- US500 and US100 erase earlier losses and post moderate gains in the final hours of trading on Wall Street. The US500 is up 0.1%, while the US100 gains nearly 0.4%. The US30, on the other hand, is still down around 0.4% just before 8:00 PM
- Sector-wise, mining stocks, oil-related shares, and the semiconductor sector are performing best today, led by rising shares of Broadcom and Nvidia. For most of the first trading session in June, markets experienced declines driven by uncertainty over the global geopolitical situation and renewed concerns about a trade war.
- China and the US have been accusing each other of violating tariff reduction agreements, potentially paving the way for another round of reciprocal high tariffs.
- Over the weekend, Donald Trump announced that starting June 4, new increased tariffs of 50% would apply to aluminum and steel, a move criticized by the European Union. In response, shares of US steelmakers such as Nucor and Steel Dynamics rose.
- A series of attacks between Ukraine and Russia also occurred over the weekend. Ukraine reportedly destroyed several dozen Russian aircraft using drones, prompting a strong response from Russia in the form of missile strikes. Today marked the second round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul.
- Trade and geopolitical tensions have triggered a sharp rally in gold prices, which at one point rose as much as 2.5%, approaching the $3,400 per ounce level — just about 2% below the historical closing high and 4% below the all-time intraday peak. At the same time, silver is posting an almost 5% increase.
- Amid the uncertainty surrounding the trade war, the US dollar has come under significant selling pressure. The EURUSD pair has returned above the 1.1400 level, its highest since April 22.
- The ISM Manufacturing Index has fallen sharply to 48.5, despite expectations for a rebound to 49.4 from 48.7. However, price pressure remains elevated, with the prices subindex hovering near 70.
- PMI indexes from Europe came in close to preliminary readings. Germany's manufacturing PMI was slightly weaker, while France’s was stronger, keeping the eurozone composite PMI steady at 49.4.
- Crude oil rebounds by 2.7% today, with gains briefly exceeding 4%. This is a result of heightened geopolitical tensions and the OPEC+ decision to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day in July. Last Friday saw significant downward pressure due to speculation that OPEC+ could raise production more aggressively than in the previous two months.
- Natural gas (NATGAS) had a bullish session and is now up nearly 7%, supported by forecasts of extreme heat in the United States. Key states with high air-conditioning demand are expected to face temperatures far above average in the coming days.
- Bitcoin is declining and is down nearly 1.5% today. Profit-taking is also impacting smaller cryptocurrencies, which are posting multi-percent losses.
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