US stock futures higher as Trump threatens semiconductor tax
The comments come on the heels of an earlier announcement of an additional 25% tax on India to bring the total levy to 50%. Trump said the additional tariff is because India continues to buy Russian oil.
Other countries are racing to strike a deal with Trump with the Aug 7 deadline here. Nations without a deal face new tariffs.
At 6 a.m., futures tied to the blue-chip Dow rose 0.48%, while broad S&P 500 futures added 0.69% and tech-heavy Nasdaq futures gained 0.70%.
Investors are also eyeing corporate earnings, which have been mostly positive. About 80% of reports are beating analysts' earnings expectations, above the 76% average of the last four quarters, according to data provider LSEG. Data also showed earnings growth for the quarter is estimated at 12.1%, up from 5.8% at the beginning of July.
Corporate news
DoorDash's second-quarter results topped analysts' estimates.
MetLife's second-quarter results fell on less favorable underwriting and lower investment margins.
Duolingo reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and guided third-quarter sales above Street views.
Airbnb beat second-quarter forecasts and issued third-quarter sales guidance that straddled analysts' estimates. It also revealed margin pressures.
Corning inked an expanded partnership with Apple said it would expand its partnership with the company as part of its plans to increase manufacturing in the United States.
DraftKings said it expects full-year sales at the top end of its guidance.
United Airlines encountered a technical issue that grounded hundreds of flights and caused massive delays.
Ride-share company Lyft reported revenues just shy of forecasts.
Cryptocurrency
Actelis Networks said its board approved a cryptocurrency treasury strategy to help it diversify its balance sheet.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.
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Reuters
2 minutes ago
- Reuters
World equities flat, crude oil prices fall as markets await Trump-Putin talks
NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Global stocks were flat but still traded near record highs on Friday as investors awaited talks in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. Short-term U.S. Treasury bond yields fell with markets anticipating a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The Dow hit a record high earlier in the session, becoming the last of Wall Street's main indexes to soar to a new peak. Benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were losing ground, dragged down by technology, utilities and financials stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 0.09%, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab fell 0.25% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab fell 0.36%. "This market continues to move higher and the story is just earnings and margins," said Talley Leger, chief market strategist at The Wealth Consulting Group in New Jersey. "The inflation numbers that we saw this week were mostly services and in a services-based economy like ours, this is good for profit margins." Data showed that U.S. retail sales increased solidly in July, rising 0.5% from the prior month, after an unexpected spike in producer price data on Thursday renewed inflation concerns and pared market expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. European shares touched a near five-month high before pulling back, as investors drew support from a largely positive earnings season. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab index was flat at 0.08%. The MSCI All Country World Index (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab consolidated recent gains. It was last up 0.05% at 952.34, just shy of the record level of 954.21 set on Wednesday. The White House has said the Trump-Putin meeting will take place at 11 a.m. Alaska time (1900 GMT), with the U.S. president's hopes of a ceasefire agreement on Ukraine uncertain. Trump has said a second summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could follow if the talks go well. Details and the longevity of any agreement will be key, and for now investors are on standby. Ukraine's government bonds - key indicators of the mood - in recent days have largely stalled at a still-distressed 55 cents on the dollar. "There's still a small degree of risk premium in European markets because of the war. Any type of resolution will ultimately pare that back," said Shaniel Ramjee, co-head of multi-asset at Pictet Asset Management, adding that oil and other commodity prices could also react. "But I think that the market has learnt not to expect too much from these negotiations. Ultimately, Zelenskiy and the Europeans are not invited. They will need to be involved in any final negotiation," Ramjee added. The two-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, fell 0.9 basis points to 3.73%. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 0.3 basis points to 4.297%. In currency markets, the dollar weakened 0.64% to 146.82 against the Japanese yen and was down 0.35% to 0.805 against the Swiss franc . The euro was up 0.57% at $1.1712. The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last trading down 0.45% at 97.74. Japanese GDP data released on Friday showed the economy expanding by an annualised 1.0% in the April-to-June quarter, beating analyst estimates. The dollar weakened 0.6% against the yen to 146.875 . Brent crude was down 0.79% at $66.32 per barrel. U.S. crude fell 0.89% to $63.45. Spot gold rose 0.17% to $3,341.26 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.22% to $3,342.70 an ounce. Cryptocurrency markets stabilised after bitcoin touched a record $124,480.82 on Thursday. It was down 0.35% to $117,531.48.
