Daily summary: Tesla dips 9%; Trump's comments in background 🏛️

Investors are positioning themselves in response to incoming information regarding Donald Trump’s next moves. Major U.S. stock indices are posting modest gains, led by the Russell 2000 (+0.2%). The S&P 500 is up 0.1%, the Dow Jones is nearly 0.2% higher, and the Nasdaq 100 is trading near yesterday’s closing price.

Donald Trump held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, focusing on recent trade tensions between the two countries. Negotiating teams will begin a new round of talks, and according to Trump, current U.S.-China relations are “in a very good place.”

Tesla (TSLA.US) shares fell nearly 9% amid rising tensions between Elon Musk and President Trump. Musk publicly criticized Trump’s proposed tax and spending bill, which threatens key electric vehicle tax credits crucial for Tesla’s business. Trump expressed disappointment in Musk and suggested uncertainty regarding their future relationship, further weighing on Tesla’s sentiment.

According to JPMorgan, Tesla faces potential losses of up to $1.2 billion due to the proposed tax legislation introduced by the Trump administration.

Palantir (PLTR.US) shares are also down nearly 5%.

Circle Internet Group, the issuer of a stablecoin, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange today. On its first trading session, the company surged over 200% from the IPO price of $31. The opening price of $69 represented a 123% increase over the IPO price.

European markets saw a mixed session. Most major indices ended slightly higher, except for France’s CAC40, which lost about 0.2%. Switzerland’s SMI led gains among major European markets, rising about 0.2%, similar to Germany’s DAX. The UK’s FTSE 100 ended the session up around 0.1%.

NATGAS erased morning losses and is now slightly higher, despite EIA data showing a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. natural gas inventories, which initially triggered a sharp price drop when the report was released.

Gold is down nearly 0.65% today, although it maintains a stable long-term uptrend.

The ECB decided to cut interest rates in the eurozone by 25 basis points, in line with market expectations. At the post-decision press conference, President Lagarde pointed to a strong euro and tariff risks as factors potentially weakening exports and contributing to easing inflationary pressures. She also noted this will be a challenge for sustaining economic growth in Europe.

On the currency market, the strongest performers today are the Australian dollar and Norwegian krone, both up about 0.4%. The weakest is the Japanese yen, down 0.7%. The U.S. dollar remains stable against a basket of currencies, close to yesterday’s closing level.

The number of new jobless claims in the U.S. rose to 274,000 (compared to 240,000 last week and forecasts of 235,000). U.S. economic data indicate normalization of the trade deficit, which stood at -$60 billion in April versus -$140.5 billion in March.

At the same time, crude oil is up more than 0.9% and is attempting to break out of the consolidation range defined by the highs tested in April and May.