted an emergency request to pause a lower-court ruling, which barred Cook’s firing from taking effect while her lawsuit against the president’s action continues. But they have “not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal,” the appellate court ruled in its brief order Monday night.
8. Trump pick Stephen Miran confirmed to Federal Reserve Board; will also keep White House job
The Senate on Monday confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to join the Federal Reserve, Stephen Miran, just one day before the central bank meets to consider whether to cut interest rates. Miran’s fast-tracked confirmation by a vote of 48-47 late Monday means he will attend the board’s highly-anticipated Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington D.C., which begins Tuesday. The vote largely fell along party lines, with the exception of Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who joined Democrats in opposing Miran’s confirmation. Miran has said that once he is confirmed, he plans to take an unpaid leave of absence from his job as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. But he has so far stopped short of agreeing to resign altogether from the political appointment. Miran is not likely to be a decisive vote on any rate cuts this week. At its last meeting in late July, members of the FOMC voted 9-2 to keep rates steady.
9. China says Nvidia violated anti-monopoly law after preliminary probe
China’s market regulator on Monday said that Nvidia violated the country’s anti-monopoly law, according to a preliminary probe, adding that Beijing would continue its investigation into the U.S. chip giant. Shares of Nvidia were down around 2% in premarket trading. Late last year, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) opened an investigation into Nvidia in relation to the acquisition of Mellanox and some agreements made during the acquisition. Nvidia acquired the Israeli technology company that creates network solutions for data centres and servers in 2020, in a deal that was approved by China at the time with certain conditions. In a preliminary investigation, the SAMR said Nvidia had violated China’s anti-monopoly laws in relation to that acquisition and its conditions.
10. Bessent: TikTok deal ‘framework’ reached with China, Trump and Xi will finalize it Friday
The U.S. and China have reached a “framework” deal for social media platform TikTok, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday. “It’s between two private parties, but the commercial terms have been agreed upon,” he said from U.S.-China talks in Madrid. Both President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Friday to discuss the terms. Trump also said in a Truth Social post Monday that a deal was reached “on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save.” Bessent indicated the framework could pivot the platform to U.S.-controlled ownership. China’s lead trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, confirmed the framework deal was in place and said the U.S. should not continue to suppress Chinese companies,
11.Tesla shares gain as Elon Musk reveals rare $1 billion stock buy in sign of confidence in EV maker
Tesla shares jumped after CEO Elon Musk disclosed Monday his first purchase of the stock in the open market since February 2020. Musk bought 2.57 million shares at various prices Friday which tallies up to about $1 billion, a significant insider acquisition that traders took as a vote of confidence from the outspoken CEO. Tesla shares rose by more than 3% on Monday to close at $410.04. They closed Friday slightly lower for 2025 despite a recent rally, with the stock up more than 25% over the last three months. These kinds of purchases are rare for Musk with him last buying about 200,000 shares worth around $10 million on Feb. 14, 2020, according to Verity data. It’s his largest purchase ever by value, according to Verity. The electric vehicle maker earlier this month said it would ask shareholders to approve a new pay package for Musk that could be worth up to $975 billion based on various ambitious milestones.
12. Intel trims full-year expense outlook following Altera stake sale
Intel said on Monday it has lowered its full-year 2025 adjusted operating expense target to $16.8 billion, from $17 billion earlier, to reflect the deconsolidation of its programmable chip business, Altera. Shares of the struggling chipmaker rose nearly 4% as the trimmed projected expenses provided investors with some respite after burgeoning costs left Intel with a strained balance sheet. The company recorded an annual loss of $18.8 billion in 2024, its first such loss since 1986, after former CEO Pat Gelsinger poured billions into expanding its loss-making contract-manufacturing business. New CEO Lip-Bu Tan is streamlining operations and making management changes to strengthen the company’s finances. This comes as the U.S. government has taken a 10% equity stake by converting Biden-era grants into shares.
13. Oracle stock climbs 4% after Trump hints at a TikTok deal
Oracle shares gained ground Monday, currently up over 4%, after US President Donald Trump signalled progress toward a long-awaited deal to secure TikTok’s future in the United States. The president suggested on his Truth Social account that negotiations with Beijing had yielded a breakthrough. “A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy!” Trump wrote, adding he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. The comments followed remarks from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said in Madrid that an agreement in principle had been reached during ongoing trade talks. Oracle has been TikTok’s US cloud provider since 2022.
14. David Ellison races to rebuild Paramount’s Mountain of content
Hours after his company’s merger with Paramount closed in August, CEO David Ellison’s empire-building kicked into gear. His studio chiefs announced they had won a bidding war to distribute a new James Mangold heist film starring Timothee Chalamet. Days later came a blockbuster seven-year, $7.7 billion deal for exclusive U.S. streaming and broadcast rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, beginning next year. The UFC deal built upon an earlier $1.5 billion agreement with “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for global streaming rights to their adult animated series – signalling Ellison’s willingness – and ability – to pay top dollar for premium content across multiple genres.
15. CrowdStrike partners with tech giants to enhance AI security
CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity powerhouse with a market capitalization of $111.39 billion and impressive 68% return over the past year, announced new security partnerships with Amazon Web Services, Intel, Meta, NVIDIA, and Salesforce aimed at protecting enterprise artificial intelligence systems, according to a press release issued Monday at the company’s Fal.Con 2025 event in Las Vegas. Data shows the company maintains a healthy 74.16% gross profit margin while delivering 23.46% revenue growth. The cybersecurity firm is expanding its Falcon platform to address emerging vulnerabilities in AI infrastructure, including model theft, data poisoning, agent manipulation, and cloud workload hijacking. The collaborations include securing the cloud AI lifecycle with AWS through integrations in Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock; protecting data using Falcon Data Protection on Intel NPU technology; launching CyberSOCEval benchmarks with Meta to evaluate AI performance in security operations; securing AI lifecycle management with NVIDIA; and integrating Falcon Shield into Salesforce Security Centre.