Reuters
30 minutes ago
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First two Venezuelan oil cargoes by Chevron after license depart to US
Aug 15 (Reuters) - The first two cargoes of Venezuelan oil exported by energy major Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab after it received a fresh U.S. authorization to operate in the country last month have set sail for the United States, vessel monitoring data showed on Friday. The U.S. Treasury Department granted Chevron a new license in late July allowing it to operate in the sanctioned South American country and export its oil, a policy shift from more strict rules the Trump administration had imposed earlier this year. The Chevron-chartered tankers MediterraneanVoyager and Canopus Voyager departed from Venezuelan waters on Friday carrying cargoes of Hamaca and Boscan heavy crudes to U.S. refineries, according to LSEG data and exports records from state company PDVSA. One of the vessels was heading to the U.S. West Coast, while the other was navigating to Port Arthur, Texas, with estimated date of arrival next week, the data showed. Chevron is separately negotiating the reactivation of a supply agreement with Valero Energy (VLO.N), opens new tab that could give the U.S. refiner a portion of Chevron's entitled cargoes of Venezuelan crudes, which are popular among U.S. Gulf refiners, sources have said. Chevron has said it conducts its business globally in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, as well as the U.S. sanctions frameworks. The company's chief executive, Mike Wirth, earlier this month said exports from Venezuela would resume in small volumes. Chevron exported some 252,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan oil to the U.S. in the first quarter, about 29% of the OPEC country's total.
The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Who are the US and Russian delegates meeting in Alaska to discuss Ukraine?
When Vladimir Putin lands in Alaska on Friday for his high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump, he will be flanked by some of the most powerful figures in the Kremlin's inner circle – a team of seasoned political operators, financial strategists and diplomatic enforcers who have helped shape Russia's foreign and economic policy for more than two decades. The delegation, a mix of old guard loyalists and younger financial power brokers, hints at Putin's desire to woo Trump and dangle financial incentives for siding with Moscow on Ukraine. Trump will also be accompanied by a cadre of his most trusted advisers, among them a property mogul, a former hedge fund billionaire and the country's top diplomat. Despite earlier media reports, Trump's vice-president JD Vance and his defence secretary Pete Hegseth were not listed in the official delegation. The US president has long prized loyalty over experience, and many in Kyiv and the west are uneasy about the lack of seasoned Russia experts with real influence in the White House. Ultimately, though, the summit will come down to a face-to-face meeting between the two men – and putting Trump alone in a room with Putin has always been an unpredictable, and potentially dangerous, affair. Foreign minister The 75-year-old has been in post since 2004, making him one of the longest-tenured senior diplomats in the world. Known for his gravel-voiced delivery and combative press conferences, Lavrov has been central to crafting and defending Moscow's foreign policy from the Iraq war to the annexation of Crimea and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A career diplomat who joined the Soviet foreign service in 1972, he spent a decade as Russia's ambassador to the United Nations before assuming his current post. Once regarded in western capitals as a pragmatic and highly capable diplomat, Lavrov has adopted an increasingly confrontational and at times belligerent tone in tandem with the radicalised politics of Putin's Kremlin. Foreign policy adviser Ushakov, 78, is a veteran presidential aide and one of Putin's most trusted foreign policy advisers. A career diplomat with fluent English and a long focus on Washington, he served as Russia's ambassador to the US from 1998 to 2008. Known for his calm demeanour and deep institutional memory, Ushakov has served as a behind-the-scenes strategist, coordinating Putin's international engagements and frequently supplying the president's talking points to state media. Defence minister The 66-year-old is one of the few technocrats to ascend to the Kremlin's top security posts. His surprise appointment in 2024 to replace the longtime incumbent Sergei Shoigu was perceived as an attempt by the Kremlin to rein in corruption in the armed forces and to accelerate the transformation of Russia's militarised economy into a full-scale war economy, now expanding at double-digit rates. An economist by training, contemporaries describe Belousov as a deeply religious and loyal technocrat who keeps Orthodox icons and theological