- Asian Stocks Gain on China Data, US Futures Slip: Markets Wrap
Asian shares rose after data showed consumption in China grew faster to start the year. US equity futures slid
as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed the market’s recent decline as healthy. Equities advanced in
Australia, Japan and South Korea. A key gauge of Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong gained as much as 1.3%.
China’s onshore benchmark CSI 300 Index fluctuated, reflecting caution on signs of a worsening housing
slump in the world’s No. 2 economy. Oil rose for a second day, benefiting from optimism that demand from
top importer China will rise. The dollar was steady. Given the mixed signals from the latest Chinese data,
investors may shift their attention to a key briefing scheduled Monday afternoon when authorities are
expected to share more details on policies to stabilize the stock and property markets, lift wages and boost
the birth rate. Reviving consumer spending is key to Beijing’s efforts to counter protectionist US policies that
are upending global trade and causing a slowdown of Chinese exports. - Dow pops more than 650 points in relief bounce Friday, but still posts worst week since 2023
Stocks rallied Friday, clawing back some of the steep losses seen over the week, as investors got a reprieve
from tariff-related headlines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 674.62 points, or 1.65%, to close at
41,488.19. The S&P 500 climbed 2.13% to end at 5,638.94, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.61% to
settle at 17,754.09. It was the best day in 2025 for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Big tech shares that
were rattled earlier this week saw a sharp recovery on Friday. Nvidia shares popped more than
5%. Tesla jumped nearly 4%, and Meta Platforms gained close to 3%. Amazon and Apple also rose. Stocks
bounced after a lack of new headlines out of the White House related to tariffs, easing concerns around
escalating tensions for the time being. Investors might also be scooping up shares after a stock market
pullback on Thursday. A decline of more than 1% Thursday pulled the S&P 500 into a correction – a decline of
at least 10% from the record close notched just 16 days ago. The session’s sell-off dragged the Nasdaq further
into correction, and it brought the small-cap Russell 2000 closer to a bear market, or a drawdown of 20%
from its high. That marked another milestone in the pullback that has gripped investors over the past three
weeks as President Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again tariff policy drove up uncertainty and market
volatility. Indeed, even Friday’s rally couldn’t spare the three major averages from weekly losses. The Dow
fell roughly 3.1% for its worst week since March 2023. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both dropped more than
2% and posted their fourth consecutive losing week. - Oil up 1% as U.S. vows to keep attacking Houthis
Oil prices opened about 1% higher on Monday after the United States vowed to keep attacking Yemen’s
Houthis until the Iran-aligned group ends its assaults on shipping. Brent futures rose 72 cents or 1.02%, to
$71.30 a barrel by 0015 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also rose 72 cents, or 1.1%,
to $67.90 a barrel. The U.S. airstrikes, which the Houthi-run health ministry said killed at least 53 people, are
the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January.
One U.S. official told Reuters the campaign might continue for weeks. The Houthi attacks on shipping in the
Red Sea have disrupted global commerce and set the U.S. military off on a costly campaign to intercept
missiles and drones. Oil prices rose slightly last week, snapping a three-week losing streak caused by concerns
over a global economic slowdown driven by escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and other nations.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs cut oil price forecasts, saying they expected the U.S. economy to grow slower
than previously anticipated due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on countries including China,
Mexico and Canada. - Gold Hovers Near Record as US Growth Concerns Fan Haven Demand
Gold edged higher after rising through $3,000 an ounce on Friday, with investors weighing news the US
government managed to avert a shutdown against persistent economic growth concerns. Bullion traded near
$2,990 an ounce, after easing from its all-time high just shy of $3,005 an ounce, as the US Senate passed a
Republican spending plan that paved the way for the approval of a government funding package.
Markets are still monitoring the fallout from President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade agenda, which saw
the S&P 500 enter into a correction last week before rebounding on Friday. That rally bookended a week of
drama, including the implementation of the US leader’s latest tariff threats, recession calls, and geopolitical
talks concerning Ukraine’s future. The uncertain outlook and accompanying haven appetite has helped drive
bullion 14% higher so far this year, extending the metal’s strong annual advance in 2024. Banks are
increasingly confident that further gains are in store, mapping out targets that would have seemed
outlandish to many investors just a few quarters ago. Last week, Macquarie Group forecast prices would
spike to $3,500 an ounce in the second quarter, while BNP Paribas SA raised its outlook to show average
prices well above $3,000. - China announces plan to ‘vigorously boost consumption’ in bid to shore up economy
China announced a “Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption” on Sunday in a bid to prop up domestic
consumption in the world’s second largest economy. The General Office of the Central Committee, an office
directly under China’s ruling party, said the plan was to vigorously boost consumption, expand domestic
demand, and “enhance consumption capacity by increasing income and reducing burdens,” according to a
Google translation of the report. The wide-ranging release also outlined other steps, such as taking “multiple
measures” to stabilize the stock market and developing more bond products suitable for individual investors.
