- Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as investors digest Trump-Xi call
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed as investors assessed the phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump
and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump and Xi spoke on Thursday and agreed that officials from the U.S. and
China will meet soon to continue negotiations aimed at ending the ongoing trade war. The call, which Trump
described as “very good,” lasted for about 90 minutes, focusing “almost entirely” on trade and yielded a “very
positive conclusion for both countries,” Trump wrote on social media. - Dow rises more than 400 points on solid jobs report, S&P 500 touches 6,000
Stocks jumped Friday after the latest nonfarm payrolls data came in better than expected, easing concern the
economy faces an imminent slowdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 443.13 points, or 1.05%, to
close at 42,762.87. The blue-chip index was up more than 600 points at its highs of the session. The S&P
500 also gained 1.03% surpassing the 6,000 level for the first time since late February and settling at 6,000.36.
The Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.20%, ending at 19,529.95. U.S. payrolls climbed 139,000 in May, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported Friday, above the Dow Jones forecast of 125,000 for the month but less than the
downwardly revised 147,000 in April. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%. - Crude climbs on U.S. jobs report, China talks
Crude rose more than $1 a barrel on Friday morning and oil prices were on track for their first weekly gain in
three weeks after a favourable U.S. jobs report and resumed trade talks between U.S. President Donald Trump
and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, raising hopes for growth in the world’s two largest economies. Brent crude
futures gained $1.28, or 1.96%, to $66.62 a barrel by 1649 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed
$1.34, or 2.11%, to $64.71. Top exporter Saudi Arabia cut its July crude prices for Asia to near two-month lows.
That was a smaller price reduction than expected after OPEC+ agreed to ramp up output by 411,000 barrels
per day in July. - Gold falls over 1% as strong U.S. jobs data clouds outlook for rate cuts
Gold prices slipped more than 1% on Friday after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report dampened hopes
for imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, while silver soared to its highest level since 2012. Fed
policymakers are seen as waiting until September to cut rates, with just one more cut in view by December,
based on trading in short-term interest-rate futures, which also showed traders backing away from bets that
would pay off if the U.S. central bank delivered a third rate cut by the end of the year. Spot silver fell 0.5% to
$35.96, after hitting a more than 13-year high earlier. - Trump announces U.S.-China trade talks in London next week
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other Trump administration officials will hold trade talks with their
Chinese counterparts in London on Monday, President Donald Trump said. The U.S. and China have squabbled
over numerous issues in the midst of a trade war that threatens both economic superpowers. Trump had first
revealed that further trade talks were planned after he held a lengthy phone call with Chinese President Xi
Jinping on Thursday. The countries, whose total trade in goods topped $582 billion last year temporarily
lowered most of the tariffs on each other’s goods after breakthrough bilateral trade talks in Geneva,
Switzerland, last month. - U.S. money market fund inflows surge on caution over tariffs
U.S. money market funds witnessed huge inflows in the week ended June 4 as investor caution over a rise in
U.S. tariffs on steel imports, uncertainties over President Donald Trump’s trade disputes with China and a
crucial employment report on Friday, boosted demand for safer investment avenues. According to LSEG Lipper
data, U.S. investors bought a net $66.24 billion worth of money market funds during the week, registering their
largest weekly net purchase since December 4, 2024. At the same time, riskier equity funds faced a net $7.42
billion worth of weekly outflows, sharply higher than approximately $5.39 billion worth of net disposals in the
prior week. The small-cap segment witnessed a net $2.99 billion worth of drawdowns, the highest for a week
since April 30. Outflows from multi-cap, mid-cap and large-cap funds stood at $2.13 billion, $1.05 billion and
$962 million, respectively. - India’s benchmark Nifty 50 logs best day in three weeks on RBI’s bumper policy support
India’s benchmark Nifty 50 logged its best day in three weeks as investors rallied behind the central bank’s
bumper policy measures. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the key lending rate by 50 basis points, exceeding
the widely expected 25 basis point reduction. It also unexpectedly reduced the cash reserve ratio (CRR)
requirement for banks by 100 bps and shifted its policy stance to neutral from accommodative. The Nifty
50 and the BSE Sensex added about 1% on the day and for the week to close at 25,003.05 and 82,188.99,
respectively. The benchmarks also recorded their first weekly gain after two straight weeks of decline. - ‘We are in a good position,’ Lagarde says after cutting rates to 2%
The European Central Bank cut interest rates as expected on Thursday but hinted at a pause in its year-long
easing cycle after inflation finally returned to its 2% target. The ECB has lowered borrowing costs eight times,
or by 2 percentage points since last June, seeking to prop up a euro zone economy that was struggling even
before erratic U.S. economic and trade policies dealt it further blows. With inflation now just below 2%, ECB
President Christine Lagarde said the central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro was in a “good
position” with the current rate path, a signal investors took to mean a break in cuts, if not an end to policy
easing. - China consumer prices slump again; deepening deflation worries as demand stays weak
China’s consumer prices fell for a fourth consecutive month in May, as Beijing’s stimulus measures appear
insufficient to boost domestic consumption, with price wars in the auto sector adding to downward pressure.