books in his modest office. Russian Direct Investment Fund chief At 50, Dmitriev is a relatively new kid on the Kremlin block, yet has emerged as a key operator between Moscow and the business-oriented Trump administration. US-educated, with stints at Stanford University and Harvard Business School, Dmitriev heads the Kremlin's $10bn sovereign wealth fund and has openly boasted of his links to American business elites. He has personal ties to Putin's family – his wife, Natalya Popova, is a close friend of one of the president's daughters. In Alaska, he is expected to pitch ambitious plans for economic and infrastructure cooperation in the Arctic, tempting Trump with the prospect of a lucrative entente between two great powers. Dmitriev's rapid rise and overt outreach to Washington have unsettled the Kremlin's old guard, with reports of friction with senior foreign ministry figures, including Lavrov. Finance minister Siluanov, 62, has been in his post since 2011 and is a key architect of the Kremlin's efforts to keep the economy afloat in the face of the invasion of Ukraine and western sanctions. Siluanov has been tasked with making Russia's economy as sanction-proof as possible, and he popularised the term 'fortress economy' in Kremlin circles to describe this drive for sanction resilience. But while sanctions have not brought Russia's economy to its knees, growth has slowed sharply, and Siluanov's surprise inclusion in the Alaska delegation signals Moscow's priority of securing the lifting of western restrictions as part of any peace deal. Secretary of state Once a staunch critic of Trump, the 54-year-old former Florida senator is now one of his closest allies. Over time, Rubio's influence has grown, with his appointment in May as acting national security adviser making him the first person since Henry Kissinger to hold both posts simultaneously. His more traditional hawkish stance on China and Russia has made him a valued interlocutor in Europe and Kyiv, but it could set him on a collision course with pro-Russia voices in Trump's inner circle. CIA director John Ratcliffe, 59, is a former Republican congressman from Texas who served as Trump's director of national intelligence from 2020 to 2021. His nomination to lead the country's spy agency in 2025 drew bipartisan support, with lawmakers across the aisle viewing him as well-qualified for the role. A staunch Trump ally, Ratcliffe rose to prominence by championing hardline conservative positions, advocating for a more aggressive intelligence posture and stressing the strategic threat posed by China. In Trump's second term, Ratcliffe has taken a measured approach to the war in Ukraine. Aligning with Trump's efforts to broker a peace deal with Russia and apply pressure on Kyiv, he has at times backed a temporary pause in US intelligence support as a way to spur negotiations. Yet he has also acknowledged Ukraine's resilience, saying its military has been consistently underestimated and that 'they will fight with their bare hands if they have to'. Special envoy to Ukraine and the Middle East Trump's 68-year-old special envoy is a name that sends shivers through Kyiv and European capitals. Appointed in 2025, he has swiftly become Trump's de facto interlocutor with Putin, despite having no diplomatic experience. In past interviews, Witkoff – who travels to the Kremlin alone and without his own interpreters – has echoed Moscow's talking points on the war and appeared to legitimise Russia's territorial gains in Ukraine. A former New York real-estate lawyer turned property tycoon, Witkoff met Trump in the 1980s while working on one of his Manhattan deals. The two have remained close ever since and Witkoff is fiercely loyal to the president. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, 62, a billionaire investor and longtime Republican donor, has quietly emerged as one of the most influential figures in Trump's economic orbit. A former chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management, he has been tasked with navigating Trump's chaotic and often unpredictable approach to tariffs. In Alaska, Bessent is expected to explore economic incentives and investment arrangements that could be offered to Moscow in exchange for concessions – a reminder that this meeting is as much about money as it is about geopolitics. Secretary of commerce Lutnick, 63, is a Wall Street power broker turned political appointee, a blunt, hard-driving negotiator with a taste for the spotlight. He joined Trump's second administration in early 2025 as a loyalist outsider, bringing no government experience but deep connections across business and capital markets. Very close to Trump, reportedly speaking with him most nights, Lutnick's inclusion, like that of Bessent, underscores Washington's appetite to extract economic gains from the summit. Apart from the five heavyweights, Trump's delegation features 11 other officials, among them his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.