China’s CSI 300 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were slightly up on Monday, registering gains of
about 0.1%. This comes a week after China’s Premier Li Qiang delivered an annual report on government
work that named boosting consumption as the top task for the year ahead. Back then, Chinese policymakers
had increasingly acknowledged the need to counter deflationary pressure at home. China is currently facing a
sluggish consumer landscape, with the most recent consumer price index in February registering its steepest
fall in over a year and producer price index in contractionary territory since October 2022. - UK economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% in January
The U.K.’s economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% month-on-month in January, official figures showed on
Friday. Britain’s Office for National Statistics said the fall was mainly due to a contraction in the production
sector. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the country’s GDP to grow by 0.1%. At 7:35 a.m. in
London, shortly after the data release, the British pound was down by around 0.15% against the dollar to
trade at $1.293. Sterling was flat against the euro. Meanwhile, long-term government borrowing costs, which
spiked to multi-decade highs earlier this year, rose. The yield on 20-year U.K. government bonds — known as
gilts — added 2 basis points, while 30-year gilt yields were up by 4 basis points. Services output picked up by
0.1% month-on-month in January, but marked a slowdown from the 0.4% hike of December. Production
output dropped by 0.9% on the month, after recording a 0.5% rise in the previous month. Monthly
construction output meanwhile fell by another 0.2% in January, after also shedding 0.2% in December. The
U.K. economy grew by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, beating expectations, ONS data showed last month. It
flatlined in the third quarter. The monthly GDP data has been checkered since then, with a 0.1% contraction
in October, a 0.1% expansion in November and a 0.4% month-on-month expansion in December thanks, to
growth in services and production. - Trump and Putin expected to speak this week as US pushes for Russia-Ukraine ceasefire
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week on
ways to end the three-year war in Ukraine, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN on Sunday after returning from
what he described as a “positive” meeting with Putin in Moscow. “I expect that there will be a call with both
presidents this week, and we’re also continuing to engage and have conversation with the Ukrainians,”
said Witkoff, who met with Putin on Thursday night, adding that he thought the talk
between Trump and Putin would be “really good and positive.” Trump is trying to win Putin’s support for a
30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week, as both sides continued trading heavy aerial
strikes through the weekend and Russia moved closer to ejecting Ukrainian forces from their months-old
foothold in the western Russian region of Kursk. Trump said in a social media post on Friday that there was “a
very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.” He also said he had “strongly
requested” that Putin not kill the thousands of Ukrainian troops that Russia is pushing out of Kursk.
Putin said he would honor Trump’s request to spare the lives of the Ukrainian troops if they surrendered. The
Kremlin also said on Friday that Putin had sent Trump a message about his ceasefire plan via Witkoff,
expressing “cautious optimism” that a deal could be reached to end the conflict. In separate appearances on
Sunday shows, Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz,
emphasized that there are still challenges to be worked out before Russia agrees to a ceasefire, much less a
final peaceful resolution to the war. - Kering SA appointed Demna Gvasalia, creative chief of Balenciaga, to oversee a makeover of its
struggling Gucci brand, disappointing investors who expected a high-profile external hire
Demna’s appointment led to a 10.7% selloff in Kering shares, which have lost 48% over the past 12 months,
as Gucci’s revenue fell 24% in the fourth quarter. Demna will start in the new role in July, but some investors
worry that he may not be in place quickly enough to overhaul Gucci, and that his impact may not be evident
until next year. - Rheinmetall’s stock has soared over 1,000%, and the German defense giant sees growth ‘that we have
never experienced before’
German defense contractor Rheinmetall’s stock price has skyrocketed more than 1,000% since Russia
invaded Ukraine in 2022. As the EU plans a €800 billion boost in defense spending, Rheinmetall expects
growth to remain strong. German defense contractor Rheinmetall sees unprecedented gains ahead as Europe
embarks on a massive military buildup, even after reporting already-strong growth. Headquartered in
Düsseldorf, Germany, the company reported 2024 total revenue of €9.8 billion on Wednesday, up 36% from 2023.
The defense business led the company’s sales growth last year, surging 50% to €7.6 billion.
Additionally, the backlog increased 44% to €55 billion a new record high. Last year’s growth was helped by
Europe’s continued military aid for Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Rheinmetall’s stock price
has climbed more than 1,000%. Meanwhile, the European Union recently announced plans to increase its
defense spending by €800 billion ($867 billion) as historic US allies seek to take more responsibility for their
security. “An era of rearmament has begun in Europe that will demand a lot from all of us,” CEO Armin
Papperger said in a statement. “However, it also brings us at Rheinmetall growth prospects for the coming
years that we have never experienced before.” For this year, Rheinmetall expects total sales to increase 25%
30% and defense sales to climb 35%-40%. While those numbers would fall short of 2024’s, actual sales by the
end of the year could turn out to be even bigger. Rheinmetall noted in its report the outlook does not take
into account “geopolitical developments in recent weeks,” saying updates to its forecasts could come later as
requirements of its military customers become clearer. - Palantir Leads AI Stock Rebound From Tariff Rout
Shares of Palantir rose 8% on Friday, leading an AI stock rally as Congress appeared poised to narrowly avoid
a government shutdown. The S&P 500 entered its first correction since 2023 on Thursday; the 10% sell-off
was reportedly the seventh-fastest correction in data going back to 1929. AI-related stocks like Palantir,
Vistra, and Constellation Energy have been particularly hard-hit by growing concerns that President Donald
Trump’s unpredictable trade policy could simultaneously slow economic growth and increase prices.
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