The consumer price index fell 0.1% from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics
released Monday, compared with the median estimate for a 0.2% decline among analysts polled by Reuters.
The CPI slipped into negative territory in February, falling 0.7% from a year ago, and continued to post year
on-year declines of 0.1% in March and April. Deflation in the country’s factory-gate or producer prices
deepened, clocking the steepest decline since July 2023. - China’s exports to the U.S. clock their sharpest drop in more than 5 years — down over 34% in May
China’s exports growth missed expectations in May, dragged down by a sharp decline in shipments to the
U.S., despite a temporary trade truce that paused most tariffs for 90 days. Chinese exports to the U.S. plunged
34.5% from a year ago, marking the sharpest drop since February 2020. Imports from the U.S. dropped over
18%, as the country’s trade surplus with the U.S. shrank by 41.55% year-on-year to $18 billion. Imports plunged
3.4% in May from a year earlier, a drastic drop compared to economists’ expectations of a 0.9% fall. Imports
had been declining this year, largely owed to sluggish domestic demand. That was largely offset by its shipment
to the Southeast Asian bloc, which jumped nearly 15% from a year, and those to European Union countries and
Africa, which rose 12% and over 33%, respectively. - Trump’s Golden Dome pits Silicon Valley against defence giants
Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile shield has triggered a lobbying battle between Silicon Valley and
America’s biggest defence groups as they fight for a slice of the ambitious $175bn project. The Trump
administration’s explicit call for “non-traditional” contractors has fired up competition to create the
experimental defence system, pitting established giants such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman
against tech groups trying to claim a bigger share of Pentagon funds. Golden Dome, inspired by Israel’s “Iron
Dome”, aims to establish a space-based missile shield to protect the US against advanced missile threats from
countries such as Russia and China. - Docusign shares fell 19% Friday after the e-signature software company gave a second-quarter billings
outlook that is weaker than expected
DocuSign dropped its share prices by 18.97 percent on Friday to end at $75.28 apiece after slashing its full-year
billing outlook amidst its shift to an artificial intelligence model while raising its full-year view for revenue.
Billings growth of 4% came in below expectations due to fewer early renewals. While the company expected
fewer early renewals in FY26, management underestimated the potential impact on F1Q. Billings guidance was
effectively lowered by around $70 million in constant currency terms. - Tesla shares gain after $152 billion selloff, but Trump-Musk truce uncertain
Tesla shares recouped some losses that had been triggered by a spat between CEO Elon Musk and U.S.
President Donald Trump, even though a truce appeared uncertain on Friday as a White House official said
the president was not keen on talking to his former ally. The stock rose nearly 4% after a steep fall in the
previous session, that wiped out $152 billion in market value, when the world’s most powerful man and its
richest publicly entered a war of words over the tax and spending bill. Tensions escalated on Thursday after
Musk stepped up his criticism of Trump’s sweeping tax bill, which proposed largely ending the popular $7,500
EV tax incentive by the end of 2025. In response, Trump suggested cuts to the government’s contracts with
Musk’s companies, including rocket maker SpaceX. - Lululemon shares tumble 20% as it cuts full-year earnings guidance, citing ‘dynamic macroenvironment’
Lululemon beat Wall Street expectations for fiscal first-quarter earnings Thursday, but cut its full-year earnings
guidance, citing a “dynamic macroenvironment.” CEO Calvin McDonald said on a conference call with analysts
that he is “not happy” with U.S. growth and said U.S. consumers are being cautious and intentional about their
buying decisions. Chief Financial Officer Meghan Frank added on the call that the brand is planning to take
“strategic price increases, looking item by item across our assortment,” to mitigate the effect of tariffs.
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